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AFSOC Combat Aviation Advisors

USAF MSgt Joseph Kimbrell, a Combat Aviation Advisor with the 5th Special Operations Squadron, prepares to load a motorcycle onto a C-145A “Combat Coyote” for a training mission.

The C-145A is capable of moving non-standard cargo into remote locations, usually inaccessible by larger, more traditional cargo aircraft.

13 Responses to “AFSOC Combat Aviation Advisors”

  1. jon says:

    being an army guy- and not airborne or anything really special (I was EOD), I was always fascinated with the prop based aircraft our country has used, specifically the coyote or the sherpa. I always thought based on my background in the guard then to active in alaska and all that they were great pieces of equipment for specific missions… Airborne guys used to get on me that the sherpa sucked and was noisy… I thought about how it could land in remote places and serve unique purposes when I brought it up in my CLC3 exercise scenario. Great piece SSD. Thanks for posting!

  2. SGT Rock says:

    Hey stud, why don’t you buckle your fucking chinstrap, and while you’re at it, take your beret back to the goddamn barracks.

  3. b_rawrd says:

    that uniforms got enough patches and Velcro for the whole squad.

  4. Matt in Oklahoma says:

    I’m all about giving the air farce a little love, even when their mags are in the gear in different directions clanging into one another, but should we be naming names?
    These are still dangerous times and the more you know the easier it is to find someone. Even teams in prisons, where the officers walk around them all day, take measures to protect so why now has the military become so open?
    Anyway still love ya you bunch of flyboy hanger rats.

    • Bobby Denard says:

      Are you referring to the fact that the good MSgt name is on the internet now?

      1) since 2001 is there a confirmed incident where a terrorist group carried out an attack against a specific US serviceman CONUS?

      2) with tens of thousand servicemen with their names on the internet, there are a lot more high profile names than our MSgt.

      3) if someone wanted to kill a random servicemen, just go to the Texas Roadhouse outside of any gate on a Friday night.

      • Todd says:

        Well put. Let’s not forget the hack into OPM’s database. If you had a clearance then not only was your info compromised but that of your family members and anyone on it. Millions affected in that breach. I’d be more concerned about the nation state using that info to target individuals for intel gathering, recruitment, or blackmail. Our Gov, not concerned enough to even cover the cost of your monthly alarm bill if you were exposed.

  5. Victor DiCosola says:

    Their families may think otherwise. To all, thank you for your amazing service.

    – Airman First Class William H. Pitsenbarger was awarded the Air Force Cross posthumously for his actions during the Vietnam War. His medal was later upgraded to the Medal of Honor.[18]

    – Technical Sergeant Jon K. Hoberg earned a Silver Star for his role in the Son Tay Prison raid in November 1970,

    -Technical Sergeant Wayne Fisk earned a Silver Star for his role in the Son Tay Prison raid in November 1970, and another Silver Star for participating in the SS Mayaguez rescue in May 1975. During the Mayaguez rescue, Fisk was the last U.S. serviceman to personally engage the enemy in Southeast Asia. Other medals earned during his five tours in Vietnam include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, and the Air Medal with 17 oak leaf clusters.

    – Airman Second Class Duane D. Hackney was awarded the Air Force Cross for actions while recovering a downed pilot in North Vietnam, on 6 February 1967.[19] He is also the most decorated enlisted man in the history of the U.S. Air Force with 24 awards for valor and more than 70 awards and decorations in all.[20]

    – Sergeant Larry W. Maysey was awarded the Air Force Cross for actions in a night recovery of an infiltration team in which several recovery aircraft—including his own—were shot down in Southeast Asia on 9 November 1967.

    – Technical Sergeant Tim Wilkinson was the first recipient of the Air Force Cross since the Vietnam War for his actions during the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu.[21] Wilkinson was portrayed by Ty Burrell in the 2001 film Black Hawk Down which chronicled the events of the Battle of Mogadishu.[22]

    – Senior Airman Jason Cunningham was awarded the Air Force Cross for actions on 4 March 2002, during the Battle of Takur Ghar. [23]

    – Tech Sergeant Alden “Rick” Smith of the New York Air National Guard was lost at sea during the events chronicled in the Sebastian Junger book “The Perfect Storm” after the helicopter he was in was unable to refuel and had to ditch in the ocean.

    – Master Sergeant Scott Fales was a recipient of the Silver Star for his heroic action in the Battle of Mogadishu, Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1993.[24] In addition Retired Air Force Master Sgt. and pararescueman Scott Fales received U.S. Special Operations Command’s highest honor when he was awarded the 2012 Bull Simons Award in Tampa, Florida, 23 May.[25] Fales was also recognized by the Jolly Green’s Association performing “Rescue of the Year” twice in his career and in 1992 he was one of the Air Force’s 12 Outstanding Airman.[26]

    – Staff Sergeant (and former U.S. Army Ranger) Wil Willis was the star of a Military Channel show entitled Special Ops Mission and later served as the host of Triggers: Weapons That Changed the World on that same network. Both shows aired only 6 episodes of a single season. Wil Willis has also appeared as a weapons expert on History Channel’s Top Shot, and is the host of Forged in Fire.

    – Chief Master Sergeant Ramón Colón-López was one of the first six airmen to be awarded the newly created Air Force Combat Action Medal in 2007.[27] He was also an interim Commandant of the Pararescue and Combat Rescue Officer School at Kirtland AFB.

  6. NWJeep says:

    All these people angry that AFSOC can have fun at work. Obviously it’s a posed photo, he’s not currently riding the bike so why comment on the chinstrap. Unless, of course, you needed someone to spell it out for you. Not all of us speak only from our mouths.

  7. Travis says:

    Not sure the purpose of the CAA brassard. I mean, medics? Absolutely. JTACs, EOD, commanders’/RTOs’ callsigns, and other critical personnel on the battlefield? Sure. But how necessary is it to know that this guy is an advisor and ID him on the battlefield? I’m thinking…not important or even necessary. This is just more branding nonsense thanks to velcro ‘n the good-idea fairy, and it irritates me. Wasn’t the beret enough? Hell, even EOD has stopped wearing the brassard in garrison (because why would you?), and medics (arguably the most important people to rapidly ID) can’t wear them, but thank god we can tell who the CAAs are at all time!

  8. Travis says:

    Was, now Army (I know, I know, I did it backwards…)