711th Special Operations Squadron The 711th Special Operations Squadron ( 711 SOS ) is part of the 919th Special Operations Wing at Duke Field , Florida . It is an Air Force Reserve Command ( AFRC ) unit that is operationally - gained by Air Force Special Operations Command ( AFSOC ) . Mission . In May 2013 the 711 SOS ended its 40 - year mission operating the MC - 130E Combat Talon I aircraft , providing special operations capability , to transition to an Aviation Foreign Internal Defense mission flying C - 145A Skytrucks . History . Activated in mid - 1943 as a B - 17 Flying Fortress heavy bombardment squadron , trained under Second Air Force ( 2 AF ) . Deployed to England in the European Theater of Operations ( ETO ) during November 1943 , assigned to VIII Bomber Command as a strategic bombardment squadron . Participated in the air offensive over Nazi Germany and Occupied Europe until German capitulation in May 1945 . Personnel demobilized in England and returned to the United States ; squadron reassigned to Third Air Force ( 3 AF ) for possible re - equipping with B - 29 Superfortress es and deployment to Pacific Theater . Japanese capitulation led to inactivation in November 1945 . Reactivated in the postwar reserve as a B - 29 Superfortress squadron , the unit trained for proficiency as part of Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) reserve forces . Activated as a result of Korean War in 1951 , the squadron ' s aircraft and personnel were reassigned to Far East Air Force Bomber Command , then inactivated as a paper unit . Rectivated at Naval Air Station Dallas / Hensley Field , Texas as a reserve Tactical Air Command ( TAC ) F - 86 Sabre fighter bomber group in 1955 , it was inactivated again in 1957 . The unit reactivated in 1971 as the 711th Tactical Airlift Squadron ( 711 TAS ) , a reserve theater airlift squadron allocated to TAC and equipped with the C - 130 A Hercules , performing tactical airlift of personnel and cargo as well as air drop training support for U . S . Army paratroopers during various exercises from 1971 – 1974 . In late 1974 , the squadron began transitioning to the AC - 130A Spectre aircraft that were returning from bases in Thailand at the end of the Vietnam War . As the Regular Air Force gunship units transitioned to strictly operating the AC - 130H , the 711 TAS was redesignated as the 711th Special Operations Squadron ( 711 SOS ) in 1975 and trained in gunship operations . Close air support of conventional and special operations ground forces became the unit ' s primary duty , but additional capabilities included the ability to perform armed interdiction , reconnaissance , and escort , forward air control and combat search and rescue in conventional or unconventional warfare settings . Because their advanced sensors were useful in range reconnaissance and range clearing tasks , the 711 SOS also provided missile range support from to the Air Force ' s Eastern Range at Cape Canaveral AFS from 1979 – 1989 , and NASA space shuttle support at Kennedy Space Center from 1981 – 1988 . In 1983 , the squadron ' s operational claimancy shifted from TAC to Military Airlift Command ( MAC ) and the newly constituted 23d Air Force ( 23 AF ) as TAC divested itself of all special operations aircraft and missions in order to focus exclusively on fighter aircraft . The 711th flew pre - strike reconnaissance , fire support , escort , and airbase defense sorties during the U . S . invasion of Panama from 8 December 1989 – 7 January 1990 . In May 1990 , operational claimancy for the 711 SOS and its parent wing shifted again as MAC divested its special operations aircraft assets with the creation of the Air Force Special Operations Command ( AFSOC ) as a separate Major Command ( MAJCOM ) . The 711 SOS again flew combat missions in Southwest Asia in support of Operation Desert Storm from 9 February – March 1991 . The squadron ' s primary mission changed in late 1995 as the unit retired its long - serving AC - 130A aircraft and transitioned to the MC - 130E Combat Talon I aircraft . In its new role , the squadron provides long - range clandestine delivery of special operations forces and equipment . It has periodically deployed personnel and aircraft to support special operations contingency operations worldwide , as well as numerous humanitarian missions . In February 1997 , the Air Force Reserve ( AFRES ) transitioned from being a Field Operating Agency ( FOA ) to MAJCOM status , designated as Air Force Reserve Command ( AFRC ) . With this change , AFRC and AFRC ' s 10th Air Force ( 10 AF ) became the principal higher headquarters for the squadron and its parent wing , with the unit still maintaining previous operational connections to AFSOC . Beginning 1 October 1997 , the 711th also provided the flight portion of MC - 130E Combat Talon I training for both Air Force Special Operations Command and Air Force Reserve Command . After September 2001 , the 711 SOS made multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom .