The 551st Special Operations Squadron (551 SOS) is a squadron of the United States Air Force

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

. It is assigned to the 27th Special Operations Wing at Cannon AFB, New Mexico. The 551st had been based at Kirtland Air Force Base

Kirtland Air Force Base

Kirtland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in the southeast quadrant of the Albuquerque, New Mexico urban area, adjacent to the Albuquerque International Sunport. The base was named for the early Army aviator Col. Roy C. Kirtland...

 from 15 March 1976 until its deactivation on 10 May 2007..
It was reactivated in 2009 and currently is assigned to the AFSOC and trains aircrews on the MC-130 and AC-130.

Lineage

• Designated 1551st Flying Training Squadron on 1 April 1971.
• Organized 1 April 1971.
• Redesignated 551st Flying Training Squadron on 1 October 1991.
• Redesignated 551st Special Operations Squadron on 1 April 1994.
• Inactivated on 10 May 2007.
• Reactivated on 25 Jul 2009.

Operations

The 551st was originally designated the 1551st Flying Training Squadron, and was assigned to the 1550th Aircrew Training and Test Wing, 1550th Combat Crew Training Wing. In 1994, it was redesignated the 551st Special Operations Squadron, and was reassigned to the 58th Special Operations Wing.

The 551st conducted helicopter training until it was inactivated in 2007. It is also responsible for special operations contingencies, exercises, and humanitarian rescue missions. The Squadron conducted training on the Pave Low helicopter, but suspended these operations due to the looming retirement of the helicopter.

Stations, Assignments, & Aircraft

Date	Base	Assignment	Aircraft
1 April 1971	Hill AFB, Utah Utah Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...	1551th Aircrew Training and Test Wing	HH-43 Huskie 1971 - (1975) HH-53 Super Jolly Green Giant (1971–1987) HC-130 Hercules (1973–1987)
			HH-3 Jolly Green Giant (1971–1992) UH-1 Iroquois UH-1 Iroquois The Bell UH-1 Iroquois is a military helicopter powered by a single, turboshaft engine, with a two-bladed main rotor and tail rotor. The helicopter was developed by Bell Helicopter to meet the United States Army's requirement for a medical evacuation and utility helicopter in 1952, and first flew...  (1987–1994) HH-60 Pave Hawk HH-60 Pave Hawk The Sikorsky MH-60G/HH-60G Pave Hawk is a twin turboshaft engine helicopter in service with the United States Air Force. It is a derivative of the UH-60 Black Hawk and incorporates the US Air Force PAVE electronic systems program...  (1990–1994)
1 October 1991	Kirtland AFB, New Mexico New Mexico New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...	542d Operations Group
1 April 1994	Kirtland AFB, New Mexico New Mexico New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...	58th Operations Group 58th Operations Group The 58th Operations Group is the operational flying component of the United States Air Force 58th Special Operations Wing. It is stationed at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico....	MH-53J Pave Low III MH-53 Pave Low The Sikorsky MH-53 Pave Low series is a long-range combat search and rescue helicopter for the United States Air Force. The series was upgraded from the HH-53B/C, variants of the Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion. The HH-53 "Super Jolly Green Giant" was initially developed to replace the HH-3 "Jolly...
2009	Cannon AFB, New Mexico New Mexico New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...	551st Special Operations Squadron	AC-130H Spectre  MC-130W Wombat  MQ-1 Predator
2010	Cannon AFB, New Mexico	551st Special Operations Squadron	AC-130W Stinger II  MC-130J Combat Talon  MQ-9 Reaper MQ-9 Reaper The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper is an unmanned aerial vehicle , capable of remote controlled or autonomous flight operations, developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems for use by the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, the CIA, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Royal...   Dornier 328 Dornier 328 |-See also:- References :* Swanborough, Gordon. "Dornier 328: A Daimler for Commuters". Air International, March 1992, Vol. 42 No. 3. pp. 123–128. ISSN 0306-5634....   Pilatus PC-12 Pilatus PC-12 The Pilatus PC-12 is a single-engine turboprop passenger and cargo aircraft manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft of Switzerland. The main market for the aircraft is corporate transport and regional airliner operators.-Design and development:...   M-28 Skytruck

Air Force Outstanding Unit Award

• 1 April 1974 - 31 May 1976
• 1 April 1976 - 31 March 1978
• 1 July 1985 - 30 June 1987
• 1 July 1987 - 30 June 1989
• 1 January 1993 - 30 June 1994
• 1 July 1994 - 31 December 1995
• 1 July 1996 - 30 June 1998
• 1 July 1998 - 30 June 2000
• 1 July 2001 - 30 June 2002
• 1 July 2002 - 30 June 2003
• 1 July 2009 - 23 May 2011

External links

• The PAVE Cave (unofficial PAVE LOW website)