Posted on Apr 17, 2023
Air Force looks to cut nearly 50% of tactical air control party jobs
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The Air Force is set to shrink its elite corps of tactical air control party airmen by nearly half over the next three years, Air Force Times has learned.
Downsizing the cohort is among the Air Force’s latest steps to pivot toward the Indo-Pacific after 20 years of more traditional air-ground wars in the Middle East.
TACPs deploy with Army and special operations units and act as liaisons between forces on the ground and those overhead. Cutting those airmen would significantly limit the number of officers and enlisted airmen who are trained as battlefield scouts to plan attacks and call in airstrikes on the front lines.
Downsizing the cohort is among the Air Force’s latest steps to pivot toward the Indo-Pacific after 20 years of more traditional air-ground wars in the Middle East.
TACPs deploy with Army and special operations units and act as liaisons between forces on the ground and those overhead. Cutting those airmen would significantly limit the number of officers and enlisted airmen who are trained as battlefield scouts to plan attacks and call in airstrikes on the front lines.
Air Force looks to cut nearly 50% of tactical air control party jobs
Posted from airforcetimes.comPosted in these groups: 
1C4X1: Tactical Air Control Party (TACP)
Close Air Support (CAS)
Communications
Special OperationsHQDAF
1C4X1: Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) Close Air Support (CAS) Communications Special OperationsHQDAF
Posted 1 y ago
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..."In the Indo-Pacific, the group added, TACPs would be “invaluable” to soldiers and Marines as they secure island territory.
“A properly manned TACP force can provide critical [communication] nodes forward,” the group said. “This not only increases the survivability of … fighters and bombers, but it provides CAS expertise and island defense in a theater that will need it.”
Special operations leaders have said those airmen will likely play a larger role in so-called “non-kinetic” missions like cyber and psychological offensives as the nature of war evolves.
The special operations community is focusing more on how their airmen can shape conditions so that the U.S. has an easier time executing its missions, Col. Nathan Colunga, head of the Special Warfare Training Wing at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, told Air Force Times in an exclusive interview earlier this year.
“Do I need folks kicking doors and calling in strikes over here? Not necessarily,” he said. “What we actually need is a bit more connection with our partners and allies, helping to enable them in the things that they need, and less of us doing — more of us helping, teaching and shaping.”"
..."In the Indo-Pacific, the group added, TACPs would be “invaluable” to soldiers and Marines as they secure island territory.
“A properly manned TACP force can provide critical [communication] nodes forward,” the group said. “This not only increases the survivability of … fighters and bombers, but it provides CAS expertise and island defense in a theater that will need it.”
Special operations leaders have said those airmen will likely play a larger role in so-called “non-kinetic” missions like cyber and psychological offensives as the nature of war evolves.
The special operations community is focusing more on how their airmen can shape conditions so that the U.S. has an easier time executing its missions, Col. Nathan Colunga, head of the Special Warfare Training Wing at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, told Air Force Times in an exclusive interview earlier this year.
“Do I need folks kicking doors and calling in strikes over here? Not necessarily,” he said. “What we actually need is a bit more connection with our partners and allies, helping to enable them in the things that they need, and less of us doing — more of us helping, teaching and shaping.”"
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