Evidence of Air Force Special Operations Command’s growth spurt is addition of a new wing, slated to take shape at Cannon AFB, N.M. AFSOC plans to shift the 16th Special Operations Wing from Hurlburt Field, Fla., to Cannon and re-establish the 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt. AFSOC commander Lt. Gen. Michael Wooley said Tuesday that Cannon would be home to new CV-22s, as well as AC-130s, MC-130 Combat Talons, and special ops helicopters. Wooley noted that the “commando vision” for “many, many years,” had included a Western base.
U.S. Southern Command recently announced its first lethal strike on a suspected narco-trafficking vessel in two months, and the first under a newly formed permanent counter-cartel task force. The U.S. is also reportedly planning to transfer MQ-9 drones to Colombia to bolster its counter-cartel efforts.