Whither Aviation Foreign Internal Defense?

I N 1994 AIR FORCE Special Opera tions Com mand stood up the 6th Special Op­ era tions Squadron (6 SOS), the first-­ ever USAF squadron dedicated to the for eign inter nal defense (FID) mission area. With roots in special air warfare dating back to the Vietnam War and even as far back as the Second World War, the 6 SOS was created to advise, train, and assist for­ eign aviation forces in the appli ca tion of airpower in inter nal defense and devel op ment. Since that time the squadron has expanded its mission to include coali tion support roles and combat advi sory opera tions in keep ing with the emerging missions that com prise opera tions other than war (OOTW). Never the less, the core mission has re mained intact: incul cat ing in foreign air forces the idea of the utility of airpower across the conflict spectrum. Since its incep tion, however, the 6 SOS has been plagued by a host of diffi cul ties in ful fill ing the vision of its creators, the most sa li ent of which stem from the question of whether the squadron should have aircraft ap pro pri ate to its third world mission. Aircraft remain critical to the original vision of what has become the 6 SOS, but as of this writ ing, only two aged UH-1N helicop­ ters—origi nally en route to the bone-