United States Air Force Special Reconnaissance

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U.S. Air Force Special Reconnaissance
Special Reconnaissance crest
Active	Jun 15 1942 – present
Country	United States of America
Branch	United States Air Force
Type	Special operations force
Role	Special reconnaissance
Part of	United States Special Operations Command Air Force Special Operations Command
Nickname(s)	SR
Color of Beret	Pewter Grey
Insignia
Pewter grey beret with former SOWT beret flash

Special Reconnaissance (SR), formerly Special Operations Weather Technician or Team (SOWT), is conducted by trained Air Force personnel assigned to Special Tactics Squadrons of the United States Air Force Special Operations Command who operate deep behind enemy lines to conduct covert direction of air and missile attacks, place remotely monitored sensors, and support other special operation units. Like other special operations units, SR units may also carry out direct action (DA) and unconventional warfare (UW), including guerrilla operations. As SOWTs they were tactical observer/forecasters with ground combat capabilities and fell under the Air Force Special Tactics within the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). The mission of a Special Operations Weather Technician was to deploy by the most feasible means available into combat and non-permissive environments to collect and interpret meteorological data and provide air and ground forces commanders with timely, accurate intelligence. They collect data, assist mission planning, generate accurate and mission-tailored target and route forecasts in support of global special operations, conduct special weather reconnaissance and train foreign national forces. SOWTs provided vital intelligence and deployed with joint air and ground forces in support of direct action, counter-terrorism, foreign internal defense, humanitarian assistance, special reconnaissance, austere airfield, and combat search and rescue.^[1]

An article in the 13 May 2019 Air Force Times announced changes to the career field and stated in part:

Special operations weather team airmen, known as SOWTs, are getting a new name and mission.

The SOWT battlefield airman career field was renamed special reconnaissance on 30 April in order to bolster the Air Force Special Tactics teams—which consist of combat control, pararescue and tactical air control party airmen—as they prepare for an era of great power competition.

The new career field and training plan will not be signed and published until the fall, Air Force Special Operations Command officials told Air Force Times Monday. However, the changes in the pipeline will include adding reconnaissance-specific training, military free-fall and combat diver course.

SOWT’s new role as special reconnaissance, will shift from a specialized weather analysis focus to one of multi-domain reconnaissance and surveillance, AFSOC officials said.^[2]