6th SOS: Growth demands quality, not quantity

  • Published
  • By Jamie Haig
  • 16th SOW Public Affairs
HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. --  (This is part three of a four-part series on the 6th Special Operations Squadron.) 

One Hurlburt Field squadron has been mandated to significantly increase the unit's size in a relatively short time frame, creating real challenges in recruiting, training, and requirements for additional facilities.

On Dec. 10, 2004, Army Gen. Bryan D. Brown, United States Special Operations Command commander, directed the 6th Special Operations Squadron to increase the squadron's size, focusing on flying and maintaining aircraft.

The 6th SOS's mission is to assess, train, advise and assist foreign aviation forces in airpower employment, sustainment and force integration.

In order to accomplish this task, the squadron needs to add personnel to its roster.

"Our biggest challenge is acquiring the newly-authorized number of people while maintaining the quality of the individuals selected," said Jerome Klingaman, 6th SOS Director of Strategy and Plans.

Mission requirements are the real driver for the growth of the 6th SOS.

During the year following General Brown's visit, the squadron was unable to support 58 percent of the officially-requested tasks because of insufficient combat aviation advisor resources.

"The command's goal is to fill the newly allocated positions by the end of fiscal year 2007," said Lt. Col. Dan Grillone, 6th SOS commander. "We're looking for the right personnel, and we're hiring right now."

The 6th SOS is working with AFSOC and Air Force Personnel Center to recruit the right people for the job.

"We're recruiting highly experienced, instructor-qualified people," said Colonel Grillone. "It's important that we take the growth seriously and do it methodically and efficiently."

The application package helps the squadron acquire the right types of people for the mission.

"We're doing effects-based planning in this growth initiative," Colonel Grillone said. "This is to get the desired effect from the planning process to prosecute the war on terror through enabling our coalition partners to fight terrorists on their own soil. Our growth is directly related to the National Security Strategy, a strategy that relies on enabling our allies to help fight terrorism."

With its increased size, the squadron will be more capable of meeting regional requirements around the world.

With more hot spots than before, certain regions will receive more emphasis and the squadrons' growth will reflect that.

"Our focus will be the USSOCOM priority countries," Colonel Grillone said.

"The United States cannot fight the GWOT alone, that's why we're enabling our partner nations to deal with internal threats and function as viable coalition partners."
"We help foreign friends and allies defend themselves against the internal threats of terrorism and insurgency," added Mr. Klingaman. "That's our job."

Along with people, the squadron's aircraft inventory will probably increase as well.

Already sporting several different types of aircraft on their tarmac, the new additions will be selected based on types of aircraft possessed by the countries they'll be helping.

"We're also looking to acquire more aircraft, such as the UH-1H helicopter and C-130 aircraft," said Colonel Grillone.

Another issue the squadron faces is working space for the personnel they have now and for new recruits.

"We don't have the physical space to accommodate them right now," said
Colonel Grillone. "We're looking for an expanded work space for new hires."

The squadron is being proactive for a much larger purpose and for a much larger cause, while still maintaining the unit's own training and capabilities.

"The important point is that we must achieve the growth, train our new people, and do the mission simultaneously," said Mr. Klingaman. "We cannot stop the missions while we're hiring and training new people."

Training a new member of the 6th SOS requires six to eight months of intense training that is broken down into a four-phase process.

"We're still going to need people to train the new recruits as well as people to deploy for our on-going missions," said Colonel Grillone. "We've devised a special training program to handle just this."
The 6th SOS is looking for a few good people that aren't afraid of a challenge.

"I'll talk to anyone who wants to be here," said Colonel Grillone. "I'm happy to discuss the 6th SOS's mission with anyone."

Interested personnel are encouraged to call the squadron commander directly at (850) 884-4814.