The 17th Special Tactics Squadron is one of the ten Special Tactics Squadrons of

United States Air Force Special Operations Command Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), headquartered at Hurlburt Field, Florida, is the special operations component of the United States Air Force. An Air Force major command (MAJCOM), AFSOC is also the U.S. Air Force component command ...

. It is garrisoned at

Fort Benning Fort Benning (named Fort Moore from 2023–2025) is a United States Army post in the Columbus, Georgia area. Located on Georgia's border with Alabama, Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve compone ...

, Georgia.

Overview

Special Tactics operators with the 17th STS, 24th Special Operations Wing, Air Force Special Operations Command, deploy with special operations forces to provide joint terminal attack control and maximize the impacts of air power by controlling and directing precise strikes to destroy the enemy. The squadron's primary mission is to provide special tactics Tactical Air Control Party Specialists (TACP) to the Army's

75th Ranger Regiment The 75th Ranger Regiment, also known as the United States Army Rangers, Army Rangers, is the United States Army Special Operations Command's premier light infantry and direct-action raid force. The 75th Ranger Regiment is also part of Joint S ...

for unconventional operations.

Organization

The 17th STS is made up of a headquarters unit and two operational detachments. The headquarters unit is stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia. Detachment 1 (Red Team) is stationed at Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia and is attached to 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. Detachment 2 (Silver Team) is stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington and is attached to the 2d Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. The squadron is primarily made up of TACP airmen. In addition to the TACPs in the unit, there are special reconnaissance airmen, combat controllers, special tactics officers, and combat mission support airmen. Each detachment consists of 13 TACPs and one Tactical Air Control Party officer (TACP-O). They have access to weaponry such as the MK46, M4, MK18, MK17, MK20, and sidearms such as the M9,

Glock 19 Glock (; stylized as GLOCK) is a brand of polymer-Receiver (firearms), framed, Recoil operation#Short recoil operation, short-recoil-operated, striker-fired, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer G ...

, and M17.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 17th Air Support Operations Squadron on 24 June 1994 : Activated on 1 July 1994 * Redesignated 17th Special Tactics Squadron on 8 August 2013

Assignments

18th Air Support Operations Group The 18th Air Support Operations Group is a combat support group of the United States Air Force. It is located at Pope Field, North Carolina. The group was originally the 18th Air Support Communications Squadron and served in the Mediterranean an ...

1 July 1994 * 720th Special Tactics Group 1 October 2008 – 30 September 2020 * 724th Special Tactics Group 1 October 2020 – present

Stations

*Fort Benning, Georgia, 1 July 1994 – present

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

24th globalsecurity.org
{{Air force infantry

017 017 may refer to: * DOL-017, GameCube console * '' Global Underground 017'', DJ mix album * Road FC 017, 2014 Mixed Martial Arts event * Swift 017.n, racing car * Tyrrell 017, Formula One racing car See also * 17 (disambiguation) Seventeen o ...

Military units and formations established in 1994