USAF Brig. Gen. Craig Prather, Air Force Special Operations Command director of strategic plans, programs and requirements, has addressed attendees at the annual Special Air Warfare Symposium and Expo (SAWS) in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.

Speaking at SAWS, Prather emphasized that despite shifts in strategic focus in recent years and rapid technological change, SOF aviation remains essential to national defense and joint force operations. He framed SOF aviation’s relevance across four core mission areas: maneuver, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, strike, and air-to-ground integration, highlighting how these missions will evolve to meet emerging threats. 
 
“SOF aviation is needed now for the same reasons we’ve always needed it: to get our nation’s finest onto the X, enable those operators and to assure them without doubt that we will pull them off the X when they call for exfil,” Prather said, stressing the irreplaceable role of specially-trained aviators and Special Tactics Airmen.  

Prather also touched on the changing character of warfare, including the proliferation of autonomous systems, cyber/space capabilities, and the information domain, arguing that although these are new warfighting domains, they do not eliminate the physical demands of conflict for which SOF aviation delivers the speed, surprise and violence of action required across the tyranny of distance in short windows of opportunity.  

Seniors leaders also discussed the need for a rapidly-evolving acquisitions process – an inherent aspect of the future of SOF aviation.  

Melissa Johnson, U.S. Special Operations Command acquisition executive, spoke to the volatile nature of warfighting at SAWS while enforcing the need for understanding and embracing risk to increase the speed of delivery for required capabilities.  

“I welcome high risk, I want the teams to bring me high risk,” said Johnson. “You just have to manage it…I think the more that teams are not afraid to bring high risk, it will increase our speed of acquisitions. You can be fast, but that doesn’t mean we’re undisciplined, just like any high-performing sports team, everybody’s playing their role. When everybody utilizes their skills and authorities, it circles back to what U.S. Navy Adm. Bradley, SOCOM commander, talks about in a culture of accountability and meritocracy where everyone’s responsible for the thing they came to do.”

At the end of the day, whether it’s accepting risk or adapting to the future of warfare, the most important aspect of the fight has always been the human in the fight. 

“Regardless of the value provided by our platforms or our capabilities, the true value of SOF aviation is derived from our people, I’m referring to the Air Commando, the Night Stalker, and the members of our formation generating SOF air power and supporting the men and women pushing toward the X.” Said Brig. Gen. Craig Prather.