Page 361 - Encyclopedia Of Terrorism

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Special Operations Wing———341

SPECIAL OPERATIONS WING

The Special Operations Wing (SOW) of the U.S.
Air Force is responsible for the air power involved in
the military’s counterterrorism operations.
The various SOW divisions are part of the Air
Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), which
was established on May 22, 1980, at Hurlburt Field,
Florida. The emerging AFSOC was supported by the
1982 Defense Guidance statement of the administra-
tion of U.S. president Ronald Reagan. This document
asserted that special operations must be revitalized
to address a number of issues, including the Soviet
challenge.
The duties of the SOW include basic air power
tasks, such as carrying cargo, dropping troops via para-
chute, extracting ground personnel, and providing air
cover for ground operations. Such operations are car-
ried out inside enemy lines, in conjunction with the
military’s other elite special operations forces (e.g., the
Navy SEALs). Most missions are flown in darkness, as
low as 50 feet from the ground, at 150 miles per hour.
Stealth is key, as its motto “Air Commandos—Quiet
Professionals” attests.
The SOW participated in the 1983 invasion of
Grenada and spearheaded the 1989 invasion of
Panama, in which Manuel Noriega was captured.
(SOW forces destroyed Noriega’s headquarters.) The
A mannequin used in demonstrations at the Dynamics of
SOW also played a key role in the 1991 Gulf War.
International Terrorism course hangs out the window of
They were the first forces to enter enemy air space,
a bullet-riddled car at the Air Force Special Operations
when they successfully dismantled two radar stations
School. The course is a weeklong symposium that teaches
before being detected, which allowed naval forces to the principles and psychology of terrorism and basic
conduct a successful air raid with no casualties. The antiterrorism tactics to military personnel and government
SOW then turned to its other major role in unconven- civilians.
tional warfare—“psyops.” Source: Defense Visual Information Center.
Psyops, military lingo for psychological opera-
tions, refers to the information war waged using the
SOW’s EC-130 Commando Solo plane, a flying well-treated Iraqi prisoners, instructions on how to
broadcast station handled by the 193rd SOW, an Air surrender, and information on future bombing cam-
National Guard unit out of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. paigns. About three-quarters of all Iraqi soldiers who
The crew of a Commando Solo is able to broadcast surrendered are thought to have been influenced by
AM and FM radio signals and on TV channels; it also these broadcasts. In Bosnia, the 193rd SOW played
drops leaflets, radios, and food rations. In addition, TV and radio programs produced by the North
the Commando Solo can monitor, jam, and allegedly Atlantic Treaty Organization, including news digests
alter other existing transmissions. focused on Western leaders. In Afghanistan, where
In the Gulf War, SOW psyops, which became TVs, radios, and electricity are scarce and many are
known as the “Voice of the Gulf,” included the broad- illiterate, the 193rd has dropped hand-crank-generated
casting of prayers from the Koran, testimonials from radios and food rations. The goal was to establish that