# New USAF Special Warfare Symbol



## Kraut783 (Jul 3, 2019)

Interesting that the Key West Agreement is still strong (look at end of article).

"This is the symbol for the new Air Force Special Warfare careerfield (Enlisted is 1Z and Officer is 19). It’s surrounded by the latest versions of the enlisted beret badges, including the new Special ReconnaissanceAFSC, which replaces Special Operations Weather Team*. "


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## DA SWO (Jul 3, 2019)

Gag


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## AWP (Jul 3, 2019)

The same beret for everyone? Is this an out-of-season April Fool's Day joke?


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## Gunz (Jul 4, 2019)

What would we do without those natty berets? The day Marines get berets is the day I check out.


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## digrar (Jul 4, 2019)

Looks nifty.


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## amlove21 (Jul 7, 2019)

DA SWO said:


> Gag


Lol!


AWP said:


> The same beret for everyone? Is this an out-of-season April Fool's Day joke?


Alright, here is one dude's take on this one. 

I love being a PJ. Nothing in my life has ever been more fulfilling on a basic human level than this job. The worst parts of my job are better than the best parts of some other peoples' job, hands down. I am proud of the tradition, our legacy as one of the most decorated career fields in any service, and the mission. Nothing will ever take the PJ out of who I am as a person. 

That being said- unless we evolve, grow and move forward, Pararescue and AF Special Operations as a whole is not going to stay relevant. Period. We already saw it with Special Reconnaissance. Some of those moves/changes are going to be uncomfortable, I get it.

I get that everyone wants to be distinct and there are a lot (and I mean a fucking _lot) _of feelings involved when you start talking about "taking a beret away"; but the bottom line is unless we start looking, acting and using the same language, we are always going to be those "AF dudes". Blending the career fields is going to make everyone better- a rising tide raises all ships. 

Yeah the career fields lose some flair. Yes, that piece of history will be retired and we will move on. But you know what we have already gotten out of this move? A new training wing. A Directorate. More freedom not only as an entity but a combined entity that contains more O-6/E-9 billets across the board, and a deliberate plan to actually grow some of our own Stars. Imagine that- a command of operators led by an operator with 2 or 3 stars, and not a pilot. The roadmap to integrated squadrons all under AFSOC's flag is already happening. My position at the squadron is real-time proof. 

Unity of command, increased efficiency from scout and recruit to elongating the life span of every operator in the force from our Human Performance Optimization staff all the way down to the way we equip/employ/deploy more lethal teams. That's what this merger gets us. 

I'll always be a proud Pararescueman. Taking my hat ain't changing shit. But I will let you give me a new one if that means relevancy in the next 50 years. 

/rant


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## Raksasa Kotor (Jul 7, 2019)

amlove21 said:


> I'll always be a proud Pararescueman. Taking my hat ain't changing shit. But I will let you give me a new one if that means relevancy in the next 50 years.



But what if - stick with me here - your beret was...dookie brown?


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## amlove21 (Jul 7, 2019)

Raksasa Kotor said:


> But what if - stick with me here - your beret was...dookie brown?


Already taken by some nerds, thankfully. I'll take the gunmetal.


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## Raksasa Kotor (Jul 7, 2019)

amlove21 said:


> Already taken by some nerds, thankfully. I'll take the gunmetal.



Gasp! You wound me good sir!


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## amlove21 (Jul 7, 2019)

Raksasa Kotor said:


> Gasp! You wound me good sir!


Haahahahahahaha.


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## Kraut783 (Jul 7, 2019)

"Imagine that- a command of operators led by an operator with 2 or 3 stars, and not a pilot"

That would be huge.


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## amlove21 (Jul 7, 2019)

Kraut783 said:


> "Imagine that- a command of operators led by an operator with 2 or 3 stars, and not a pilot"
> 
> That would be huge.


We are moving that way. Col Matt Allen just took over the 24 SOW- he's a STO by trade. And, I might add, one hell of a leader. 

You can now go 2 levels up from the 2-series STS's and your boss still wears a beret. That's a really big deal. 

Now imagine when the commander of AFSOC is a born and bred AF ground combatant, and what rocks we can turn over then. However, to get there, we have to take some bold moves.


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## DA SWO (Jul 8, 2019)

Kraut783 said:


> "Imagine that- a command of operators led by an operator with 2 or 3 stars, and not a pilot"
> 
> That would be huge.


Seriously doubt it would happen, it's happened once(Female 4-star) but she was still a flyer(AWACS).
Give STO's aircrew duties and it could happen.


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## AWP (Jul 8, 2019)

DA SWO said:


> Seriously doubt it would happen, it's happened once(Female 4-star) but she was still a flyer(AWACS).



And not well-liked within her own community...


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## DA SWO (Jul 8, 2019)

AWP said:


> And not well-liked within her own community...


They started managing her career as a 2/1Lt.


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## amlove21 (Jul 9, 2019)

DA SWO said:


> Seriously doubt it would happen, it's happened once(Female 4-star) but she was still a flyer(AWACS).
> Give STO's aircrew duties and it could happen.


Not with that attitude it won’t!


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## Braz (Jul 10, 2019)

So would this replace AFSC badges as well for those within BFA AFSCs?


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## SOSTCRNA (Jul 10, 2019)

amlove21 said:


> Lol!
> 
> Alright, here is one dude's take on this one.
> 
> ...



This post says a lot about you.  Mission/big picture before ego.  A tip of my very old, Paratrooper Maroon Beret to you Sir.


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## DA SWO (Jul 10, 2019)

amlove21 said:


> Not with that attitude it won’t!


Just being a realist.
Pilots think you have to be a pilot to be in charge.

This is one of those times I hope I am wrong.


AWP said:


> And not well-liked within her own community...


AWACS Community?


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## amlove21 (Jul 11, 2019)

SOSTCRNA said:


> This post says a lot about you.  Mission/big picture before ego.  A tip of my very old, Paratrooper Maroon Beret to you Sir.


I appreciate you saying that- but I just like to think I care about the next 50 years of Pararescue much more than I care about the last 50. 

We have a rich and storied history- but we have more history to write.


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## AWP (Jul 11, 2019)

DA SWO said:


> AWACS Community?



Yes. I mentioned her to some ABM's who immediately rolled their eyes and gave their quite negative opinions about her: bad leader, poor command climate, self-centered, etc.  Curious, I brought her up to other ABM's and the responses were all the same.


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## Brill (Jul 11, 2019)

AWP said:


> Yes. I mentioned her to some ABM's who immediately rolled their eyes and gave their quite negative opinions about her: bad leader, poor command climate, self-centered, etc.  Curious, I brought her up to other ABM's and the responses were all the same.



Sounds like she was...Magic.


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## Johca (Jul 11, 2019)

With in the Air Force's enlisted classification coding system:
1 represents the Operations Career Group
1Z represents the new never previously existing Special Warfare Career Field
1ZX represents the career field subdivision.
1ZXX represents a careeerfield sub division (not a shred out of a specific AFSC code). 
1ZXXX identifies award of 1, 3, 5, 7, or 9 skill level the of a specific 5 digit specific AFSC code.
1ZXXX is the basic 5 digit code of a specific AFSC.

A shred out of a specific AFSC is added as a suffix of the basic 5 digit  code.   This is not what is happening.   Each enlisted specialty (PJ, CCT, SR, TACP)  is retaining a specific AFSC code and job descriptions.


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## Johca (Jul 11, 2019)

Braz said:


> So would this replace AFSC badges as well for those within BFA AFSCs?


The beret crest/shield/flash devices aren't a career field badge.  The only badge that fits 100% within realm of being a 5 digit AFSC code career field badge (worn on the uniform) is the EOD badge.   This is followed by the Pararescue beret crest based upon the 1966 approval documents, but it was approved as being a mission qualification badge for those performing pararescue duties and having award of a specific 5 digit AFSC specialty code showing award of 3, 5, 7, and 9 skill levels.

At best considering TACP, SOWT (now SR), the beret crest was a duty assignment badge until the specific 5 digit specialty code was approved: TACP-30 April 1977, CCT-October 1981, SOWT (now SR)-May 2008. It was impossible to be awarded a skill level (3, 5, 7, 9) until the 5 digit AFSC code was approved.


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## DA SWO (Jul 11, 2019)

amlove21 said:


> Not with that attitude it won’t!



I'd rather see a STO run JSOC.  



AWP said:


> Yes. I mentioned her to some ABM's who immediately rolled their eyes and gave their quite negative opinions about her: bad leader, poor command climate, self-centered, etc.  Curious, I brought her up to other ABM's and the responses were all the same.



Look at her bio.  She did non-AWACS shit for most of her career, at a time everyone was being shoved into AWACS.
She went AWACS when it was needed for her career.


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## DasBoot (Jul 14, 2019)

So all TACP units will be under AFSOC now? And all Rescue Squadrons will also be moving under the command from Big AF? @amlove21 how do you feel about that move?


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## amlove21 (Jul 14, 2019)

DasBoot said:


> So all TACP units will be under AFSOC now? And all Rescue Squadrons will also be moving under the command from Big AF? @amlove21 how do you feel about that move?


TACP ain’t going, for a number of different reasons. 

Short answer yes; the PAD directs the move towards FOC for all assets, but lots of integration is already happening. 

Signage and titles and stuff will follow. 

Personally I feel great about it. There are huge opportunities to grow in leaps and bounds and not just steps. I think we have the right people in the right places as well.


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## DasBoot (Jul 14, 2019)

amlove21 said:


> TACP ain’t going, for a number of different reasons.
> 
> Short answer yes; the PAD directs the move towards FOC for all assets, but lots of integration is already happening.
> 
> ...


So afsoc will be running stateside rescue ops? Like the boys in Alaska snagging people off Denali? And as of now TACPs are staying “conventional” minus the 17th?


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## DA SWO (Jul 14, 2019)

DasBoot said:


> So afsoc will be running stateside rescue ops? Like the boys in Alaska snagging people off Denali? And as of now TACPs are staying “conventional” minus the 17th?


Yes.

TACP also benefits from having their guys go through Prep.


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## Appaloosa123 (Aug 16, 2019)

Is the intent behind this change to create a program similar to the 18x program within the Army? Where you are sent down a pipeline decided by the command after A&S instead of enlisting with a set career field?


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