The 551st Special Operations Squadron was a special operations squadron of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

, assigned to the

Air Force Special Operations Air Warfare Center The United States Air Force Special Operations Air Warfare Center (AFSOAWC) is headquartered at Hurlburt Field, FL, with satellite locations at Duke Field, FL, and Robins AFB, GA. It works under the supervision of the Air Force Special Operation ...

until 2017 and then assigned to the 492nd Special Operations Wing. It was based at

Cannon Air Force Base Cannon Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base, located approximately southwest of Clovis, New Mexico. The host unit at Cannon is the 27th Special Operations Wing (27 SOW) also known as "The Steadfast Line". It is under the jurisdi ...

, New Mexico. The 551st had previously been stationed at

Kirtland Air Force Base Kirtland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base. It is located in the southeast quadrant of the Albuquerque, New Mexico, urban area, adjacent to the Albuquerque International Sunport. The base was named for the early Army aviator C ...

, New Mexico as an

Air Education and Training Command The Air Education and Training Command (AETC) is one of the nine List of major commands of the United States Air Force, Major Commands (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force (USAF), reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force. It was esta ...

unit within the

58th Special Operations Wing The 58th Special Operations Wing (58 SOW) is a combat unit of the United States Air Force stationed at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. The 58 SOW is part of the Air Education and Training Command (AETC) Nineteenth Air Force. The 58 SOW ...

from 15 March 1976 until its inactivation on 10 May 2007. The squadron was reactivated in 2009 and assigned to

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 ...

to train aircrews on the

Lockheed MC-130 The Lockheed MC-130 is the basic designation for a family of special mission aircraft operated by the United States Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), a wing of the Air Education and Training Command, and an AFSOC-gained wing of the ...

and

Lockheed AC-130 The Lockheed AC-130 gunship is a heavily armed, long-endurance, 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, navigation, and fir ...

. It was inactivated again on 15 Jun 2021.

History

The 551st was originally designated the 1551st Flying Training Squadron and was assigned to the 1550th Aircrew Training and Test Wing (later the 1550th Combat Crew Training Wing). In 1994, it was redesignated the 551st Special Operations Squadron, and was reassigned to the

58th Operations Group The 58th Operations Group (58 OG) is the operational flying component of the United States Air Force 58th Special Operations Wing. It is stationed at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. During World War II, the units predecessor unit, the 58 ...

. The 551st conducted helicopter training until it was inactivated in 2007. It is also responsible for special operations contingencies, exercises, and humanitarian rescue missions. The squadron conducted training on the

Pave Low The Sikorsky MH-53 Pave Low series is a retired long-range special operations and combat search and rescue (CSAR) helicopter for the United States Air Force. The series was upgraded from the HH-53B/C, variants of the Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stal ...

helicopter but suspended these operations due to the looming retirement of the helicopter.

Lineage

* Designated as the 1551st Flying Training Squadron on 1 April 1971 and activated * Redesignated 551st Flying Training Squadron on 1 October 1991 * Redesignated 551st Special Operations Squadron on 1 April 1994 * Inactivated on 10 May 2007Research Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Status Report, May 2007, Maxwell AFB, AL * Activated on 25 July 2009Research Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Status Report, July 2009, Maxwell AFB, AL * Inactivated on 15 Jun 2021

Assignments

* 1550th Aircrew Training and Test Wing (later 1550th Combat Crew Training Wing), 1 April 1971 * 542d Operations Group, 1 October 1991 * 58th Operations Group, 1 Apr 1994 – 10 May 2007 *

Air Force Special Operations Training Center The United States Air Commando Development Center is an active United States Air Force unit stationed at Hurlburt Field, Florida, assigned to Air Force Special Operations Command. It was first activated in October 1983 as the Special Operatio ...

, 25 July 2009 *

, 11 February 2013 * 492d Special Operations Training Group, 17 May 2017 – 15 Jun 2021

Stations

Hill Air Force Base Hill Air Force Base is a major U.S. Air Force (USAF) base located in Davis County, Utah, just south of the city of Ogden, and bordering the Cities of Layton, Clearfield, Riverdale, Roy, and Sunset with its largest border immediately adja ...

, Utah, 1 April 1972 *

, New Mexico, 15 March 1976 – 10 May 2007 *

, New Mexico, 25 July 2009 – 15 Jun 2021

Aircraft

Sikorsky HH-3 Jolly Green Giant The Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King (company designation S-61) is an American twin-engine anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter designed and built by Sikorsky Aircraft. A landmark design, it was one of the first ASW rotorcraft to use turboshaft engine ...

, 1971-1992 *

Kaman HH-43 Huskie The Kaman HH-43 Huskie is a helicopter developed and produced by the American rotorcraft manufacturer Kaman Aircraft. It is perhaps most distinctive for its use of twin intermeshing rotors, having been largely designed by the German aeronautical ...

, 1971-1975 * Sikorsky HH-53 Super Jolly Green Giant, 1971-1987 * Sikorsky MH-53J Pave Low III, * Lockheed HC-130 Hercules, 1973-1987 *

Bell UH-1 Huey The Bell UH-1 Iroquois (nicknamed "Huey") is a utility military helicopter designed and produced by the American aerospace company Bell Helicopter. It is the first member of the prolific Huey family, as well as the first turbine-powered helico ...

, 1987-2007 *

HH-60 Pave Hawk The Sikorsky MH-60/HH-60 Pave Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift utility military helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. The HH-60 Pave Hawk and its successor the HH-60W Jolly Green II are combat rescue helicopters, though ...

, 1990-2007 * Lockheed MC-130W Combat Spear, 2009-2021 *

Lockheed AC-130H Spectre Lockheed (originally spelled Loughead) may refer to: Brands and enterprises * Lockheed Corporation, a former American aircraft manufacturer * Lockheed Martin, formed in 1995 by the merger of Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta ** Lockheed Mar ...

, 2009-2015 *

General Atomics MQ-1 Predator 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 ...

, 2009-2021 * Lockheed AC-130W Stinger II, 2009-2021 * Lockheed MC-130J Combat Shadow II, 2009-2021 *

General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper (sometimes called Predator B) is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV, one component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS)) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations, developed by General Atomi ...

, 2009-2021 * Dornier C-146 Wolfhound, 2009-2021 * Pilatus U-28, 2009-2021 * PZL C-145 Skytruck, 2009-2021

Decorations

Air Force Outstanding Unit Award

* 1 April 1974 – 31 May 1976 * 1 April 1976 – 31 March 1978 * 1 July 1985 – 30 June 1987 * 1 July 1987 – 30 June 1989 * 1 January 1993 – 30 June 1994 * 1 July 1994 – 31 December 1995 * 1 July 1996 – 30 June 1998 * 1 July 1998 – 30 June 2000 * 1 July 2001 – 30 June 2002 * 1 July 2002 – 30 June 2003 * 1 July 2009 – 23 May 2011

References

Notes

; Explanatory notes ; Citations {{Reflist, 30em

External links

The PAVE Cave (unofficial PAVE LOW website)

551 __NOTOC__ Year 551 ( DLI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 551 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for ...

Military units and formations in New Mexico