24th Special Tactics Squadron
24th STS members complete fast rope and hoisting training during exercise Advanced Guard atHolloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, 2014
Active	1941–1944; 1987–present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Type	Special Mission Unit
Part of	United States Special Operations Command Joint Special Operations Command Air Force Special Operations Command 24th Special Operations Wing 724th Special Tactics Group
Garrison/HQ	Pope Field, North Carolina
Engagements	Operation Just Cause[1] Somali Civil War[2] Operation Restore Hope Battle of Mogadishu Global War on Terrorism War in Afghanistan Iraq War
Decorations	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award withCombat "V" Device Gallant Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award[1]
Insignia
24th Special Tactics Squadron emblem(Approved 22 June 1990)[1]

The24th Special Tactics Squadron is one of theSpecial Tactics units of theUnited States Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). Garrisoned atPope Field, North Carolina, it is the U.S. Air Force component ofJoint Special Operations Command (JSOC).^[3][4] The unit's webpage describes it as "the Air Force's special operations ground force".

As the Air Force'sTier 1 unit, the 24th STS provides special operations airmen to theJoint Special Operations Command, includingPararescuemen,Combat Controllers,Special Reconnaissance, andTactical Air Control Party personnel. 24th STS members are also trained to conduct classified and clandestine operations such asdirect action,counter-terrorism,counter-insurgency,hostage rescue, andspecial reconnaissance.^[5]24th STS members conduct some missions on their own, but are mostly known as enablers to the Army's1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (a.k.a. Delta Force) and the Navy's Special Warfare Development Group, orDEVGRU (a.k.a. SEAL Team 6).^[6]

The Special Tactics Squadron is the oldest of the U.S. military's special forces groups, dating to World War II, before the U.S. military adopted a widespread special operations doctrine.^[7]

Thesquadron traces its lineage to the 24th Air Corps Interceptor Control Squadron, formed in October 1941 atHamilton Field, California. It was the director unit for the24th Pursuit Group, which was formed simultaneously atClark Field, Philippines, as the headquarters forpursuit squadrons of thePhilippine Department Air Force.

After completing training, the squadron sailed for the Philippines on theUSATPresident Garfield on 6 December 1941. After the following day's Japanese attacks onPearl Harbor andClark Field, thePresident Garfield returned to port on 10 December and the squadron returned to Hamilton Field.

Although nominally assigned to the 24th Group from January through October 1942, the squadron served withair defense forces on the Pacific coast until it was disbanded on 31 March 1944, when theArmy Air Forces converted its units in the United States from rigid table-of-organization units to more flexible base units. Its personnel and equipment were transferred to the 411th AAF Base Unit (Fighter Wing) atBerkeley, California.

The 24th Special Tactics Squadron was called Brand X from 1977 to 1981. Then it was called Det 1 MACOS (Detachment One, Military Airlift Command Operations Staff).^[8] In 1983 it was renamed Det 4 NAFCOS (Detachment Four, Numbered Air Force Combat Operations Staff), in 1987 it became 1724th Combat Control Squadron, and then in the same year the 1724th Special Tactics Squadron. In 1992 it was finally renamed 24th Special Tactics Squadron.^[9]

In 1989, the 1724th Special Tactics Squadron participated in theUnited States invasion of Panama.^[10][1] In 1993, the 24th STS deployed 11 personnel including the unit commander, Lt. Col. Jim Oeser, as part of JSOC'sTask Force Ranger duringOperation Restore Hope.^[2] Several airmen were decorated for providing lifesaving medical care to wounded soldiers in the 1993Battle of Mogadishu: Pararescuemen Technical Sergeant Tim Wilkinson received theAir Force Cross and Master Sergeant Scott Fales theSilver Star.^[11] Combat Controller (CCT) SSgt. Jeffrey W. Bray received the Silver Star for coordinating helicopter attack runs throughout the night around their positions.^[11][12][13]

From 15 to 20 September 2000, the 24th STS and the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron took part in the annual Canadian military exercise, Search and Rescue Exercise (SAREX). This was the first time Special Tactics units took part in SAREX.^[14][15]

The squadron was heavily involved in combat operations inIraq andAfghanistan, where the unit was part of the JSOC groupingsTask Force 121,Task Force 6-26 andTask Force 145.^[16] DuringOperation Rhino, two 24th STS operators were among the members of Task Force Sword that established a forward arming and refueling point (FARP) at Dalbandin, on the border withPakistan.^[17] On November 13, an eight-man 24th STS element, supporting thirty-two Rangers from B Co., 3rd Ranger Battalion, executed a combat jump to seize a desert landing strip (LZ Bastogne).^[18] It was 24th STS's second combat jump of the war.^[18] At LZ Bastogne, 24th STS was responsible for preparing the airstrip to receive twoMC-130 Combat Talons, each ferrying two ofDelta Force'sAH-6 Little Bird gunships, which would (once unloaded) proceed to use LZ Bastogne as a FARP for their operations.^[18] 24th STS was so frequently tasked with the mission of using apenetrometer to ensure the soil could support the weight of the Combat Talons carrying Little Birds, that they did more HALO jumping than any other unit in JSOC with at least 10 separate combat HALO jumps during the early days of the war.^[19]

In 2003, members of the unit made two combat jumps in the initial phases of the Iraq War alongside the3rd Ranger Battalion. The first was on 24 March 2003 near theSyrian border in the Iraqi town ofAl Qaim, where they secured a small desert landing strip to allow follow-on coalition forces into the area. The second combat jump was two days later nearHaditha, Iraq, where they secured theHaditha Dam.^[20]

On 8 April 2003 Combat Controller Scott Sather, a member of the 24th STS,^[21] became the first airman killed in combat inOperation Iraqi Freedom, nearTikrit, Iraq. He was attached to a small team from theRegimental Reconnaissance Company. The RRD team and Sather were operating alongsideDelta Force, under Lieutenant Colonel Pete Blaber, west ofBaghdad. They were tasked with deceiving the Iraqi army into believing the main U.S. invasion was coming from the west in order to preventSaddam Hussein from escaping into Syria.^[22]Sather Air Base was named after him.^[23]

The 24th STS was a part of JSOC'sTask Force 145 which was a provisional grouping specifically charged with hunting down high-value al-Qaeda and Iraqi leaders includingAl-Qaeda in Iraq leaderAbu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed in June 2006.^[24]

The squadron lost three members – PJs John Brown and Daniel Zerbe and CCT Andrew Harvell – in 2011 when the Chinook in which they were flying wasshot down in Afghanistan.^[25] To honor them, 18 members of AFSOC marched 800 miles fromLackland Air Force Base,San Antonio, Texas toHurlburt Field, Florida.^[26]

• PJ Tim Wilkinson received theAir Force Cross for his actions during the 1993Battle of Mogadishu.^[27] Wilkinson was portrayed byTy Burrell in the 2001 filmBlack Hawk Down which chronicled the events of the Battle of Mogadishu.^[28]
• CCTJohn Chapman was posthumously awarded theAir Force Cross, later upgraded to theMedal of Honor. He is the first US Air Force member to receive the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam Era, for his actions in theBattle of Takur Ghar during theWar in Afghanistan.^[29] In 2005 a U.S. NavyBuffalo Soldier-classcontainer ship was renamed theTSgt John A. Chapman in Chapman's honor.^[30] However, it would take 16 years for him to be awarded one, due in large part to the Navy SEALs' attempts to block his Medal of Honor.^[31]
• PJRamon Colon-Lopez, a formerSenior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was a member of the 24th STS twice. From February 1999 – January 2005 Colon-Lopez was a Special Tactics Element Leader and April 2009 – April 2011 he was the Squadron'sSenior Enlisted Advisor.^[32] In 2007 Colon-Lopez was one of the first six recipients of the newly createdAir Force Combat Action Medal.^[33] He was awarded the AFCAM for a 2004 operation in Afghanistan during which he led an Advance Force Operations Team.^[34]

24th Fighter Control Squadron

• Constituted as the24th Air Corps Interceptor Control Squadron on 14 October 1941

Activated on 21 October 1941

• Redesignated24th Fighter Control Squadron on 15 May 1942
• Disbanded on 31 March 1944

24th Special Tactics Squadron

• Designated as the1724th Combat Control Squadron on 1 May 1987
• Redesignated1724th Special Tactics Squadron on 1 October 1987
• Reconstituted and consolidated with the1724th Special Tactics Squadron on 1 March 1992^[1]
• Consolidated with the24th Fighter Control Squadron on 1 March 1992
• Redesignated24th Special Tactics Squadron on 31 March 1992^[1]

• Fourth Air Force, 21 October 1941
• 24th Pursuit Group, 15 January 1942 (apparently attached to Fourth Air Force until 7 July 1942, then toIV Fighter Command)
• San Francisco Air Defense Wing (later San Francisco Fighter Wing), 15 October 1942 – 31 March 1944
• Twenty-Third Air Force, 1 May 1987
• 1720th Special Tactics Group (later 720th Special Tactics Group), 1 October 1987^[1]
• 724th Special Tactics Group, 29 April 2011 – present^{[citation needed]}

• Hamilton Field, California, 21 October 1941 (aboard the USATPresident Garfield, 6–10 December 1941
• Berkeley, California, 7 October 1943 – 31 March 1944
• Pope Air Force Base (later Pope Field), North Carolina, 1 May 1987 – present^[1]

Award streamer	Award	Dates	Notes
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award withCombat "V" Device	18 December 1989 – 16 January 1990	[1]Operation Just Cause
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Combat "V" Device	16 August – 7 November 1993	[1]Battle of Mogadishu
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Combat "V" Device	1 September 2001 – 31 August 2003	[1]
	Air Force Gallant Unit Citation	1 January 2006 – 31 December 2007	[1]
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	8 November 1993 – 31 July 1995	[1]
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	1 August 1995 – 31 July 1997	[1]
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	5 August 1997 – 31 July 1999	[1]
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	1 September 1999 – 31 August 2001	[1]

Other

• Air Commando Association 2012 AFSOC Squadron of the Year^[35]

• July 2003 – July 2005, Lt. Col. Mark F. Stratton^[36]
• June 2005 – June 2007, Lt. Col. Robert G. Armfield – Previous 24th STS assignments: Director of Operations (January 1998 – July 2002)^[37]
• June 2009 – April 2011, Lt. Col. Matthew Wolfe Davidson – Previous 24th STS assignments: Flight Commander (August 1998 – January 2002), Deputy Commander (June 2008 – June 2009)^[38]

• List of United States Air Force special tactics squadrons

Attribution

 This article incorporatespublic domain material from theAir Force Historical Research Agency

• Col. John T. Carney Jr.; Benjamin F. Schemmer (2002).No Room for Error: The Covert Operations of America's Special Tactics Units from Iran to Afghanistan. Ballantine Books.ISBN 978-0-345-45333-4.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to24th Special Tactics Squadron.

• "24th Special Operations Wing". Air Force Special Operations Command. 20 February 2015. Archived fromthe original on 11 May 2017. Retrieved4 May 2013.
• 24th Special Tactics Squadron atGlobalSecurity.org

• Military counterterrorist organizations
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• Special tactics squadrons of the United States Air Force
• United States Joint Special Operations Command

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