Combat Aviation Advisors

Members of the 5th Special Operations Squadron pictured during Raven Claw, a training exercise that is run as part of the Combat Aviation Advisor course run at Duke Field, Florida.

Combat Aviation Advisors (CAA) are Air Force / Air Force Reserve Air Commandos that integrate at flight / squadron-level within partner nations air forces in order to train them in air operations.

AFSOC's 6th Special Operations Squadron deploys CAAs in Operational Aviation Detachments in order to carry out Foreign Internal Defence (FID) operations.

The Combat Aviation Advisor course is split into 4 phases.

The first phase features 12 weeks of introductory education and practical training which culminates in a 4-day exercise, Raven Claw.

A subsequent phase teaches foreign language skills, including Arabic, French, Urdu, Russian, Polish, German, Korean and Spanish.

A vital phase of CAA training teaches them to operate and maintain a variety of aircraft including both fixed wing and rotary wing assets.

Helicopters that CAAs become proficient with include Russian-built MI-8 / MI-17s, US-made Hueys and the French-made Super Puma.

Fixed wing aircraft include Cessna 208, Beech King Air 350 and DHC-6 Twin Otter light aircraft and CASA 212 and C-130 transport aircraft.