Gen. Bryan D. Brown, commander of US Special Operations Command, says USAF Special Operations Forces are moving fast to adapt to new world conditions “and doing a fantastic job.” He told us Wednesday that the air commandos are among the best SOF he’s seen, noting, “They are changing to meet the requirements of the [new] missions.” He praised the Air Force’s corps of battlefield airmen for their work tying on-call airpower in with other services. Brown, in a session with Washington reporters, pointed out that USAF’s Special Operations Command at Hurlburt Field, Fla. is standing up a new Predator squadron to supplement current ISR. Wherever he goes, Brown said, he “can’t sell [AFSOC] hard enough.”
The use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border this week—which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to abruptly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas—will be a “case study” on the complex web of authorities needed to employ such weapons near civilian areas and the consequences of agencies…
