U.S. Air Force Combat Control Team
U.S. Air Force Combat Control flash (colorized)
Active	January 1953 – present
Country	United States of America
Branch	United States Air Force
Type	Special Operations Force
Role	Airfield Assault Zone establishment,special reconnaissance,Air traffic control,fire support
Size	360[1]
Part of	United States Special Operations Command Air Force Special Operations Command
Nicknames	CCT, Air Commando
Motto	"First There"[2]
Color of Beret	Scarlet Red
Engagements	Korean War Vietnam War Invasion of Grenada Invasion of Panama Gulf War Operation Gothic Serpent Battle of Mogadishu (1993) Afghanistan War Iraq War
Website	https://www.airforce.com/careers/special-warfare-and-combat-support/special-warfare/combat-control
Insignia
Combat Controller scarlet beret withberet flash

TheUnited States Air Force Combat Control Teams, singularCombat Controller (CCT) (AFSC 1Z2X1), are an elite special operations force (specifically known as "special tactics operators") who specialize in all aspects of air-ground communication, as well asair traffic control,fire support (including rotary and fixed-wingclose air support), andcommand, control, and communications in covert, forward, or austere environments.^[2][3]

Assigned toSpecial Tactics Squadrons and Special Tactics Teams along withPararescuemen,Special Operations Reconnaissance, andTactical Air Control Party (TACP) operators, Combat Controllers are an integral part ofAir Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), the Air Force component ofUnited States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), and ofJoint 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 toArmy Special Forces,Army Ranger,Navy SEAL, andDelta Force to provide expert airfield seizure, airstrike control, and communications capabilities.^[4]

Combat Controllers areFAA-certifiedair traffic controllers and maintain proficiency throughout their career.^[2] Along withTACPs, many Combat Controllers also qualify and maintain proficiency asjoint terminal attack controllers (JTACs) where they call in and directair strikes,close air support andfire support.^[5] Out of the sevenAir Force Crosses awarded since theWar in Afghanistan began in 2001, five have been awarded to Combat Controllers for extraordinary heroism in combat. Combat Controllers provided vital intelligence; and deployed with joint air and ground forces in support of direct action, counter-terrorism, foreign internal defense, humanitarian assistance, special reconnaissance, austere airfield, and combat search and rescue missions.

CCT's motto, "First There," 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]

Air Force Special Operations Command's Combat Controllers are battlefield airmen assigned to special tactics squadrons. They are trained special operations forces and certifiedFederal Aviation Administrationair 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 conductingair traffic control, fire support,command, control, and communications andforward air control. They deploy with air and ground forces in support ofdirect action, such ascounter-terrorism,foreign internal defense,humanitarian assistance, andcombat search and rescue. Combat Controllers employall-terrain vehicles,amphibious vehicles, weapons anddemolitions in pursuit of their objectives, which may include obstacle destruction.^[2][3]

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 asjoint 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]

The first course Combat Controller trainees attend after the 7.5-weekBasic Military Training atJoint Base San Antonio,Lackland Air Force Base,Texas is Special Warfare Assessment and Selection (SW A&S), Lackland Air Force Base, Texas (4 weeks). For the entire length of the A&S, candidates will be thoroughly evaluated by both the psychologists and cadre in extremely demanding scenarios. A&S is divided into two segments: Field Phase and Selection Phase. Field Phase (2.5 weeks): Candidates can expect to be in a field like setting, sleeping in makeshift lodging in cots with sleeping bags. Training is continuous with zero down days, often experiencing continuous sleep deprivation. Training consists of surface swimming, water confidence, Grass & Guerrilla drills, running, rucking, calisthenics, team events and extended training days. Selection Phase (1.5 weeks): Following the field phase, candidates will begin clean up of the facilities and will be administered academic and psychological tests, surveys, critiques and interviews. Instructors will compile all relevant information and select only those candidates that meet the desired career field attributes.

Special Warfare Pre-Dive (SW Pre-Dive), Lackland Air Force Base, Texas (4 weeks) – This course is designed to prepare the candidates for Special Warfare Combat Dive school. Candidates will be subjected to more technical and difficult water confidence training. As of mid 2019, this course eliminated up to 30% of the A&S graduates.

After the USAF Combat Diver course the trainee attends theArmy Airborne School atFort Benning,Georgia. In the three-week course the trainees learn basic parachuting skills required to infiltrate an objective area bystatic line airdrop.^[2][6]

The next course after Airborne School is theAir Force Basic Survival School located atFairchild 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 next course in the CCT pipeline is the Combat Control Operator Course located atKeesler 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]

The last course in the Combat Control pipeline is the Combat Control School located atPope 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 their3-skill level (apprentice) on theirAir Force Specialty Code, scarlet beret and CCT flash.^[2][6]

After the Combat Controller gains their three level they attend Special Tactics Advanced Skills Training for 12 to 15 months as part of theSpecial Tactics Training Squadron located atHurlburt Field, Florida. Advanced Skills Training is a program for newly assigned Combat Controllers,Pararescuemen andSpecial Reconnaissance. AST produces mission-ready operators forAir Force Special Operations Command andUnited 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 Special Reconnaissance) attend two more advanced courses. Army Military Free Fall Parachutist School atFort Bragg,North Carolina, andYuma 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 attendAir Force Combat Diver School which is hosted at theNavy 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 becomecombat divers, learning to usescuba andclosed 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 byDiscovery Channel's programSurviving the Cut during season two, which originally aired 25 July 2011.

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

Active Duty units

Air National Guard units

• 123rd Special Tactics Squadron,Louisville IAP/Louisville ANGB, Kentucky (Kentucky Air National Guard)
• 125th Special Tactics Squadron,Portland IAP/Portland ANGB, Oregon (Oregon Air National Guard)

United States Armypathfinders originated in 1943 duringWorld War II out of need for accurateairdrops after several mishaps occurred in theairborne assault on the Sicilian city ofGela during theallied invasion of Sicily. The82nd Airborne Division performed a nighttime airborne assault outside of Gela. Due to poor visual references and high winds exceeding 45 miles per hour (72 km/h) two battalions landed 30 miles from their drop zone and a third battalion landed over 55 miles from their drop zone.^[9] Undeterred by the flawed airdrop, theparatroopers were still able to hinder the German counterattack to allow for the allies' amphibious assault to gain a foothold on the beach.^[10]

GeneralJames 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 andsmoke pots, burning buckets of gas-soaked sand and theEureka 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 theNormandy invasion pathfinders jumped in prior to the main airborne assault force and guided 13,000 paratroopers to their designated drop zones. Pathfinders were used duringOperation Market Garden to secure several key bridges required for advancing allied ground units. During theBattle of the Bulge pathfinders enabled an aerial resupply of the101st Airborne Division.^[10][11]

In a history of the509th Parachute Infantry Battalion's wartime actions titledStand 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.

General James Gavin likes to claim credit for "inventing" Pathfinders, pointing to bad drops in Sicily as the cause. Let us set the record straight: The 509th, the world's most experienced bad drop specialists, first saw the need for them. Pathfinders were separate teams of "advance men" who jumped in ahead of main forces to set up beacons and other guides to incoming aircraft.

The 509th's Scout Company was the first specialized Pathfinder group. In the U.S. Army, it started the training and experimentation necessary to develop the concept at Oujda. With fragments of practical knowledge from the British Airborne, company commander Captain Howland and his XO 1st Lt. Fred E. Perry worked hard to develop usable techniques. Perry recalls: "Everyone knew through hard experience that the Air Corps needed help to drop us on the correct drop zone. We organized the Scout Company for this purpose. This was later made into a Scout Platoon under my command, consisting of 10 enlisted and myself. We were equipped with a British homing radio and U.S. NavyAldis lamps, which radiated a beam to guide planes. We trained on this procedure until the invasion atSalerno.

In the meantime, the82d Airborne Division arrived from the States on 10 May and camped near the 509th atOujda. We were attached to them. The 82d would not buy our Scout Platoon idea, but they sure found out in a hurry after Sicily that we really had something that was needed.

At the time, Major GeneralMatthew Ridgway and his "All-American" staff thought they knew it all. Impressed with themselves, although they were not jumpers or experienced glider troopers, they airily dismissed the 509th and its fresh combat experiences, as well as any nonstandard/Limey concept. They would learn the hard way.^[12]

The pathfinders in the Pacific campaign operated slightly differently than their European pathfinder counterparts and pioneered a number of military "firsts". PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt, amidst theQuebec Conference in August 1943, was impressed by British GeneralOrde Wingate's account of what could be accomplished inBurma with proper air support.^[13] To comply with Roosevelt's proposed air support for Britishlong range penetration operations in Burma, theUnited States Army Air Forces created the 5318th Air Unit to support theChindits. In March 1944, they were designated the1st Air Commando Group by USAF GeneralHap Arnold. Arnold chose ColonelJohn R. Alison and ColonelPhilip Cochran as co-commanders of the Air Commando Group.^[14][15]

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.^[16] 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.^[16] In an imaginative move prompted by ColonelPhilip Cochran's assurance that he could transport both troops and supplies by glider,^[17] Wingate arranged for the bulk of the force to enter Burma by air, greatly accelerating the force's ability to reach its target objectives.^[18] 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.^[19] In three months, 600 sorties byDakota 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 inOperation Thursday. The Air Commandos in Burma would achieve numerous military "firsts" such as; ground forces coordinatingair 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.^[15]

The term "Combat Control Team" comes fromWorld War II where allied troop-carrier squadrons developedgliderborne 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 duringOperation Varsity in 1945, when two teams with the18th Airborne Corps infiltrated German lines. They established forward airfields where they supported resupply operations and provided airfield control.^[10]

When the U.S. Air Force became a separate service in 1947, Air Force pathfinders were assigned to a provisionalPathfinder 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 theKorean 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. TheDepartment of Defense eventually sided with the Air Force having full control of allair 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 Senior non-commissioned officer of this founding cadre was MSgt"Bull" Benini, he took the lead in establishing the team's new tactics, procedures, organization, and logistics requirements.^[21]

The Army and Air Force remained at odds regarding pathfinder and CCT roles. In August 1953 the10th 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 the1958 Lebanon crisis to combat communist expansion and bolster the pro-Western Lebanese government.

As tactical air strikes began to be used in Laos during the Vietnam War, it became apparent that, for the safety of noncombatants, some means of control was necessary.^[22] 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 U.S. Armyattaché, others had little or no specialized training in close air support. They varied in nationality, being Thai, Lao, orHmong, as well as American.^[23] BothContinental Air Services, Inc andAir America pilots would sometimes serve as ad hoc forward air controllers.^[24]

Later, trained Combat Controllers helped ensure mission safety and expedited air traffic flow during countlessairlifts. Combat Controllers also flew as forward air guides in support of indigenous forces inLaos andCambodia and conductedcovertforward air control for U.S. and allied aircraft performinginterdiction missions against Communist troops and supplies on theHo Chi Minh trail. The first combat controller killed in action in SE Asia was TSgt Richard L. Foxx, a seasoned combat controller with more than 15 years experience. On 15 October 1962, Sergeant Foxx was killed while performing Forward Air Control (FAC) duties in a U-10 Helio Courier.^[25]

Development ofrules 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.^[26] Beginning in April 1966, as part of its effort to better direct air strikes, the U. S. Air Force installed fourtactical air navigation systems in Laos to guide U. S. air strikes. One of these was emplaced on a mountain top atLima Site 85, aimed across the border atHanoi, and was the site of adesperate battle in 1968.^[27]

The largest single loss of life during the war was on 4 September 1967. Four Combat Controllers, MSgt Charles A. Paradise, TSgt Frederick L. Thrower, Airman 1st Class Gerard Louis Gauthier Jr, and Airman 1st Class William E Jerkins (all of 8th Aerial Port Squadron Combat Control Team 3) and seven other airmen were killed in action when theirC-123 crashed.^[28]

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 dubbedplausible deniability. Once "civilianized", the Butterflies flew in the right (co-pilot's) seat inAir AmericaHelio Couriers andPilatus 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.^[29]

Two of the ButterflyAir Force combat controllers wereMaster SergeantCharles Larimore Jones, soon joined byTechnical SergeantJames J. Stanford.^[30] Another of the Butterflies was Major John J. Garrity, Jr., who in future would spend several years as theéminence grise of the American Embassy to Laos.^[31] They, and their successors, ran air strikes without notice or objection until GeneralWilliam 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.^[32] Both the impromptu strike controlling and the Butterfly effort ended with General Momyer's tirade in April 1966.^[33]

Airman 2nd Class Andre R. Guillet, a "Butterfly" forward air controller, was listed as MIA on 18 May 1966 when theO-1 Bird Dog he and pilot Captain Lee Dufford Harley were in was shot down over Laos.^[34][35]

As a result of theIran hostage crisis,US PresidentJimmy Carter ordered a rescue mission, code namedOperation Eagle Claw, to retrieve the 52 diplomats held captive at theembassy of the United States, Tehran. Three weeks prior to the operation, Air Force CCT Major John T. Carney Jr. was flown in byTwin Otter to Desert One, a staging area in theSouth Khorasan Province ofIran, nearTabas for a clandestine survey of anairstrip. Despite his twoCIA pilots' casual approach to the mission, Carney successfully surveyed the airstrip, installed remotely operatedinfrared 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.^[36][a] Operation Eagle Claw commenced on 24 April 1980 but encountered many obstacles due to technical issues and weather which led to an accident that killed 8 service members. As a result, the mission aborted.^[37] Its failure, and the humiliating public debacle that ensued, damaged US prestige worldwide.^[38]

Three years later, Carney, now a lieutenant colonel, was again picked for a high-risk, clandestine, special operation mission two days in advance of the US-ledinvasion of Grenada. Carey was the ranking officer of a team of Air Force Combat Controllers and Navy SEALs tasked with conducting a reconnaissance of a newairport under construction at Point Salines on the southwestern tip of the Eastern Caribbean island. Their shared mission was to determine how the facility was defended and whether the unfinished runway would support the weight of America military transport planes.^[39] They would also set up navigation beacons to guide the transports to the target. On 23 Oct. 1983, a nighttime parachute rendezvous of the SEALs with the four controllers waiting aboard theUSS Clifton Sprague off the Grenada coast went awry in bad weather. The weather as well as faulty planning, inadequate equipment and training, and bad luck contributed to the drowning deaths of four of the arriving SEALs. The surviving 20-member joint team made two attempts to reach the island by small boat from the Navy frigate over successive nights, but both attempts were thwarted by more bad weather, bad luck, and equipment problems. The pre-invasion reconnaissance was eventually conducted by an Air Force AC-130 from the air instead.^[39]

On D-Day, 25 October 1983, other Combat Controllers jumped into Point Salines at the start ofOperation Urgent Fury. They were key to opening the airway for 1st Battalion & 2nd Battalion, 75th Rangers to take the unfinished airport.

In 2004 Secretary of DefenseDonald Rumsfeld stated "some 85 percent of the air strikes inOperation Enduring Freedom were called in by Air Force Combat Controllers."^[5] Combat Controllers have received three of the five awardedAir Force Crosses since theSeptember 11 attacks; they were awarded in 2002, 2008, and 2013 during theAmerican War in Afghanistan.

On 6 October 2009 12 Combat Controllers andPararescuemen 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 "War on Terror" began and to increase awareness about theSpecial Operations Warrior Foundation. The Foundation funds the education of surviving children of Special Operations personnel who are killed in action or training. The march began at the Medina annex onLackland Air Force Base, Texas where the Combat Control career field begins and finished atHurlburt 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 lbruck sacks. The march was completed just ten days later.^[40]

As part ofOperation Unified Response, within 24 hours of the2010 Haiti earthquake, a team of Combat Controllers from the23rd Special Tactics Squadron stationed at Hurlburt Field, Florida arrived atToussaint Louverture International Airport inPort-au-Prince,Haiti. 28 minutes after arriving, the Combat Controllers assumed authority ofair traffic control duties to allow planes carrying humanitarian aid to land safely.^[41][42] The Combat Controllers directed over 2,500 flights without incident from a card table using only hand radios.^[41][43] Under their direction planes were able to take off and land every five minutes, bringing in over 4 million pounds of supplies.^[42] As a result of their efforts, the team leader of the Combat Controllers,Chief Master Sergeant Tony Travis, was later recognized as one ofTime Magazine's 100 most influential people of 2010.^[42][44]

Again in late 2011, 18 CCTs and PJs made the trek from Lackland AFB to Hurlburt Field after losing three airman when theirChinook was shot down in 2011.^[45] The airmen walked for 24 hours at a time in three person groups each carrying 50 lbruck sacks; by the end of the trip the average airman had marched 144 miles.^[46]

In June 2014, Combat Controllers were deployed toIraq as part of the contingent of U.S. military advisors ordered to the country byPresidentBarack Obama in the military effort against theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant.^[47]

Former commander ofUnited States Special Operations Command, GeneralBryan 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 [after the September 11 attacks] 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."^[48]

• CMSgtBull Benini, the first Combat Controller, developed the organization, standards, tactics of a Combat Control Team.
• Warrant OfficerCharles Larimore Jones (14 May 1932 – 23 November 2006),^[49] also known as Charlie Jones,^[49] was an architect of the U.S. Air Force'sforward air control doctrine, as well as one of its early practitioners during theLaotian Civil War. He was trained inforward air control techniques as aCombat 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 theU.S. Army Special Forces and later also participated in the covert "Butterfly" program, directing airstrikes into Laos and Cambodia. Based on his experience, in 1963 he was assigned toHurlburt Field to write the field manual on forward air control while expanding the Combat Controller curriculum.
• Technical SergeantJames J. Stanford was a pioneer during the Vietnam war who also helped reestablish Combat Controller techniques
• Master SergeantJohn A. Chapman posthumously received theMedal of Honor for his actions during theBattle of Takur Ghar in 2002. During the battle, he expertly coordinated air support for cover and extraction of wounded personnel. He later volunteered to join a rescue team which returned for a missing teammate. Despite being wounded multiple times in the subsequent firefight, he destroyed one enemy position and continued to advance on a second until he was incapacitated. His actions allowed his embattled teammates to break contact, saving multiple lives. Drone imagery later showed that he appeared to still be alive an hour later and re-engaged the enemy, neutralizing multiple combatants, including one in hand-to-hand combat before finally succumbing to his wounds. He was the first airman to receive the Medal of Honor since theVietnam War.^[50] On 8 April 2005, the Navy cargo shipMerlin was renamed theMV TSgt John A. Chapman (T-AK-323) in honor of him.^[51]
• Senior AirmanZachary Rhyner was the first living recipient of the Air Force Cross since theSeptember 11 terrorist attacks. He was awarded the Air Force Cross for his actions while serving with the 21st Special Tactics Squadron during theBattle of Shok Valley on 6 April 2008 inNuristan Province,Afghanistan.^[52] Despite being wounded early in the battle, he continued to fight and directedClose air support andAirstrikes totaling 4,570 cannon rounds, nineHellfire missiles, 162 rockets, a dozen 500-pound bombs and one 2,000-pound bomb.^[53][54] As a result of the same battle ten U.S. Army soldiers, nineSpecial Forces and one Combat Cameraman, received theSilver Star.^[55]Ronald J. Shurer, a Special Forces medic, was awarded theMedal of Honor from his actions in this battle after a later review.^[56] In 2019,Matthew O. Williams, a Special Forces weapons sergeant also had his Silver Star upgraded to the Medal of Honor.^[57]
• Staff Sergeant Robert Gutierrez received the Air Force Cross in 2011 for his actions on 5 October 2009 during a battle inHerat province, Afghanistan. Gutierrez and the Special Forces team he was with had breached a compound but became pinned inside by heavy fire. Despite being wounded, he continued to engage the enemy until he was incapacitated by pain and a collapsed lung, the result ofpneumothorax caused by his chest wound. A Special Forces medic was able to perform an emergencyneedle decompression, allowing him to breathe and narrowly call off a Hellfire strike near their position that likely would have killed his whole team. Donning his gear again, he continued to coordinate air assets includingA-10 gun runs less than 65 feet from their position which enabled his team to exit the compound. Dogged by enemy fire, they moved two miles on foot before Gutierrez's lung collapsed again necessitating a second needle decompression. They held for an hour and a half until CASEVAC arrived for him, by which point he had lost 5.5 pints of blood. After being loaded onto the bird, he asked the pilot to give his team overwatch as they made their way back to base on foot before passing out. He was credited with saving the lives of nearly 30 American and Afghan forces.^[58][59] He was also present at the Battle of Shok Valley with Zachary Rhyner albeit with a different Special Forces team and reportedly said, "If it wasn't for Zach, I wouldn't be here."^[60] Gutierrez was a 2012 inductee to theAir Command and Staff College'sGathering of Eagles Program.^[61]
• Chief Master Sergeant Tony Travis was recognized as one ofTime Magazine's 100 most influential people of 2010 due to his team's efforts in the aftermath of the2010 Haiti earthquake which devastated much ofHaiti.^[42] He took part in the first Tim Davis/Special Tactics Memorial March from San Antonio, Texas to Fort Walton Beach, Florida.^[40]
• Staff SergeantAshley Spurlin was a competitor on theHistory Channel TV showTop Shot during its second season.^[62] He also took part in the first Tim Davis/Special Tactics Memorial March.^[40]
• Staff Sergeant Scott Sather, a member of the24th Special Tactics Squadron, was the first enlisted airman killed in action duringOperation Iraqi Freedom.Camp Sather, a U.S. Air Force base on the west side ofBaghdad International Airport, was named after him.^[63]

• 
  MSgtJohn A. Chapman in Afghanistan
• 
  SrAZachary Rhyner on patrol with anArmy Special Forces team in Afghanistan.
• 
  SSgt Robert Gutierrez in Afghanistan.
• 
  Chief Master Sergeant Tony Travis in 2010
• 
  SSgt Ashley Spurlin receiving a Bronze Star in 2009

In theTransformers film franchiseTyrese Gibson plays a U.S. Air Force Combat Controller named Robert Epps. To play his part he was coached by Master Sergeant Ray Bolinger, a Combat Controller from the22nd Special Tactics Squadron.^[64]

In the 2008 movieEagle Eye, during the opening sequence anoperator with a “CCT” shoulder tab can be seen directing a drone strike inPakistan.

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

In 2012Men's Health magazine featured an article titledThe 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?"^[65]

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

• United States Special Operations Forces
• United States Air Force Tactical Air Control Party
• United States Air Force Special Tactics Officer

Wikimedia Commons has media related toUnited States Air Force Combat Control Teams.

• USAF Fact Sheet
• Airforce.com profile
• CCT: The Eye of the Storm
• Combat Control School Association

• Air force special forces units
• Military air traffic control
• Special operations units of the United States Air Force
• United States Air Force specialisms
• United States Air Force Special Operations Command

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