Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth signed a memo in September directing the establishment of a new Air National Guard Special Tactics Squadron Total Force Association in Florida. The squadron will be located in Hurlburt Field and associated with MacDill Air Force Base.
It will be located in close proximity to U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) at MacDill Air Force Base and Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) at Hurlburt Field. The location was chosen to maximize joint-force synergy, ensure seamless operational readiness, and to provide the president with highly responsive, lethal options to counter pacing threats.
“Under the leadership of Secretary Hegseth, we are growing our elite Special Tactics community,” Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said. “The memo directs the establishment of a new Air National Guard Special Tactics Squadron, placing our most lethal warfighters at the heart of the USSOCOM and AFSOC community at Hurlburt Field & MacDill AFB.”
The squadron will be activated consistent with the applicable OAF Strategic Basing process and environmental legal requirements during fiscal year 2027 in alignment with the funding provided during the FY 2027 Program/Budget Review process.
The creation of the squadron is part of Hegseth’s broader initiative to rapidly modernize the special operations architecture.