Hegseth Directs Air Force to Establish New Guard Special Tactics Squadron

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has directed the Air Force to establish a new Special Tactics Squadron under the Florida Air National Guard, growing a small but elite group of special operators.

The Pentagon announced Hegseth’s order Oct. 21, releasing a brief Sept. 23 memo from Hegseth to Air Force Secretary Troy Meink, directing him to create the new squadron at Hurlburt Field “with an associated new organization at MacDill Air Force Base,” both in Florida.

Pentagon and Air Force spokespersons offered no further details. The Air National Guard did not immediately respond to a query.

Hurlburt is the headquarters of Air Force Special Operations Command, and MacDill is home to U.S. Special Operations Command. Connecting the new unit to both “creates an unparalleled ecosystem of combat-ready training and mission execution,” the Pentagon’s announcement states. “This move maximizes joint-force synergy, ensures seamless operational readiness, and provides the President with highly responsive, lethal options to counter pacing threats.”

Special tactics squadrons are some of the Air Force’s premier ground forces, consisting of combat controllers, pararescuemen, special reconnaissance, and Tactical Air Control Party specialists. They conduct a wide range of missions in covert, remote, or hostile areas, including combat search and rescue, airfield seizure, emergency air traffic controller, and coordination of close air support.

There are just a handful of special tactics squadrons across the Air Force, and only two in the Guard—the 123rd Special Tactics Squadron in Kentucky and the 125th Special Tactics Squadron in Oregon. The Florida Air National Guard has one special ops unit, the 249th Special Operations Squadron, which flies the CV-22 Osprey.

It is unclear how quickly the new unit will be established and be fully manned. Hegseth’s memo states that “any further resourcing for this direction, to include military construction, equipment, and manpower authorizations will be developed in the President’s Budget 2028 budget cycle.”

The memo also directs the National Guard Bureau and the Air Force to follow Air Force policy for establishing the new unit, “consistent with applicable DAF Strategic Basing process and environmental legal requirements.”

It is highly unusual—if not unprecedented—for the Secretary of Defense to direct the establishment of a squadron-level unit in any component.

Hegseth, a former Army officer, has praised special operations forces, seeing them as a model for innovation and acquisition reform, and they have played key roles in operations during his tenure, including Operation Absolute Resolve to seize Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January, Operation Rough Rider in Yemen in 2025, and the ongoing strikes against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.