“United States Air Force Combat Control Team”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

Assigned to Special Tactics Squadrons and Special Tactics Teams along with Pararescuemen, Special Operations Weather Technicians, and Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) operators, Combat Controllers are an integral part of Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), the Air Force component of United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), and of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). Trained in underwater and maritime operations, freefall parachuting, and many other deployment methods, Combat Controllers are often assigned individually or as a team to Army Special Forces, Army Ranger, Navy SEAL, and Delta Force teams to provide expert airfield seizure, airstrike control, and communications capabilities.^[4]

Combat Controllers are FAA-certified air traffic controllers and maintain proficiency throughout their career.^[2] Along with TACPs, many Combat Controllers also qualify and maintain proficiency as joint terminal attack controllers (JTACs) where they call in and direct air strikes, close air support and fire support.^[5] Out of the seven Air Force Crosses awarded since the Global War on Terror started in 2001, five have been awarded to Combat Controllers for extraordinary heroism in combat.

Motto

CCT Motto: "First There", which reaffirms the Combat Controller's commitment to undertaking the most dangerous missions behind enemy lines by leading the way for other forces to follow.^[2]

Mission

Air Force Special Operations Command's Combat Controllers are battlefield airmen assigned to special tactics squadrons. They are trained special operations forces and certified Federal Aviation Administration air traffic controllers.^[2]^[3]^[6]

The mission of a Combat Controller is to deploy undetected into combat and hostile environments to conduct special reconnaissance, establish assault zones or airfields, while simultaneously conducting air traffic control, fire support, command, control, and communications and forward air control. They deploy with air and ground forces in support of direct action, such as counter-terrorism, foreign internal defense, humanitarian assistance, and combat search and rescue. Combat Controllers employ all-terrain vehicles, amphibious vehicles, weapons and demolitions in pursuit of their objectives, which may include obstacle destruction.^[2]^[3]

Training

Combat Controller training, which is nearly two years long, is among the most rigorous in the US military. The CCT pipeline has a wash out rate upwards of 90–95%, mostly due to self-eliminations, injuries sustained during training, and academic failures. The Air Force is working to lower the washout rate through proper education, testing and rigorous pre-pipeline training.^[7]^[8]

Combat Controllers maintain air traffic controller qualification skills throughout their career in addition to other special operations skills. Many qualify and maintain proficiency as joint terminal attack controllers (JTACs). Their 35-week initial training and unique mission skills earn them the right to wear the scarlet beret and their 3 skill level (apprentice). From that point they attend a 12–15-month advanced skill training course to obtain their 5 skill level (journeyman). Once they complete AST their training pipeline is finished and they are mission-ready Combat Controllers.^[2]^[6]

Initial training

The first course Combat Controller trainees attend after the 8.5-week Basic Military Training is the two-week-long Combat Control Selection Course at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. The selection course focuses on sports physiology, nutrition, basic exercises, combat control history and fundamentals.^[2]^[6]

The second course in the CCT pipeline is the Combat Control Operator Course located at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi. The Operator course is 15.5 weeks long. The Operator course teaches aircraft recognition and performance, air navigation aids, weather, airport traffic control, flight assistance service, communication procedures, conventional approach control, radar procedures and air traffic rules.^[2]^[6]

After the Operator course the trainee attends the Army Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia. In the three-week course the trainees learn basic parachuting skills required to infiltrate an objective area by static line airdrop.^[2]^[6]

The next course after Airborne School is the Air Force Basic Survival School located at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington. SERE School lasts three weeks. The course teaches techniques for survival in remote areas. Instruction includes principles, procedures, equipment and techniques that enable individuals to survive, regardless of climatic conditions or unfriendly environments, and return alive.^[2]^[6]

The last course in the Combat Control pipeline is the Combat Control School located at Pope Field, North Carolina. The CCT School is thirteen weeks long and it provides the final Combat Controller qualifications. The training includes physical training, small unit tactics, land navigation, communications, assault zones, demolitions, fire support and field operations including parachuting. Graduates of Combat Control school are awarded their 3-skill level (apprentice) on their Air Force Specialty Code, scarlet beret and CCT flash.^[2]^[6] The Benini Heritage Center Fund Raising effort supports education and training at the Combat Control School.

Advanced training

After the Combat Controller gains their three level they attend Special Tactics Advanced Skills Training for 12 to 15 months as part of the Special Tactics Training Squadron located at Hurlburt Field, Florida. Advanced Skills Training is a program for newly assigned Combat Controllers, Pararescuemen and Special Operations Weather Technicians. AST produces mission-ready operators for Air Force Special Operations Command and United States Special Operations Command. The AST schedule is broken down into four phases: water, ground, employment and full mission profile. The course tests the trainee's personal limits through demanding mental and physical training.^[2]^[6]

During Advanced Skills Training Combat Controllers (along with SOWT) attend two more advanced courses. Army Military Free Fall Parachutist School at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona for five weeks. The course instructs free fall parachuting procedures. It also provides wind tunnel training, in-air instruction focusing on student stability, aerial maneuvers, air sense, parachute opening procedures and parachute canopy control.^[2]^[6] They also attend Air Force Combat Diver School which is hosted at the Navy Diving and Salvage Training Center, Naval Support Activity Panama City, Florida. Combat Diver School is six weeks long. After completion of Combat Diver School trainees become combat divers, learning to use scuba and closed circuit diving equipment to covertly infiltrate denied areas. The course provides training to depths of 130 feet, stressing development of maximum underwater mobility under various operating conditions.^[2]^[6] A class of CCTs and PJs at the Air Force Combat Diver School was covered by Discovery Channel's program Surviving the Cut during season two, which originally aired 25 July 2011.

Assigned units

Once Combat Controllers complete advanced training they are assigned to Special Tactics Squadrons across Air Force Special Operations Command.^[2]

History

Pathfinders during World War II

General James M. Gavin, who was the Deputy Commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, created the Army Pathfinders to ensure airborne operations are more successful in getting the paratroopers at the designated drop zone. These pathfinders preceded main assault forces into objective areas and drop zones in teams to provide weather information and visual guidance to inbound aircraft through the use of high-powered lights, flares and smoke pots, burning buckets of gas-soaked sand and the Eureka beacon.^[2]^[5] The pathfinder teams consisted of eight to twelve pathfinders along with six soldiers who provided security for the pathfinders while they set up their equipment and aided paratroopers, gliders and planes in reaching their designated drop zones. Pathfinders were first successfully used later in the Sicilian campaign. During the Normandy invasion pathfinders jumped in prior to the main airborne assault force and guided 13,000 paratroopers to their designated drop zones. Pathfinders were used during Operation Market Garden to secure several key bridges required for advancing allied ground units. During the Battle of the Bulge pathfinders enabled an aerial resupply of the 101st Airborne Division.^[36]^[10]

In a history of the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion's wartime actions titled Stand in the Door! The Wartime History of the 509th Parachute Infantry, authors and 509th veterans Charles H. Doyle and Terrell Stewart provided an alternative history on how the first U.S. Army pathfinder unit was formed.

The pathfinders in the Pacific campaign operated slightly differently than their European pathfinder counterparts and pioneered a number of military "firsts". President Franklin D. Roosevelt, amidst the Quebec Conference in August 1943, was impressed by British General Orde Wingate's account of what could be accomplished in Burma with proper air support.^[12] To comply with Roosevelt's proposed air support for British long range penetration operations in Burma, the United States Army Air Forces created the 5318th Air Unit to support the Chindits. In March 1944, they were designated the 1st Air Commando Group by USAF General Hap Arnold. Arnold chose Colonel John R. Alison and Colonel Philip Cochran as co-commanders of the Air Commando Group.^[13]^[14]

In 1944 the strategy decided upon by the allied forces for the Burma Campaign consisted of fortified compounds inside Japanese territory due to increasing large Japanese patrols along the border.^[15] This change was in part forced upon them by strengthened Japanese patrols along the Burmese frontier, making a repeat of the successful infiltration in 1943 unlikely.^[15] In an imaginative move prompted by Colonel Philip Cochran's assurance that he could transport both troops and supplies by glider,^[16] Wingate arranged for the bulk of the force to enter Burma by air, greatly accelerating the force's ability to reach its target objectives.^[17] The pathfinders would land in gliders in preselected open fields in Burma, and prepare them for large-scale landings by transport aircraft. The air support provided by Cochran and Alison proved critical to the success of the operation.^[18] In three months, 600 sorties by Dakota transport aircraft transferred 9,000 troops, 1,300 pack animals and 245 tons of supplies to landing zones across Burma. Many of the soldiers who would later fight in Operation Thursday. The Air Commandos in Burma would achieve numerous military "firsts" such as; ground forces coordinating air strikes via radio, medevacing wounded by air. When the Burma road was reopened in January 1945 the Air Commandos were inactivated in preparation for the invasion of mainland Japan.^[14]

The term "Combat Control Team" comes from World War II where allied troop-carrier squadrons developed gliderborne teams called Combat Control Teams. A Combat Control Team consisted of one glider pilot and four enlisted technicians. They utilized a jeep and a trailer-mounted radio to pass critical information to aircraft. The first time they were used was during Operation Varsity in 1945, when two teams with the 18th Airborne Corps infiltrated German lines. They established forward airfields where they supported resupply operations and provided airfield control.^[19]

Korean War and birth of USAF CCTs

When the U.S. Air Force became a separate service in 1947, Air Force pathfinders were assigned to a provisional Pathfinder Squadron. The Air Force looked for ways to get rid of pathfinders, believing that electronic navigation aids could replace them and the pathfinders role became increasingly neglected by the Air Force. During the Korean War pathfinders were only used in the three main airdrops early in the war. Meanwhile, in Washington D.C. the Air Force and Army leadership were at odds about which service would have ownership of the pathfinder mission. The Department of Defense eventually sided with the Air Force having full control of all air traffic control duties. Despite the resolution the Army never inactivated their pathfinder units which has subsequently become more specialized towards helicopters. After the DOD sided with the Air Force being chosen for the pathfinder mission they expected six teams of pathfinders to be formed from Army-to-Air Force transfers but only got eleven men, enough to form one team. In 1953 the Pathfinder Squadron was discontinued and the pathfinder team was assigned to the 1st Aerial Port Squadron and officially designated a Combat Control Team.^[20]

The Army and Air Force remained at odds regarding pathfinder and CCT roles. In August 1953 the 10th Special Forces Group refused to allow CCTs to join in their joint tactical missions held at Dobbins AFB, Georgia. As a result, Tactical Air Command stopped all Army airlift missions until the Army allowed the CCTs to take part.^[20]

While the career field was still young and lacking in manpower from so few Army pathfinder transfers, Air Force headquarters solicited from the radio maintenance career field for more Combat Controllers. It was also stipulated that Combat Controllers would have to attend air traffic control school if they would be controlling aircraft from the ground. Because of their job, Combat Controllers had to have either an air traffic control AFSC or a radio maintenance AFSC in addition to jump school to become a Combat Controller. This gave rise to blousing trousers and wearing paratrooper boots, a tradition that still exists to the present.^[20]

The first time a Combat Control Team was utilized was during the 1958 Lebanon crisis to combat communist expansion and bolster the pro-Western Lebanese government.

Vietnam War

In the Vietnam War, Combat Controllers helped assure mission safety and expedited air traffic flow during countless airlifts. Combat Controllers also flew as forward air guides in support of indigenous forces in Laos and Cambodia. It has been reported that Combat Controllers conducted covert forward air control for U.S. and allied aircraft performing interdiction missions against Communist troops and supplies on the Ho Chi Minh trail.

As tactical air strikes began to be used in Laos, it became apparent that for the safety of noncombatants, some means of control was necessary.^[21] Beginning at least as early as July 1964, the absence of a close air support control system caused a variety of enterprising individuals to improvise procedures for marking bombing targets. At various times, ground markers (including bamboo arrows) and dropped smoke grenades were used. While some of these individuals had military training, such as the American Army Attaché, others had little or no specialized training in close air support. They varied in nationality, being Thai, Lao, or Hmong, as well as American.^[22] Both Continental Air Services, Inc and Air America pilots would sometimes serve as ad hoc forward air controllers.^[23]

Butterflies

To begin an operation of great secrecy, the U. S. Air Force originally forwarded four sergeants from Combat Control Teams in 1963. These sergeants turned in their uniforms and military identification and were supplied with false identification so they could work in civilian clothing. This process was designed to preserve the fiction of American non-involvement dubbed plausible deniability. Once "civilianized", the Butterflies flew in the right (co-pilot's) seat in Air America Helio Couriers and Pilatus Porters. They were often accompanied by a Lao or Thai interpreter in the back seat. The Air Commando sergeants directed the air strikes according to U. S. Air Force doctrine, using the radio call sign Butterfly.{{citation needed|date=August 2015}}

Two of the Butterfly Air Force combat controllers were Master Sergeant Charles Larimore Jones, soon joined by Technical Sergeant James J. Stanford.^[24] Another of the Butterflies was Major John J. Garrity, Jr., who in future would spend several years as the éminence grise of the American Embassy to Laos.^[25] They, and their successors, ran air strikes without notice or objection until General William Momyer discovered that enlisted men were in charge of air strikes; at that point, he ordered their replacement with rated fighter pilots. By that time, the number of Butterflies had escalated to three pairs.^[26] Both the impromptu strike controlling and the Butterfly effort ended with General Momyer's tirade in April 1966.^[27]

Development of rules of engagement by the Embassy also threw more reliance on increased control over the in-country close air support. So did the introduction of an integrated close air support system for Southeast Asia in April 1966.^[28] Also, beginning in April 1966, part of its effort to better direct air strikes, the U. S. Air Force installed four tactical air navigation systems in Laos to guide U. S. air strikes. One of these was emplaced on a mountain top at Lima Site 85, aimed across the border at Hanoi.^[29]

There were four Combat Controllers killed in action in Vietnam members of 8th Aerial Port Squadron Combat Control Team 3, Element C. Msgt Charles A.Paradise, TSgt Frederick L. Thrower, Airman 1st Class Gerard Louis Gauthier Jr, Airman 1st Class, William E Jerkins.^[30]

A1C ANDRE R. GUILLET, 1966,as a "Butterfly" forward air controller MIA – Laos^[31]

Cold War era

As a result of the Iran hostage crisis, US President Jimmy Carter ordered a rescue mission of the 52 diplomats held captive at the embassy of the United States, Tehran. The rescue mission was deemed Operation Eagle Claw and took place on 24 April 1980. Its failure, and the humiliating public debacle that ensued, damaged US prestige worldwide.^[32] The operation encountered many obstacles and was eventually aborted.

On 1 April 1980, three weeks before Operation Eagle Claw commenced, a U.S. Air Force Combat Controller, Major John T. Carney Jr., was flown in a Twin Otter to Desert One, a staging area in the South Khorasan Province of Iran, near Tabas by two CIA officers for a clandestine survey of an airstrip. Despite their casual approach to the mission, Carney successfully surveyed the airstrip, installed remotely operated infrared lights and a strobe to outline a landing pattern for pilots, and took soil samples to determine the load-bearing properties of the desert surface. At that time, the floor was hard-packed sand, but in the ensuing three weeks, an ankle-deep layer of powdery sand was deposited by sandstorms.^[33]{{#tag:ref|The "box four and one" pattern acted like a gun sight, with the distant fifth light at the end of the runway lined up in the center of the near four lights positioned at the approach end. The box provided a touchdown area and the far light marked the end of the rollout area.^[33]| group="Note"}}

25 October 1983, Combat Controllers jumped into Point Saline's, Grenada, in Operation Urgent Fury. They were key to opening the airway for 1st Battalion & 2nd Battalion, 75th Rangers in taking the unfinished airport.

Modern era

In 2004 Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld stated "some 85 percent of the air strikes in Operation Enduring Freedom were called in by Air Force Combat Controllers."^[5] Combat Controllers have received three of the five awarded Air Force Crosses since the Global War on Terror started in 2001, all three occurred while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

On 6 October 2009 12 Combat Controllers and Pararescuemen began an 812-mile trek across the Southern U.S. called the Tim Davis/Special Tactics Memorial March. The march was in remembrance of Special Tactics airmen who lost their lives since the Global War on Terror began and to increase awareness about the Special Operations Warrior Foundation which funds the education of surviving children of Special Operations personnel who are killed in action or training. The march began at the Medina annex on Lackland Air Force Base, Texas where the Combat Control career field begins and finished at Hurlburt Field, Florida where they graduate from Advanced Skills Training and become full-fledged Combat Controllers. The airmen marched in two-man teams for 24 hours each carrying 50 lb ruck sacks. The march was just completed ten days later.^[34]

Within 24 hours of the 2010 Haiti earthquake a team of Combat Controllers from the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron stationed at Hurlburt Field, Florida arrived at Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. 28 minutes after arriving the Combat Controllers assumed authority of air traffic control duties to allow planes carrying humanitarian aid to land safely.^[35]^[36] The Combat Controllers directed over 2,500 flights without incident from a card table using only hand radios.^[35]^[37] Under their direction planes were able to take off and land every five minutes, bringing in over 4 million pounds of supplies.^[36] The team leader of the Combat Controllers, Chief Master Sergeant Tony Travis, later was recognized as one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people of 2010 due to their efforts.^[36]^[38]

Again in late 2011 18 CCTs and PJs made the trek from Lackland AFB to Hurlburt Field after losing three airman when their Chinook was shot down in 2011.^[39] The airmen walked for 24 hours at a time in three person groups each carrying 50 lb ruck sacks, by the end of the trip the average airman had marched 144 miles.^[40]

In June 2014, Combat Controllers were deployed to Iraq as part of the contingent of U.S. military advisors ordered to the country by President Barack Obama in the military effort against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.^[41]

Former commander of United States Special Operations Command, General Bryan D. Brown, commented on Combat Controllers in a May 2011 interview with the publication, The Year in Special Operations 2011-2012 Edition, stating: "During this kind of warfare[Global War on Terror] the USAF combat controller [CCT/TAC-P] guys really carried an incredible load. During the opening days in Afghanistan, we deployed some SF teams without a CCT, and the difference between those that had controllers and those that didn't was dramatic. Quite frankly no one wants to go to war without them. They are admired, capable, and requested at a rate far greater than we could ever provide. Their efforts were critical in the early days of OEF and still are. Here is another force [whose] true impact on the battlefields around the world will never be known or appreciated. They are absolutely phenomenal."^[42]

Notable Combat Controllers

Warrant Officer Charles Larimore Jones (14 May 1932 – 23 November 2006),^[43] also known as Charlie Jones,^[43] was an architect of the U.S. Air Force's forward air control doctrine, as well as one of its early practitioners during the Laotian Civil War. He was trained in forward air control techniques as a Combat Controller in 1954. In 1962, he was one of the Operation Jungle Jim volunteers who reestablished the Air Commandos. He was the first Combat Controller committed solely to support the U.S. Army Special Forces. Based on his experience, in 1963 he was assigned to Hurlburt Field to write the field manual on forward air control while expanding the Combat Controller curriculum.

Staff Sergeant Robert Gutierrez received the Air Force Cross in 2011 for his actions on 5 October 2009 during a battle in Herat province, Afghanistan. After suffering from a sucking chest wound and collapsed lung from a bullet wound, a Special Forces medic inserted a seven-inch needle into his lung allowing him to breathe and he continued directing close air support and airstrikes. He was credited with saving the lives of nearly 30 American and Afghan forces.^[49] He was also present at the Battle of Shok Valley with Zachary Rhyner albeit with a different Special Forces team and said reportedly, "If it wasn't for Zach, I wouldn't be here."^[50] Gutierrez was a 2012 inductee for the Air Command and Staff College's Gathering of Eagles Program.^[51]

Staff Sergeant Ashley Spurlin was a competitor on the History Channel TV show Top Shot during its second season.^[52] He also took part in the first Tim Davis/Special Tactics Memorial March.^[34]

Staff Sergeant Scott Sather, a member of the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, was the first enlisted airman killed in action during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Camp Sather, a U.S. Air Force base on the west side of Baghdad International Airport was named after him.^[53]

CCT in popular culture

In the Transformers film franchise Tyrese Gibson plays a Combat Controller named Robert Epps. To play his part he was coached by Master Sergeant Ray Bolinger, a Combat Controller from the 22nd Special Tactics Squadron.^[54]

A class consisting of CCTs and PJs at the Air Force Combat Diver School was covered by Discovery Channel's program Surviving the Cut during season two, which originally aired 25 July 2011.

In 2012 Men's Health magazine featured an article titled The Special Operators you've never heard of where the author commented on the lack of public knowledge regarding Combat Controllers, "Let us face reality: the Navy SEALs get all the ink, the Army Rangers all the glory, the Marine Recons all the babes. Conversely, to the average guy on the street the mention of U.S. Air Force Special Operators inevitably elicits a look of bewilderment. The Air Force has those guys?"^[55]

In author Marko Kloos' Frontlines series of military science fiction books, the protagonist is a combat controller specializing in providing ground troops with space-based air support.

See also

References

1. ^{{cite web|author=Donna Miles |url=http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?storyID=123007567 |title=Combat controllers play key role in war on terror |publisher=Af.mil |accessdate=2013-05-11}}
2. ^¹²³⁴⁵⁶⁷⁸⁹¹⁰¹¹¹²¹³¹⁴¹⁵¹⁶{{cite web |url=http://www.af.mil/information/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=174 |title=Combat Control Fact Sheet |work=Air Force Special Operations Command |publisher=United States Air Force |accessdate=13 January 2013| archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20130628090639/http://www.af.mil/information/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=174 | archivedate = 2013-06-28| deadurl=yes}}
3. ^¹²{{cite web |url=http://www.airforce.com/careers/detail/combat-control-males-only/ |title=Combat Control career description |accessdate=12 January 2013| archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20140405090814/http://www.airforce.com/careers/detail/combat-control-males-only/ | archivedate = 2014-04-05| deadurl=no}}
4. ^{{cite web|url=http://sofrep.com/combat-controllers/ |title=Combat Controllers Overview |publisher=SOFREP |accessdate=2013-05-11| archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20140213090740/http://sofrep.com/combat-controllers/ | archivedate = 2014-02-13| deadurl=no}}
5. ^¹²{{cite web |url=http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=26819 |title=Combat Controllers Play Key Role in Terror War |author=Donna Miles |publisher=American Forces Press Service |date=23 April 2004 |accessdate=12 January 2013 | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20140115134643/http://www.defense.gov/News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=26819 | archivedate = 2014-01-15| deadurl=no}}
6. ^¹²³⁴⁵⁶⁷⁸⁹{{cite web |url=http://www.afsoc.af.mil/specialtactics/ccttraining.asp |title=CCT Training |accessdate=12 January 2012 | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20140109032246/http://www.afsoc.af.mil/specialtactics/ccttraining.asp | archivedate = 2014-01-09| deadurl=no}}
7. ^{{cite web |url=http://usmilitary.about.com/od/airforcejoin/a/hardjobs.htm |title=Hardest Air Force Jobs |accessdate=11 January 2013| archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20131104222128/http://usmilitary.about.com/od/airforcejoin/a/hardjobs.htm | archivedate = 2013-11-04| deadurl=no}}
8. ^{{cite web |url=http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2010/05/airforce_critical_skills_051410/ |title=AETC aims to lower war-zone job washouts |author=Michelle Tan |publisher=Air Force Times |date=14 May 2010 |accessdate=11 January 2013 }}
9. ^Hoyt (2007), p. 21
10. ^{{cite web |url=http://www.ccshf.org/Pathfinders.html |title=PathFinders Born |accessdate=20 January 2013|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029205710/http://www.ccshf.org/Pathfinders.html |archivedate=2013-10-29|deadurl=yes}}
11. ^Charles H. Doyle and Terrell Stewart. Stand in the Door!: The Wartime History of the 509th Parachute Infantry. Phillips Publications, Williamstown, NJ.
12. ^p.176 Busch, Bryan Cooper Bunker Hill to Bastogne: Elite Forces and American Society 2006 Brasseys
13. ^{{cite web |title=95 Year Old Air Commando Legend Shares History with Today's Special Operators |url=http://www2.afsoc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123098074 |accessdate=20 January 2013 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104221157/http://www2.afsoc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123098074 |archivedate=4 November 2013 |deadurl=yes |df=dmy-all }}
14. ^¹{{cite web |url=http://www.ccshf.org/PacificTheater.html |title=The Pacific Theatre |accessdate=20 January 2013|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131031091842/http://www.ccshf.org/PacificTheater.html |archivedate=2013-10-31|deadurl=yes}}
15. ^¹Slim, p. 219
16. ^Alison, John (Maj. Gen.), Phil Cochran, The Most Unforgettable Character I've Met {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502085852/http://www.specialoperations.net/ColCochran.htm |date=2 May 2013 }}
17. ^Masters, p. 172
18. ^Masters, pp. 146–147
19. ^¹²{{cite web |url=http://www.ccshf.org/EuroTheater.html |title=US Air Force Combat Control Teams – A Unique History |accessdate=20 January 2013|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131031081732/http://www.ccshf.org/EuroTheater.html |archivedate=2013-10-31|deadurl=yes}}
20. ^¹²{{cite web|url=http://www.ccshf.org/book/Chapter1.pdf |title=The 1950's – A long, hard gestation |accessdate=20 January 2013 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110125150437/http://www.ccshf.org/book/Chapter1.pdf |archivedate=25 January 2011 }}
21. ^{{cite book |title= Classified Secret: Controlling Air Strikes in the Clandestine War in Laos |pages= xvi – xvii, 3.}}
22. ^{{cite book |title= Classified Secret: Controlling Air Strikes in the Clandestine War in Laos |pages= 28, 37, 55, 80 }}
23. ^{{cite book |title= Classified Secret: Controlling Air Strikes in the Clandestine War in Laos |pages= 103, 121.}}
24. ^{{cite book |title= Hit My Smoke: Forward Air Controllers in Southeast Asia |page= 29.}}
25. ^{{cite book |title= The Ravens: The Men Who Flew in America's Secret War in Laos |page= 109 }}
26. ^{{cite book |title= Hit My Smoke: Forward Air Controllers in Southeast Asia |page= 29; 113–114 }}
27. ^{{cite book |title= Classified Secret: Controlling Air Strikes in the Clandestine War in Laos |pages= 2, 3.}}
28. ^{{cite book |title= Classified Secret: Controlling Air Strikes in the Clandestine War in Laos |page= 5.}}
29. ^{{cite book |title= One Day Too Long: Top Secret Site 85 and the Bombing of North Vietnam |pages= 26–27 }}
30. ^{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/powmia/pw108574/|title= South Viet Nam pre-1975 Aircraft Accident report}}
31. ^{{cite web|url= http://www.usafspecialtactics.com/memorial/|title=USAF Special Tactics Memorial}}
32. ^{{cite news |title=Jimmy Carter: Iran hostage rescue should have worked |newspaper=USA Today |date=17 September 2010 |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-09-17-iran-hostages-jimmy-carter_N.htm}}
33. ^¹Bottoms (2007), pp 26-31
34. ^¹²{{cite web |url=http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/timdavis-specialtacticsmemorialmarch/samschindler |title=SPECIAL OPERATIONS WARRIOR FOUNDATION Tim Davis/Special Tactics Memorial March |date=28 November 2009 |accessdate=20 January 2013| archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20140108005433/http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/timdavis-specialtacticsmemorialmarch/samschindler | archivedate = 2014-01-08| deadurl=no}}
35. ^¹{{cite web |url=http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/journal/docs-temp/355-elton.pdf |title=Haiti: Boots on the Ground Perspective |author=Colonel Buck Elton |publisher=Small Wars Journal |accessdate=12 January 2013 }}
36. ^¹²³{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1984685_1984949_1985270,00.html |title=2010 Time Magazine's 100 most influential people: Chief Master Sergeant Tony Travis |publisher=Time Magazine |author=Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger |date=29 April 2010 |accessdate= 13 January 2013| archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20130817114924/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1984685_1984949_1985270,00.html | archivedate = 2013-08-17| deadurl=no}}
37. ^{{cite web|url=http://news.charlesayoub.com/index.php/article/269/Chief%20Master%20Sergeant%20Tony%20Travis |title=Chief Master Sergeant Tony Travis |accessdate=13 January 2013 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160130065756/http://news.charlesayoub.com/index.php/article/269/Chief%20Master%20Sergeant%20Tony%20Travis |archivedate=30 January 2016 }}
38. ^{{cite web |url=http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123202171 |title=TIME magazine recognizes Airman in top 100 |author=Maj. David Small |publisher=National Media Outreach Office |date=29 April 2010 |accessdate= 12 January 2013}}
39. ^{{cite web |url=http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123276407 |title=Special tactics Airmen march to honor fallen comrades |date=19 October 2011 |accessdate=20 January 2013 }}
40. ^{{cite web |url=http://airman.dodlive.mil/2011/11/mission-complete/111016-f-pv498-070/ |title=111016-F-PV498-070 |accessdate=20 January 2013| archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20130222041510/http://airman.dodlive.mil/2011/11/mission-complete/111016-f-pv498-070/ | archivedate = 2013-02-22| deadurl=no}}
41. ^{{cite web |url=http://welcomehomeblog.com/2014/09/30/air-force-combat-controller-surprises-girlfriend/ |title=Air Force Combat Controller Surprises Girlfriend {{!}} Welcome Home Blog }}
42. ^{{cite web|url=http://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/a-warrior%E2%80%99s-life-an-interview-with-gen-bryan-%E2%80%9Cdoug%E2%80%9D-brown-usa-ret/ |title=A Warrior's Life: An Interview with Gen. Bryan "Doug" Brown, USA (Ret.) |publisher=Defense Media Network |date=2011-05-31 |accessdate=2013-05-11| archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20130513100200/http://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/a-warrior%e2%80%99s-life-an-interview-with-gen-bryan-%e2%80%9cdoug%e2%80%9d-brown-usa-ret/ | archivedate = 2013-05-13| deadurl=no}}
43. ^¹{{citation |contribution=Obituary |contribution-url=http://www.emeraldcoastfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Charles-Larimore-Jones-16230/#!/Obituary |title=Charles Larimore Jones |location=Ft Walton Beach |publisher=Emerald Coast Funeral Home |date=2006 |accessdate=22 September 2015 }}.
44. ^{{cite web|url=https://www.military.com/daily-news/2018/04/20/report-fallen-air-force-tech-sgt-approved-medal-honor.html|title=Report: Fallen Air Force Tech Sgt. Approved for Medal of Honor|date=April 20, 2018|website=Military.com|accessdate=May 29, 2018}}
45. ^{{cite web|url= http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123010236|title= Ship takes heroic legacy to the fight|accessdate= 15 January 2010 |author=Becky J. LaRaia |author2=Lisa Terry McKeown |date= 8 April 2005|publisher= US Air Force}}
46. ^{{cite web |url=http://militarytimes.com/citations-medals-awards/recipient.php?recipientid=3601 |publisher=Military Times |title=Hall of Valor: Zachary Rhyner |accessdate=17 January 2013 | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20140408230511/http://www.militarytimes.com/citations-medals-awards/recipient.php?recipientid=3601 | archivedate = 2014-04-08| deadurl=no}}
47. ^{{cite web|url=http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123139145 |title=Combat controller receives Air Force Cross, Purple Heart |date=11 March 2009 |accessdate=17 January 2013 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110116122601/http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123139145 |archivedate=16 January 2011 }}
48. ^{{cite web|url=http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/12/army_combatcamera_121508w/ |publisher=Army Times |title=Valor of combat cameraman earns him Silver Star |author=Gina Cavallaro |date=15 December 2008 |accessdate=17 January 2013}}
49. ^{{cite web |url=http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/09/19/air-force-hero-in-action-staff-sergeant-robert-gutierrez/ |title=An Air Force Hero in Action – Staff Sergeant Robert Gutierrez |publisher=Fox News |author=Michael Auslin |date=19 September 2011 |accessdate=20 January 2013| archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20120627144947/http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/09/19/air-force-hero-in-action-staff-sergeant-robert-gutierrez/ | archivedate = 2012-06-27| deadurl=no}}
50. ^{{cite web |url=http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123129495 |publisher=Air Force Special Operations Command Public Affairs |title=Airman saves lives in Afghanistan |author=Capt. Laura Ropelis |date=24 December 2008 |accessdate=20 January 2013}}
51. ^{{cite web|url=http://www.goefoundation.com/index.php/eagles/biographies/g/gutierrez-robert-jr/|title=Eagle Biography: Robert Gutierrez, Jr.|accessdate=7 March 2013}}
52. ^{{cite web |url=http://cheaperthandirt.com/blog/?p=7571 |title=Bronze Star Recipient and Top Shot Competitor Ashley Spurlin |date=15 April 2011 |accessdate=16 January 2013| archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20121010114813/http://cheaperthandirt.com/blog/?p=7571 | archivedate = 2012-10-10| deadurl=yes}}
53. ^{{cite web|url=http://www.aetc.af.mil/News/Commentaries/Display/tabid/138/Article/263804/scott-sather-strived-for-excellence-influenced-many.aspx |title=Scott Sather - strived for excellence, influenced many > Air Education and Training Command > Display |publisher=Aetc.af.mil |date= |accessdate=2015-10-15}}
54. ^{{cite web|url=http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123021491 |publisher= |title=Airman trains Hollywood actors for 'Transformers' movie |author= |date=12 June 2006 |accessdate=15 January 2013 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102221114/http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123021491 |archivedate=2 November 2012 }}
55. ^{{cite web |url=http://www.menshealth.com/best-life/special-military-operators |title=The Special Operators you've never heard of |author=Bob Drury |publisher=Men's Health |date=13 March 2012 |accessdate=12 January 2013 | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20120625074631/http://www.menshealth.com/best-life/special-military-operators | archivedate = 2012-06-25| deadurl=no}}