Operation Enduring Freedom (2001 - present)

Air Force Special Operations Command combat controllers give a C-130 Hercules take off clearance and provide air traffic control during a mission to establish and assess an airfield at a forward deployed location in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. By the end of September 2001, AFSOC deployed forces to southwest Asia to help confront and remove the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, along with the Taliban-supported al Qaida terrorist organization headed by Osama Bin Laden. AFSOC airpower delivered special tactics forces to the battle ground and they in turn focused U.S. airpower and allowed Afghanistan's Northern Alliance ground forces to dispatch the Taliban and al Qaida from Afghanistan. In addition to its support in Afghanistan, AFSOC personnel also deployed to the Philippines to help aid that country's efforts against terrorism. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jeremy Lock)