The Defense Department said Wednesday that a memorandum signed by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth calls for a new Florida Air National Guard Special Tactics Squadron to expand special operations capacity and improve readiness. The plan also seeks closer ties between Guard personnel and active-duty special operations forces.
MacDill Air Force Base hosts US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), while Hurlburt Field is home to Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC); the squadron is planned near both. The move aims to bring Air National Guard personnel into closer cooperation with active-duty special operations forces.
The squadron’s planned work covers combat control, pararescue and special reconnaissance. The Defense Department said the unit would draw on Air National Guard personnel’s experience to reinforce those capabilities.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the Special Tactics community is growing under Hegseth. “Under the leadership of Secretary Hegseth, we are growing our elite Special Tactics community,” Parnell said.
