23rd Special Tactics Squadron

Overview

The Squadron is made up of Special Tactics Officers, Combat Controllers, Combat Rescue Officers, Pararescuemen, Special Reconnaissance, Tactical Air Control Party Officers, and Tactical Air Control Party Specialists.

Special tactics squadrons are organized, trained, and equipped specifically for various special operations missions facilitating air operations on the battlefield. They conduct combat search and rescue missions, collect intelligence, as well as call in close air support or airstrikes against enemy combatants and are often partnered with other U.S. special operations forces overseas.

History

Constituted 23rd Fighter Control Squadron (Special) on 10 January 1943. Activated on 6 February 1943. Redesignated 23rd Fighter Control Squadron on 16 Sep 1943. Inactivated on 29 Oct 1945. Disbanded on 8 Oct 1948. Reconstituted, and consolidated on 1 March 1992 with 1723rd Combat Control Squadron. Redesignated 1723rd Special tactics Squadron on 1 April 1990; 23rd Special Tactics Squadron on 31 March 1992.

Staff Sgt. Richard Hunter, a combat controller with the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron, received the Air Force Cross for his actions during a battle in Kunduz Province, Afghanistan on 2 November 2016. Hunter was embedded in a joint US Special Forces/Afghan unit that was engaged in a fierce firefight in a village near Kunduz Province, Afghanistan, 2 November 2016. During the eight-hour firefight, Staff Sgt.Hunter called in 31 danger-close air strikes on enemy forces.

Operations

Members of the unit have participated in Operation Just Cause (1989), Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm (1990–1991), Operation Provide Comfort (1991), Operation Allied Force, Kosovo in 1999, and have been engaged in combat since October 2001 in Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Members of the U.S. Air Force's 23rd Special Tactics Squadron took part in Haiti earthquake relief operations by providing air traffic control operations at Haiti's Toussaint Louverture International Airport. In the aftermath of Hurricane Michael in 2018, the 23rd came to clear and establish the runway at Tyndall Air Force Base.

Lineage

; 23rd Fighter Control Squadron

• Constituted as the 23rd Fighter Control Squadron (Special) on 10 January 1943 : Activated on 6 February 1943 : Redesignated 23rd Fighter Control Squadron on 16 September 1943 : Inactivated on 29 October 1945 : Disbanded on 8 October 1948 : Reconstituted and consolidated with the 1723rd Combat Control Squadron on 1 March 1992

; 23rd Special Tactics Squadron

• Designated as the 1723rd Combat Control Squadron and activated on 1 Jul 1984 : Redesignated 1723rd Special Tactics Squadron on 1 April 1990 : Consolidated with the 23rd Fighter Control Squadron on 1 March 1992 : Redesignated 23rd Special Tactics Squadron on 31 March 1992

Assignments

• 23rd Fighter Group, 6 February 1943
• Fourteenth Air Force, by December 1943
• 68th Composite Wing, 16 Mar 1945
• Tenth Air Force, 1 August 1945
• Fourteenth Air Force, October 1945 – 29 October 1945
• Twenty-Third Air Force, 1 July 1984
• 1720th Special Tactics Group (later 720 Special Tactics Group), 1 October 1987 – present

Stations

• Kunming, China, 6 February 1943
• Kweilin, China 21 April 1944
• Liuchow, China, September 1944
• Kunming, China, September 1944
• China, 6 January–October 1945
• Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, 27-28 October 1945
• Eglin Auxiliary Airfield #9 (later Hurlburt Field), Forida, 1 July 1984 – present

References

Notes

; Explanatory notes

; Citations

Bibliography

References

1. "The Air Force’s Only Special Tactics Wing".
2. (27 April 2009). "23rd Special Tactics Squadron".
3. "SecAF awards Air Force Cross, 10 medals to Air Commandos".
4. "Combat controller to receive Air Force Cross for actions during fierce Afghan battle".
5. "Richard Hunter, Air Force Cross".
6. Shaughnessy, Larry. (15 January 2010). "Chaos at Haiti airport calmed by Air Force". CNN.
7. (12 October 2018). "Tyndall F-22s, Left Behind Before Michael Hit, Possibly Damaged Beyond Repair".
8. (1 October 2021). "Factsheet 23 Special Tactics Squadron (AFSOC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency.