Special Tactics leadership changes hands

Combat controller named best in AFSOC

A newly promoted staff sergeant was recently announced as Air Force Special Operations Command's Combat Control Airman of the Year for 2009.Staff Sgt. Jeremy King, a combat controller with the 320th Special Tactics Squadron, earned the award after a year that included supporting combat operations in

STS officer wins top AFSOC CGO award

A flight commander with the 320th Special Tactics Squadron here was recently named as Air Force Special Operations Command's Company Grade Officer of the Year for 2009.Capt. Garrett Ianacone, who also won Team Kadena's CGO of the Year Award for 2009, attributes the award to his love for his job, the

Air Commando awarded Purple Heart

An Air Commando was presented the Purple Heart at Craig Joint Theater Hospital here May 10 for injuries received during combat operations in Afghanistan.Staff Sgt. Travis Dalton, a combat controller with the 320th Special Tactics Squadron, was wounded in his right arm, hamstrings and buttocks May 8

Spouses 'fly high' during orientation

Spouses of the 353rd Special Operations Group members took a closer look at some of the group's operations during a spouse orientation day here May 7.Spouses were treated to a small capabilities brief, a tour of the 320th Special Tactics Squadron and their equipment and orientation flights on board

SOG Airman graduates USMC Corporal's Course

An Airman from the 17th Special Operations Squadron here did something April 30 no other Air Force member has ever done on Okinawa.Senior Airman Jonnathan Clay, an aviation resource management specialist, became the first Airman ever to graduate from the Corporal's Course at Marine Corps Air Station

SOG, Kadena Airmen visit battle sites 65 years later

More than two dozen Airmen from the 353rd Special Operations Group and Team Kadena visited multiple locations on the island during a Battle of Okinawa site tour sponsored by the 353rd SOG April 23.During their tour they visited the Battle of Okinawa historical display at Camp Kinser, the Naval

Kadena Airmen awarded medals for courage

Staff Sgts. Abraham Forehand, a combat controller with the 320th Special Tactics Squadron, and Aaron Sanders, a Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape specialist with the 31st Rescue Squadron, were awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal by Brig. Gen. Ken Wilsbach, the 18th Wing commander, during

Kadena’s Air Commandos, aircraft return from historic deployment

An MC-130P Combat Shadow and 17 members of the 353rd Special Operations Group were greeted by friends and family as they returned here late April 25 after supporting combat operations in Afghanistan. In total, 21 members of 353rd Maintenance Squadron and 17th Special Operations Squadron and an

Heraldry's return honors proud lineage, famous artist

Nearly 43 years to the day after creation, Air Force officials approved the 353rd Special Operations Group's request to reinstate its original emblem. Cartoonist Milton Caniff designed the original emblem specifically for the 553rd Reconnaissance Wing, a unit the 353rd SOG traces its lineage to, and