United States Air Force Special Tactics Officer A United States Air Force Special Tactics Officer ( AFSC 13DXB ) is a United States Air Force Special Operations Command ( AFSOC ) officer who manages the training and equipping of U . S . Air Force ground special operations . Special Tactics Officers deploy as team leaders or mission commanders in combat , seizing and controlling airstrips , combat search and rescue , guiding airstrikes and fire support using air assets for special operations and tactical weather observations and forecasting . Special Tactics Officers are not pararescuemen or Combat Controllers , but they lead the Special Tactics Squadrons and Groups and thoroughly understand how to conduct , manage , and provide these special operations missions to both conventional and joint special operations missions needed within Joint Special Operations Command ( JSOC ) and United States Special Operations Command ( SOCOM ) . Training . Special Tactics Officers lead U . S . Air Force Pararescuemen , U . S . Air Force Combat Controllers and U . S . Air Force Special Operations Weather Technicians . They do not have their own training course , instead they go through the Combat Control training while Combat Rescue Officer s attend Pararescue training . Many attain qualifications as Joint terminal attack controller s . Their 35 - week initial training and unique mission skills earn them the right to wear the scarlet beret akin to Combat Controllers . From that point they attend a 12 - 15 month advanced skill training course . This selection course focuses on sports physiology , nutrition , basic exercises , combat control history and fundamentals . This course teaches aircraft recognition and performance , air navigation aids , weather , airport traffic control , flight assistance service , communication procedures , conventional approach control , radar procedures and air traffic rules . All air traffic controllers in the Air Force attend this course . This course teaches techniques for survival in remote areas . Instruction includes principles , procedures , equipment and techniques that enable individuals to survive , regardless of climatic conditions or unfriendly environments , and return home . Trainees learn the basic parachuting skills required to infiltrate an objective area by static line airdrop . This course provides final Combat Controller qualifications . Training includes physical training , small unit tactics , land navigation , communications , assault zones , demolitions , fire support and field operations including parachuting . Graduates of the course are awarded the 3 - skill level ( Apprentice ) , scarlet beret and CCT flash . Advanced Skills Training is a program for newly assigned Air Force Special Tactics operators . AST produces mission - ready operators for the Air Force , Joint Special Operations Command and United States Special Operations Command . The AST schedule is broken down into four phases : water , ground , employment and full mission profile . The course tests the trainee ' s personal limits through demanding mental and physical training . Special Tactics Officers also attend the following schools during AST : This course instructs free fall parachuting procedures . The course provides wind tunnel training , in - air instruction focusing on student stability , aerial maneuvers , air sense , parachute opening procedures and parachute canopy control . Trainees become combat divers , learning to use scuba and closed circuit diving equipment to covertly infiltrate denied areas . The course provides training to depths of 130 feet , stressing development of maximum underwater mobility under various operating conditions . Notable Special Tactics Officer . In 2010 Captain Barry Crawford , a Special Tactics Officer , was awarded the Air Force Cross for heroism during a 14 hour battle near Laghman Province , Afghanistan , on May 4 , 2010 . Captain Crawford was the JTAC attached to an Army Special Forces team along with Afghan commandos . The team conducted a night time helicopter assault into a village to gather intelligence . After sunrise they came under attack from enemy combatants and several Afghan soldiers were wounded . After calling for a MEDEVAC Captain Crawford exposed himself to enemy gunfire by running out into the open in order to guide the helicopter to the landing zone . While he was guiding the helicopter in one of his radio antenna was shot off of his back . After the helicopter took off Captain Crawford and the Special Forces team managed to exfiltrate the area with zero American casualties . In the ten hour battle Captain Crawford coordinated Close air support , calling in over 40 airstrikes from 33 different aircraft . The AH - 64 helicopters and F - 15E fighters called in eliminated enemy positions and combatants utilizing strafing runs along with 500 - 2 , 000 - pound bombs and Hellfire missile strikes . The special operations team suffered two Afghan commando casualties , but more than 80 insurgents were killed during the engagement , including three high - ranking enemy commanders .