AF Reserve provides platform for specialized Navy special forces training

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Stephen Collier
  • 302nd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
KEY WEST NAVAL AIR STATION, Fla. --  The darkness shrouds everything in sight. You look left; the silhouette of a man stands before you. You look right; another man leans against the inside of the fuselage of a C-130 Hercules. You squint, looking on at the rays of Florida sunshine coming through the aircraft's aft troop doors. 

Then, almost without warning, the ramp opens on the lumbering cargo aircraft. Each of the men of Special Boat Team 20 snaps to attention, checking over each other's equipment one last time. And even though they've been through these motions more times than their spouses or loved ones would care to know, the look on their faces reveal they may never get used to the onslaught of blinding sunlight that rushes into the aircraft all at once. But as you work to comprehend it all, the men are signaled by the aircraft's loadmaster and they leap into February's tropical and seemingly unforgiveable sky. 

But these are no ordinary men; the members of SBT 20 are one of the U.S. Navy's elite special warfare units. Known as special warfare combatant craft, or 'SWCCs' (pronounced swicks), the seamen work to refine their tactics of maritime craft aerial delivery systems Feb. 21-28 at Navy's southernmost-continental base. 

"Basically, we are the boat guys in Naval special warfare and in the world of special operations forces," said Command Master Chief Erik Fuerstenberg, the senior enlisted leader for SBT 20, based at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Va. "The missions obviously will drive what we need to get the job done. Anything that has to do with getting somewhere fast on a boat for special operations forces -- we're that component." 

The mission the SWCC is to support their fellow special forces, including SEALs, Green Berets and Air Force pararescue with any and all maritime support for a host of specialized missions. The SWCCs consist of three main teams, SBT 12, 20 and 22, and from these three teams. Additional detachments are formed and are located around the world. When the water is needed for special forces to get to a destination, the men of the Navy's SWCCs are called into action. 

The training for the week consists of simulated boat drops from above and below altitudes of 10,000 feet.. According to Chief Fuerstenberg, the types of missions the SWCCs perform "requires a little bit of skill to be able to land in the correct place so you don't land in a parachute, debris or each other." In total, the seamen go through several weeks of jump training so they can grasp how to land in different wind conditions from the time they leave the plane to the time they hit the water with their craft.

The water-focused training also helps the SWCCs understand the complex requirements of different types of watercraft and how they are employed using the C-130, C-5 Galaxy and C-17 Globemaster III aircraft. And, Key West is ideal place for it. 

"Coming from the East Coast, weather is key," the chief said. "When you jump out of airplanes at 13,000 feet, you're looking for the best weather you can have in a training environment. You're not going to have extreme colds, rain, whatever. (Key West) is an ideal location for us to conduct as many jumps as possible for the block of time we have allotted for this training. That, coupled with being at a naval installation, the logistics works out best for us and the location is very convenient." 

There are an assorted number of water craft in the SWCC's arsenal, including the Mark V, an 82-foot craft, to the Special Operations Craft-Riverine, a high-speed, dual-jet, dual-diesel platform and even the smaller of their craft, an inflatable Zodiak. The SWCCs have a variety of craft to fit each mission perfectly. For this week's jumps, the SWCCs are training on how to employ the 11-meter Rigid Hull Inflatable boats. 

In order to accomplish this training, they partner with the Air Force Reserve - their airlift platform for the specialized water-focused training. 

The 731st Airlift Squadron, assigned to the Air Force Reserve Command's 302nd Airlift Wing at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., is tasked with supporting the SWCC's training. The special forces members are using their time in the tropical heat to enhance their high altitude, low opening, or 'HALO' jump training. Used for sensitive missions into not-so-friendly locations, HALO jumps can get these men and their boat into a precise location from above 10,000 feet without the enemy even knowing. But if they don't train to get it right the first time, it could be their last jump. 

"It's neat to see them in the training aspect and how they train with each other," said Capt. Chris Rothe, 731st Airlift Squadron pilot. "These are a great group of guys who work really hard. But it's also what we train for; to bring them into (a special forces) environment. They know what we're looking for too and they also get to know (the Air Force's) capabilities." 

Captain Rothe, who is also taking on the role of aircraft commander for the first time, said the training was good experience. 

"I learned a lot," the captain said. "Every (temporary duty assignment) we go on I learn something new. The simplest way to put it is we work together as a team to accomplish our mission and accomplish what needs to get done. No one crew position is more important than another. We all have our part to do in the mission or it just won't get done."

Each of the sensitive missions the SWCCs perform can have a varying degree of danger to them. And while military leadership will always perform a risk analysis of using the special forces members against a high-value target, safety is a number one priority for Chief Fuerstenberg during a training environment.

"Obviously, we value our guys to no end," he said. "We want to make sure we are being as safe as possible in everything we do. There is a lot of risk analysis in every single thing we do. When we're not willing to take the most risk is during direct training. Training is certainly a perishable skill. We can train another day if there is an issue, but if we were in a real-world mission and there was a high-value target we needed to execute on, that's when you take those things into consideration." 

While the SWCCs work with every special operations force in the U.S. arsenal, they have a particularly close relationship with the U.S. Navy's most-visible force, the Navy SEALs. But the chief stressed that while SEALs can come from anywhere to hit anything, the SWCC's expertise lies in "the boat side of the house." 

SEALs stand for sea, air and land. They are the maritime experts to [U.S.] Special Operations Command, whether they're on air, land or sea," he said. "We not only take SEALs, but other (special operations forces) wherever they need to go to conduct a mission. We also conduct certain missions without other forces on our own, if the need arises. SEALs are a jack of all trades, but we are experts in our field." 

And why do the SWCCs do what they do? 

"I love it, it's an exciting job," the chief said, smiling. "I have one of the best jobs in the military. I've been doing it for 20 years and I can't see ever not doing it. You get a little bit of excitement. It's good."

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