21st Special Tactics Squadron
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The 21st Special Tactics Squadron is one of the special tactics units of the
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
Pope Field Pope Field is a U.S. military facility located northwest of the central business district of Fayetteville, North Carolina, Fayetteville, in Spring Lake, North Carolina, Spring Lake, Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States.. Federal A ...
, North Carolina.


Mission

Special Tactics Squadrons are organized, trained and equipped specifically for various
special operations Special operations or special ops are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment." Special operations ma ...
missions facilitating air operations on the battlefield. They conduct
combat search and rescue Combat search and rescue (CSAR) are search and rescue operations that are carried out during war that are within or near combat zones. A CSAR mission may be carried out by a task force of helicopters, ground-attack aircraft, aerial refueling ta ...
missions, collect intelligence, as well as call in
close air support Close air support (CAS) is defined as aerial warfare actions—often air-to-ground actions such as strafes or airstrikes—by military aircraft against hostile targets in close proximity to friendly forces. A form of fire support, CAS requires ...
or
airstrikes An airstrike, air strike, or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighter aircraft, attack aircraft, bombers, attack helicopters, and drones. The official d ...
against enemy combatants and are often partnered with other U.S. special operations forces overseas.


Lineage

* Designated as the 1721st Combat Control Squadron and activated on 1 July 1984 : Redesignated 624th Combat Control Squadron on 1 June 1992 : Inactivated 1 October 1993 * Redesignated 21st Special Tactics Squadron on 1 May 1996 and activated


Assignments

*
Twenty-First Air Force The Twenty-First Air Force (21 AF) is an inactive numbered air force of the United States Air Force. It was last active as the 21st Expeditionary Mobility Task Force (21 EMTF), stationed at the McGuire AFB entity of Joint Base McGuire–Dix–La ...
, 1 July 1984 * 1725th Combat Control Group, 1 March 1991 * 624th Airlift Support Group, 1 June 1992 – 1 October 1993 *
720th Special Tactics Group The 720th Special Tactics Group is one of the special operations ground components of the 24th Special Operations Wing, assigned to Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) of the United States Air Force. The group is headquartered at Hurlbur ...
, 1 May 1996 – present


Stations

*
Pope Air Force Base Pope Field is a U.S. military facility located northwest of the central business district of Fayetteville, in Spring Lake, Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States.. Federal Aviation Administration. effective 15 November 2012. Forme ...
, North Carolina , 1 July 1984 – 1 October 1993 * Pope Air Force Base (later Pope Field), 1 May 1996 – present


Awards and campaigns


Notable members

* Senior Airman
Zachary Rhyner Zachary James Rhyner (born June 21, 1986) is a medically retired Combat Controller (CCT) in the United States Air Force who received the Air Force Cross (United States), Air Force Cross for his actions in the Battle of Shok Valley on 6 April 2008 ...
, a Combat Controller, was the first living recipient of the Air Force Cross during the
War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...
. He was awarded the Air Force Cross for his actions during the
Battle of Shok Valley The Battle of Shok Valley, also known as Operation Commando Wrath, was a joint U.S.-Afghan raid designed to kill or capture Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the leader of Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin (HIG) in the Shok Valley of Nuristan Province of Afghanistan ...
on 6 April 2008 in
Nuristan Province Nuristan, also spelled as Nurestan or Nooristan (Pashto: ; Katë: ), is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the eastern part of the country. It is divided into seven districts and is Afghanistan's least populous province, with a ...
,
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
. According to the citation, during the battle he directed
Close air support Close air support (CAS) is defined as aerial warfare actions—often air-to-ground actions such as strafes or airstrikes—by military aircraft against hostile targets in close proximity to friendly forces. A form of fire support, CAS requires ...
and
Airstrikes An airstrike, air strike, or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighter aircraft, attack aircraft, bombers, attack helicopters, and drones. The official d ...
totalling 4,570 cannon rounds, nine
Hellfire missiles The AGM-114 Hellfire is an American missile developed for anti-armor use, later developed for precision drone strikes against other target types, especially high-value targets. It was originally developed under the name " Heliborne laser, fi ...
, 162 rockets, a dozen 500-pound bombs and one 2,000-pound bomb. As a result of the same battle ten U.S. Army soldiers, nine
Special Forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...
and one Combat Cameraman, received the
Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...
. *20 September 2011 21st Special Tactics Squadron Combat Controller Staff Sgt. Robert Gutierrez received the Air Force Cross for extraordinary heroism. On 5 October 2009 Gutierrez was embedded in a joint US/Afghan National Army Special Forces 30 man unit as the only qualified joint terminal attack controller on a mission in Afghanistan when the unit came under intense enemy fire. Despite being shot, Gutierrez called in three danger close air strikes on the enemy. * Senior Airman Dustin Temple, a Combat Controller, received the Air Force Cross for his actions during a 48-hour battle 27–29 September 2014 against Taliban forces in the Kajaki district of
Helmand province Helmand (Pashto language, Pashto/Dari language, Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering ...
. He was attached to U.S. Army Special Forces team from the
7th Special Forces Group The 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) (7th SFG) (A) is an operational unit of the United States Army Special Forces activated on 20 May 1960. It was reorganized from the 77th Special Forces Group, which was also stationed at Fort Bragg, Nort ...
with two other 21st STS members and accompanied by Afghan commandos. Temple called in dozens of airstrikes from various aircraft, among them,
F-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it e ...
s,
AH-1s The Bell AH-1 Cobra is a single-engined attack helicopter developed and manufactured by the American rotorcraft manufacturer Bell Helicopter. A member of the prolific Huey family, the AH-1 is also referred to as the HueyCobra or Snake. The ...
,
AC-130 The Lockheed AC-130 gunship is a heavily armed, long-endurance, attack aircraft, ground-attack variant of the C-130 Hercules transport, fixed-wing aircraft. It carries a wide array of ground-attack weapons that are integrated with sensors, nav ...
s and an
MQ-1 The General Atomics MQ-1 Predator (often referred to as the Predator drone) is an American remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) built by General Atomics that was used primarily by the United States Air Force (USAF) and Central Intelligence Agency ( ...
. Over the course of the battle he controlled 28 helicopters and 20 fixed wing aircraft in a total of 26 engagements. After 45 hours of fighting a resupply helicopter dropped critically needed ammunition to the U.S. and Afghan forces. Temple and two other teammates braved enemy fire across open terrain multiple times to recover the ammunition. The Army team-leader Captain Evan Lacenski carried a critically wounded Green Beret over 300 meters in open terrain to the
MEDEVAC Medical evacuation, often shortened to medevac or medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to patients requiring evacuation or transport using medically equipped air ambulances, helicopters an ...
helicopter. He was credited with saving 80 lives as a result of his actions. Along with Temple receiving the Air Force Cross, the other two 21 STS members received the
Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...
for their actions during the battle.


References


Notes


Bibliography

{{Air force infantry Military units and formations in North Carolina
021 069 is: * in Brazil, the telephone area code for the city of Rio de Janeiro and surrounding cities (Greater Rio de Janeiro) * in China, the telephone area code for the city of Shanghai. * in Indonesia, the area code for the city of Jakarta and su ...