STATEMENT OF

LIEUTENANT GENERAL STATEMENT OF

LIEUTENANT GENERAL MARSHALL B. WEBB, U.S. AIR FORCE
COMMANDER
UNITED STATES AIR FORCE SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND

BEFORE THE

SENATE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE
EMERGING THREATS AND CAPABILITIES SUBCOMMITTEE
APRIL 11, 2018

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 Chairwoman Ernst, Ranking Member Heinrich and distinguished members of the
Committee, I am honored to appear before you as the Commander of Air Force Special
Operations Command (AFSOC) on behalf of your superb Air Commandos. Today, I will share
with you how AFSOC is ready to win tomorrow’s fight for our nation if called upon, regardless of
the adversary.
As United States Special Operations Command’s (USSOCOM) air component, we
continuously strive to hone capability and evolve our force to remain Ready, Relevant, and
Resilient -- our three AFSOC priorities. I want to express my gratitude for the resources
projected in Presidential Budget (PB) 2019, as these fully fund our requirements and will help
us turn a strategic corner as we engage in the Great Powers competition.
In line with the National Defense Strategy (NDS), AFSOC has the duty and opportunity to
shape specialized airpower to accentuate both the far low-end and high-end of the conflict
spectrum. As General Thomas testified before your committee two months ago, Special
Operations’ unique capabilities are in high demand across the globe. For 17 years, AFSOC has
been focused on Counter-Violent Extremist Organizations (CVEO) operations. This has
accelerated the AFSOC operations tempo and has drawn our efforts towards the low-end of the
conflict spectrum. We realize these efforts are predominately long-term engagements in which
cumulative tactical effects lead to long-term strategic impact. To make such engagements
successful, AFSOC must lower the resource and opportunity costs of conducting persistent
CVEO operations. We must drive down the cost of conducting Intelligence, Surveillance and
Reconnaissance (ISR), Processing, Exploitation and Dissemination (PED), and Strike – especially
in permissive environments. Conversely, AFSOC operations on the high-end are predominately
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 those that deliver strategic impact in a short amount of time. AFSOC must be capable and
flexible in order to confront competitors across a range of potential conflict scenarios. We must
develop a force that is more lethal and resilient in contested environments. We must be able to
gain and maintain advantage in the information domain. Harmonizing our systems wherever
possible will achieve efficiencies of scale and interoperability savings along these lines of effort.
This analysis brings me to AFSOC’s first priority: READINESS. For nearly three decades,
AFSOC has effectively and decisively delivered specialized airpower around the globe, often at a
moment’s notice. Our battlefield performance remains unmatched. However, the character of
war continually evolves. AFSOC must remain agile and ready to prepare for the unpredictable.
AFSOC must build full-spectrum readiness while ensuring that we are postured to “fight
tonight”. We are invested in virtual, adaptive, and realistic training to build readiness beyond
traditional means. Using virtual reality to integrate live training environments with simulators
reduces training costs, lowers personnel tempo, and enables us to realistically exercise highend mission sets.
Another way to maximize readiness is by strengthening our network of allies and
attracting new partners. AFSOC stands with our Indo-Pacific, Middle Eastern, African,
European, and hemispheric allies and partners, providing assurance and enhanced aviation
capabilities against a subversive Russia and an increasingly expansionist China. Ensuring
readiness both home and abroad, AFSOC conducted 78 exercises and training events with
partner nations in 2017, including stateside capstone exercises like our recently concluded
EMERALD WARRIOR. Overseas-based exercises, led by our OCONUS units and occasionally
augmented with CONUS forces, play a critical role enabling Theater Special Operations
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 Command (TSOC) and Global Combatant Command (GCC) regional campaign plans. Conducting
bilateral and multilateral events with the Republic of Korea, Japan, the Republic of India, the
Republic of Estonia, the United Kingdom, France, and others, our Air Commandos bolster the
capabilities of partner nations, create pockets of containment, and ensure interoperability
between American, allied, and partner forces. We welcome hosting members of this committee
at any future exercises to see firsthand the value our Air Commandos deliver to allies, partners,
and the nation.
Our Combat Aviation Advisors (CAA) are the vanguard of AFSOC’s Irregular Warfare
force. Specializing in Aviation Foreign Internal Defense (AvFID) operations, CAAs recently
enhanced indigenous aviation operations in the Kingdom of Thailand, the Hashemite Kingdom
of Jordan, and the Republic of Poland. PB-19 dramatically improves our AvFID capability by
doubling our CAA capacity with 152 additional advisors, and by adding five AvFID Armed ISR
aircraft. CAA force growth ensures engagement with Combatant Commanders’ highest priority
countries. As we work to build out the full CAA capability portfolio and bring more partner
nations on board to share the security, we enthusiastically support the Air Force’s Light Attack
Aircraft initiative. Using an economically feasible Light Attack platform would allow us to scale
aviation training for our allies, expand procurement and maintenance efficiencies, and
maximize opportunities to build partner capacity.
Should a bolstered allied network fail to deter aggression, AFSOC remains postured to
deter, compete, and win against strategic competitors via our second priority: RELEVANCE. To
meet the challenges enumerated in the NDS, AFSOC must cultivate a balanced force for highand low-end conflict by investing in new capabilities while leveraging current capabilities in
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 new, innovative ways. This strategy aims to balance and expand AFSOC relevance across the
spectrum of conflict to deter, and if necessary defeat, adversaries in a dynamic and everchanging security environment. AFSOC embraces the process of innovation from within our
formation, striving towards a balance of incremental and transformational efforts that are costeffective and that extend strategic purpose.
AFSOC assiduously investigates new and unique ways to organize, train, and equip
against strategic competitors. We promote General Goldfein’s “current technology used in new
ways” approach to rapid, cost-effective, and impactful innovation. AFSOC finds the way against
America’s toughest enemies, dating back to daring infiltration missions against Nazi Germany’s
Fortress Europe and the front lines of Imperial Japan. This ethos endured through the decades,
and is still alive and well in your Air Commandos of today. Regardless of threats, AFSOC finds
quick and lethal solutions, understanding the shifting geopolitical landscape and constantly
adjusting our force presentation to maximize lethality and applicability for tomorrow’s fight.
Maintaining a relevant force and fleet demands that we continually refine and
modernize the force through programming priorities. By accelerating programs essential to
retiring legacy aircraft, AFSOC can reinvest cost savings into future capabilities. For example,
the MC-130J Talon III program provides adverse weather terrain following/terrain avoidance,
radar threat avoidance/protection, and communication networking capabilities significantly
more advanced than our current MC-130H Talon II fleet built in the 1980s. New Radar
Frequency Countermeasures technologies bring expanded capabilities, allowing digital
upgrades that protect against emerging enemy threats without replacing complete systems.
Airborne Mission Networking provides a suite of integrated situational awareness and
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 communication tools providing the crew with a correlated common operating picture of the air
and ground battlespace that does not currently exist in SOF mobility aircraft. PB-19 funding is
critical to synchronize the Talon III design and testing, thus enabling a timely recapitalization of
the Talon II fleet. Fielding of Talon III capabilities is critical to maintaining the relevance of our
SOF C-130 specialized mobility fleet across all spectrums.
Knowing we must innovate at the speed of relevancy, we are currently fielding our
newest gunship using “plug and play” technology already evaluated in other AFSOC platforms.
This allows for an expedited fielding timeline, and more rapidly delivers the best lethality to our
warfighters. Additionally, AFSOC is adjusting tactics, techniques, and procedures, and adding
low-cost modifications to current assets. These new combinations aim to produce cascading
problems for America’s adversaries, creating strategic dilemmas and buying time for the Joint
Force to act and react accordingly. The faster we can go from concept to the battlefield, the
better.
Other key emergent technologies at AFSOC include the gunship High Energy Laser, a
non-kinetic weapon system employed to achieve high precision lethal effects on targets with
little to no acoustic signature and very low collateral damage. High Energy Lasers are a truly
remarkable and innovative technology, one that is capable of dramatically shaping the
battlefield to our advantage. Additional gunship advancements include the use of Adverse
Weather Engagement Systems and Tactical Off-Board Sensing technologies. These systems
enable our AC-130 gunship fleet to target, sense, and engage despite adverse weather
conditions.

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 Looking beyond the next ridgeline, we are interested in developments relating to Next
Generation Vertical Take Off and Landing capabilities. We see this presenting a revolutionary
leap in vertical lift range and speed using advanced turbofan technology. Additionally, our Next
Generation Manned ISR platform is going through requirement validation. We know this
capability must be operable in a more contested threat environment than we’ve become
accustomed to, and thus we’re looking for increases in endurance, range, speed, capacity,
payload, and advanced defensive systems. Staying relevant requires persistence.
AFSOC is working with USSOCOM and Air Force Space Command to increase
interoperability. As the Department of Defense’s lead component for the space warfighting
domain, the Air Force aims to advance space-based technology to maintain superiority in the
ultimate high ground. The Joint Force’s reliance on these space effects, such as GPS, ISR, and
communications capabilities will grow exponentially, despite increased threats in the domain.
We have adopted a resilient space enhancement strategy to ensure these capabilities are
available for AFSOC missions throughout the conflict spectrum. Future employment
opportunities include Alternative Beyond-Line-of-Sight options during operations and resilient
positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) systems in denied environments.
AFSOC heavily leverages both Air Force and USSOCOM research and development
investments, but also tracks key Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Office of the Secretary of Defense Strategic Capabilities
Office (SCO), and industry projects that align with our innovation focus. For example, we are
partners with USSOCOM, AFRL, and industry for Project MAVEN. This Under Secretary of
Defense for Intelligence initiative leverages machine learning and artificial intelligence
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 capabilities to free precious human capital from labor-intensive ISR categorization work. AFSOC
leverages USSOCOM’s SOFWERX network to reach largely untapped non-traditional sources of
innovation in the commercial markets. SOFWERX recently facilitated assessments for AFSOC of
new systems and technologies, like reducing the size, weight and power of the equipment
carried by our Special Tactics operators. AFWERX is a similarly-scoped Air Force program that is
relatively new, and is beginning to work other issues related to Special Tactics.
Finally, our third priority is RESILIENCY. What defines AFSOC is not technology or
platforms. Rather, we are defined by our people – Active Duty, Guard, Reserve, and civilians
alike - and their relentless application of our ethos and strategic values balanced across the
spectrum of conflict. Tomorrow’s fight is unknowable but one thing is certain: it must be an
integrated joint venture where our creative concepts will win out. AFSOC fervently believes a
diverse formation lends itself to this end and we develop all Air Commandos accordingly. In
fact, AFSOC employs the skills of female aviators in combat operations, and has done so since
1994. The Air Force proudly promoted our first female Air Commando to the rank of Brigadier
General this year, and over 13% of our senior enlisted formation is female, a ratio that
compares favorably to the rest of the Air Force. We have benefited from the expertise of
female leadership at the squadron, group, and wing level for years, and will continue to do so
into the future.
Humans, not hardware, allow us to accomplish our mission. Our Air Commandos,
families, and relationships are our most valuable assets; but they are also our most vulnerable.
Our Nation calls upon us to provide specialized airpower, oftentimes at a moment’s notice. We
proudly stand ready to answer our nation’s call. We understand the impact of this demanding
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 and perilous mission. Therefore, the immediate and enduring resiliency of our force, family, and
relationships, is the critical foundation for everything we do. We consider this an essential task
to maintain readiness of the AFSOC force.
The readiness and relevance of our force is for naught if we neglect our physical,
mental, spiritual, and social fitness. Utilizing USSOCOM’s Preservation of the Force and Family
(POTFF) and the Air Force’s Comprehensive Airman Fitness programs, we ensure that our Air
Commandos, including our brave gold star families, have access to every possible tool to
achieve resiliency every day and we exploit every opportunity to encourage our Airmen to use
these tools.
POTFF enables us to deliver Human Performance Programs designed to meet the unique
needs of our warfighters. It delivers Psychological Performance Programs to improve our
cognitive and behavioral performance. It integrates family resilience initiatives into Social
Performance Programs, enhancing service-provided programs. POTFF allows us to deliver
Spiritual Performance Programs to enhance core beliefs, values, awareness, relationships and
experiences. Our team is grateful for your resolute support of AFSOC, as the continued funding
of USSOCOM’s POTFF program is vital to the long-term psychological, spiritual, social, and
physical resiliency of the nation’s bravest warriors. After all, the invisible wounds of war can be
just as debilitating as physical injuries.
AFSOC is on a glide path to meet the Secretary of Defense’s goal of 1:2 deployment-todwell for the active force and 1:5 for reserve forces. Currently, 17% of deployed AFSOC
personnel have a deployment-to-dwell of less than 1:2 and there are no individuals deployed
below 1:1. To balance the insatiable global demand for specialized airpower, we are
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 consistently working towards a maintainable deployment tempo for the long-term health of our
force, while enhancing focus on recruiting, retention, and preservation of the force initiatives.
Chairwoman Ernst, Ranking Member Heinrich, and Members of the Committee, AFSOC
represents our nation’s finest assets and our enduring strategic advantage. On behalf of all Air
Commandos thank you for the opportunity to address you today. I look forward to answering
any questions you might have.

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