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AFSOTC changes command

  • Published
  • By Capt. Kristen D. Duncan
  • Air Force Special Operations Command Public Affairs
HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. --  A change of command ceremony for the Air Force Special Operations Training Center was held in Freedom Hangar on Hurlburt Field recently. 

Colonel Mark Alsid assumed command from Col. Paul Harmon during the ceremony, which was presided over by Maj. Gen. Kurt Cichowski, vice commander for Air Force Special Operations Command. 

AFSOTC is a primary support unit of the Air Force Special Operations Command, the Air Force component of the U.S. Special Operations Command. 

"Your mission to recruit, assess, select, indoctrinate, train and then educate Air Commandos, other special operations forces and SOF enablers is now firmly established in the greater Air Force and Special Operations Command legacy," General Cichowski said to Colonel Harmon during the ceremony. "You have moved AFSOC where trainers now train and warfighters fight." 

These missions include aircrew qualification, special tactics, Combat Aviation Advisor and courses conducted at the Air Force Special Operations School. 

"In its short 10-month history the Air Force Special Operations Training Center has already revolutionized training and education within AFSOC. 

"Lt. Gen. (Donald) Wurster (AFSOC commander) has full confidence that the vastly complicated and ever evolving requirements of transforming Airmen into Air Commandos with the specialized skills and warrior ethos to fly fight and win anytime and anywhere will be led by this stellar organization," General Cichowski said. 

A total force integration effort, the AFSOTC brings together the strengths of active duty, Reserve, Air National Guard, Department of Defense civilians and contract personnel to form an integrated education team dedicated to training new Air Commandos. 

"By one means or another, AFSOTC will train more than 9,000 students over the next fiscal year and I know that does not just happen," Colonel Alsid said. "There's an excellent team assembled here. So when a student graduates out of the training center, they will be an Air Commando and there will be no doubt that they're ready to join their respective combat units." 

For more information on school inquiries, contact the AFSOTC registrar's office at (850) 884-1877. For more information on becoming a Battlefield Airman, such as combat weathermen or special tactics officers, contact the AFSOTC recruiter at 1-800-831-8723 (USAF).