Help the USAFA Special Warfare Club with land and water equipment needs.

The USAFA Special Warfare Club is seeking support to receive additional funding to purchase land and water equipment necessary for the preparation of cadets interested in AFSPECWAR jobs of STO, TACPO, or CRO.

Cause for Falcon Funder support: 

Current USAFA Cadet Wing Club budget is limited to $1,000/year, inadequate to supply the basic land and water equipment necessary to prepare cadets for AFSPECWAR. This forces cadets to purchase items on their own or go without.

The USAFA Special Warfare Club is working toward a $27,000 as a 2023 fundraising goal. This is the exact dollar amount to initially equip 40 cadets and once achieved, will be significantly reduced for following years as this equipment will be passed on.

Positive impact of a graduate donation to the USAFA Special Warfare Club: 

Provide additional funding beyond the annual $1,000 from the Cadet Wing Clubs to purchase equipment necessary to prepare USAFA cadets for the rigorous demand of AFSPECWAR. This includes: rucks, rubber weapons, sand table planning materials, masks, snorkels, fins, booties, and can expand into the basic equipment to perform the AFSPECWAR access, strike, and recovery missions.

Background on the program:

Air Force Special Warfare (AFSPECWAR) is the USAF’s premier offensive ground combat force that applies airpower and integrates the joint force to solve problems.  These airmen specialize in air, ground, space, and cyber integration in hostile, denied, or politically sensitive environments to achieve all-domain dominance. These 19Z AFSCs consist of Special Tactics Officers (STO 19ZXA), Tactical Air Control Party Officers (TACP-O 19ZXB), and Combat Rescue Officers (CRO 19ZXC).  The officers lead the enlisted force of specialized airmen – Combat Controllers (CCT), Tactical Air Control Party (TACP), Pararescuemen (PJ), Special Reconnaissance (SR), and SW Mission Support Personnel.  The 19Zs lead three main mission sets – Precision Strike (guiding deadly airstrikes), Global Access (seizing and controlling airfields), AND Personnel Recovery (rescuing friendly personnel in harm's way) in Special Tactics Teams, Tactical Air Control Party and The Guardian Angel Weapon System.  These missions behind enemy lines require decisive and determined combat leaders who operate in the air and on the ground…and who never quit. 

 AFSPECWAR officers are one of the only career fields in the USAF that have competitive, pre-commissioning screening/selection requirements. In order to receive the 19Z AFSC upon commissioning, USAFA and AFROTC cadets must attend an AFSPECWAR screening/selection course during their junior or senior year, and be competitively selected by  the hiring board. Once selected, candidates begin the rigorous pipeline immediately following commissioning. 

In the fall of 2020, the USAFA Special Warfare Club was established from a former program. This new, formalized, official and transparent, objective-based program with qualified oversight provides opportunities for cadets aspiring to become AFSPECWAR Officers. This program received high levels of interest to improve efforts to garner interest in SW (recruit) and provide a better candidate for SW selection and training (prepare), to include full-time contracted support and formalized lesson plans. What remains is additional financial support to properly equip cadets.