Soldier of Fortune Magazine The Journal of Professional Adventurers
“We are not makers of history, we are made by history,” – Martin Luther King Jr.
Members of the 1st Special Operations Contracting Squadron recently took part in a restoration project for the Memorial Air Park at Hurlburt Field. The team worked to restore the park by washing, sanding and painting memorials! 
: Senior Airman Miranda Mahoney
The Airfield ND the Park hold so much history including memorials and combat weapons
General David L. Goldfein, Chief of Staff of the Air Force
On 20 October 2016, General David L. Goldfein, the Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, and Lieutenant General Marshall B. “Brad” Webb, the commander of the United States Air Force Special Operations Command, unveiled the Special Tactics Memorial at Hurlburt Field’s airpark. Colonel Michael Martin, the commander of the 24th Special Operations Wing, said, “This monument serves as recognition of the battle-hardened operators who defend our nation’s freedoms against tyranny and oppression.” He added, “the members who serve within the Special Tactics community are dedicated professionals who work tirelessly to preserve our way of life. This monument represents the valor of those who never wish to highlight themselves—the quiet professionals of Air Force’s ground special operations force.” Since 9/11, Special Tactics Airmen have earned one Medal of Honor, eight Air Force Crosses, 35 Silver Star Medals, 105 Purple Hearts, and hundreds of Bronze Star Medals with the Combat V device denoting Valor. Nineteen Special Tactics Airmen made the ultimate sacrifice for their country in combat, and eight were killed in training.
This monument honors all past, current, and future Special Tactics Airmen. It consists of four parts: a wall inscribed honoring those who have earned the Medal of Honor or Air Force Cross, a smaller memorial with the names of Combat Controllers who were killed or are missing-in-action, a similar memorial reserved for the names of Special Tactics Airmen killed-in-action since the 9/11 attacks, and the centerpiece, a seven-foot tall bronze statue of a Special Tactics operator atop a black
SPECIAL OPERATIONS USE
At the height of the Vietnam Conflict, the AC-47 Gunship demonstrated the gunship’s awesome combat power defending bases. Since the AC-47 lacked sufficient air loiter time, the USAF searched for a supplemental gunship. Because the USAF was unable to detail further C-130s for gunship duties, the USAF settled on the C-119 in 1968. That year, the USAF reassigned 52 C- 119s from Pennsylvania and Indiana Air Force Reserve units. The USAF left 26 aircraft in the G- model configuration, which the Air Force referred to as “the Shadow.” They equipped the Shadows with four mini-guns. The 26 remaining aircraft were converted to K-models with the J85 Westinghouse underwing jet engine, four mini-guns, and two 20mm Gatlin guns. K-models carried the sobriquet “the Stinger.” From 1969 to 1972, the Stingers hunted enemy trucks, while the Shadows performed base defense missions.
