Job Details

Special Reconnaissance

Every mission hinges on battlefield awareness. It's the job of Air Force Special Reconnaissance (SR) to provide it - any place, any time. These Special Warfare Airmen deploy by any means - from airborne, maritime, or land-based platforms - deep behind enemy lines to collect and exploit key information, develop targets, and tilt the battlespace in our favor. Performing on the cutting-edge of technology, SR surveil and prepare the battlespace to provide global access, air, space, and cyberspace superiority.

Special Reconnaissance Training Pipeline

Swipe to see the training pipeline to become SR.

Step 01 Basic Military Training (BMT)

7.5 weeks/Lackland AFB, TX

The first step to becoming an Airman happens in BMT where trainees learn military structure, the core values of the U.S. Air Force, and to prepare both mentally and physically for life as an Airman.

Step 02 Special Warfare Candidate Course (SWCC)

Seven weeks/Lackland AFB, TX

If they have what it takes to join Air Force Special Warfare, it will be revealed here. Candidates will undergo intense strength and conditioning training by running, rucking and swimming extensively. They'll also learn about the rich history of Special Warfare, Esprit De Corps and ultimately take the Initial Fitness Test (IFT) to see if they'll move on to their pipeline training.

Step 03 Special Warfare Assessment and Selection Course

Four weeks/Lackland AFB, TX

This is the moment candidates must prove they are worthy to advance in a SR career or find another career field.

Step 04 Special Warfare Pre-Dive Course

Four weeks/Lackland AFB, TX

Pre-dive prepares candidates physically and mentally for the rigors of combat dive school. It consists of intense calisthenics, middle- and long-distance running, swimming and, most importantly, water-confidence training.

Step 05 Airborne School

Three weeks/Fort Benning, GA

SRs are imbedded with other special forces, which means they go wherever the mission demands. Sometimes this requires dropping in from above. During airborne training, they learn basic parachuting and prepare for static line jump operations.

Step 06 Military Free-Fall Course

4.5 weeks/Yuma Proving Ground, AZ

In addition to being reconnaissance experts, SRs are also advanced skydivers. This is where they take that next step by building on the training they received at airborne school.

Step 07 SERE Training

Three weeks/Fairchild AFB, WA

Special Warfare Airmen conduct missions in some of the most extreme and hostile places on the planet. This is where they receive survival, evasion, resistance and escape training that will likely one day save their lives.

Step 08 Special Reconnaissance Apprentice Course

5 months/Pope Army Airfield, NC

SRs provide more than environmental reconnaissance, they're battlefield Airmen usually operating in the middle of a war zone. This is where they learn to apply their training under pressure while obtaining fundamental combat skills utilizing a range of weapons and strategies.

Step 09 Special Tactics Training

Six months/Hurlburt Field, FL

The longest segment of the pipeline is also the most comprehensive with advanced weapons and demolition training, all-terrain vehicle operation and core skills instruction, all culminating in a five-level upgrade on completion.

What is Air Force Special Warfare?

Get Special Warfare Ready

Swipe to see what is required to become a SR, so you can prepare before entering the pipeline.

Fitness Requirements

1. Swim 25 meters underwater
2. Swim 500 meters (breaststroke, sidestroke and freestyle)
3. Run 1.5 miles
4. Pull-ups in two minutes
5. Sit-ups in two minutes
6. Push-ups in two minutes

Download a 21-day fitness program to get yourself ready.

Key Requirements

You must meet several requirements before joining the Air Force. These concern your background, overall health and other standards set by the Air Force, Department of Defense and federal law.

• You must be 1742 years of age, a U.S. citizen and obtain a qualifying ASVAB score
• High School Students may start their application as early as the end of their junior year
• Successful completion of the Special Warfare Operator Enlistment IFT
• Physical qualification and maintenance of physical standards for special warfare to include marine diving and parachute duty
• Normal color vision and depth perception
• Qualification to bear firearms
• Completion of a current National Agency Check, Local Agency Checks and Credit Check
• Completion of 7.5 weeks of Basic Military Training
• Must be at least 17, but has not reached age 42 on the date of enlistment

Views from Real Special Warfare

In Air Force Special Warfare, when we say, "Any place. Any time. Anywhere," there's a good chance you'll be getting muddy from time to timeespecially when you're behind the wheel of an MRZR.

They say to make it through Air Force Special Warfare training you have to endure the suck. These Airmen training to become CCTs are doing just that to prove they belong among the most elite warriors on the planet.

Answer the Call