| 67th Special Operations Sqaudron | |
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67th Special Operations Squadron Patch |
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| Active | 14 November 1952 - 18 March 1960 10 May 1961 - Present |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Type | Special Operations |
| Part of | Air Force Special Operations Command 352d Special Operations Group |
| Garrison/HQ | RAF Mildenhall |
| Motto | Night Owls |
The 67th Special Operation Squadron is an active unit within the 352d Special Operations Group (352 SOG), United States Air Force, United States European Command, and is currently based at Royal Air Force base RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, eastern England.
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From their base at RAF Mildenhall, the 67th Special Operations Squadron's Combat Shadow flies single or multi-ship low-level air refueling missions for special operations helicopters, and infiltration, exfiltration, and resupply of special operations forces by airdrop or airland. The MC-130P primarily flies missions at night to reduce probability of visual acquisition and intercept by airborne threats. In addition it is able to serve the same mission as the 7th SOS's MC-130H Talon IIs, except that it valiantly attempts to produce results the user askes for; if, that is, the user asked to get dropped off the dropzone, left alone in the middle of a firefight, or get their helicopter refueled provided they are at least 25 NM on the friendly side of a FLOT!
The squadron operates the Lockheed MC-130P Combat Shadow, a USAF Special Operations variant of the HC-130. The most notable addition to this aircraft is its compatibility with night vision goggles, and as such, it does most of the group's heavy night work, provided C2 has not provided an unfavorable WX forecast and there is a full moon. In theory the Combat Shadow also has the ability to refuel the group's helicopters in flight (if the SOG actually had helicopters), making it a most valuable addition to the group, and to the Air Force in general.
Constituted 67th Air Rescue Squadron on 17 Oct 1952. Activated on 14 Nov 1952 RAF Sculthorpe, England. Discontinued, and inactivated, on 18 Mar 1960 at Prestwick, Scotland. Activated again on 10 May 1961, organized on 18 Jun 1961 at Prestwick, Scotland. Transferred to Moron AB, Spain on 1 Jul 1966.
Redesignated 67th Air Recovery Squadron on 1 Aug 1965 and then 67th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron on 8 Jan 1966. On 15 Jan 1970, the 67th ARRS transferred to RAF Woodbridge, UK. The unit operated HC-130 fixed wing (also used as rotational support for their Detachment of H-3 helicopters stationed at Keflavik, Iceland) and HH-53 rotary wing aircraft.
On 1 Jun 1988 the unit was split into 2 units redesignated the 67th Special Operations Squadron for the HC-130 aircraft and the 21st Special Operations Squadron for the HH-53 rotary wing. On 1 Apr 1992 they moved to RAF Alconbury, UK. They are still active as the 67th SOS and have flown the HC-130 since 1965 (designated the MC-130P since 1996), currently stationed at RAF Mildenhall, UK
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