[MilCom] Cannon to get 16th SOW

[Steve Douglass]

Cannon Air Force Base will stay open as home to a Special Operations 
mission, Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., announced in a conference call 
this morning.

Domenici said Cannon could become a "full special operations base" 
within the next two years.

The federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission last August 
accepted the Pentagon's recommendation to send Cannon's three F-16 
fighter squadrons elsewhere - but stopped short of closing the 
eastern New Mexico base.

Instead, the commission voted to make Cannon an enclave, keeping it 
open in a much-reduced form while the Department of Defense looked 
for another mission for it.

An Air Force team began evaluating Cannon's facilities last November 
to help the Defense Department decide what the base might become. 
Earlier the same month, Congress approved language that ensured 
construction projects continued while the new mission was sought.


16th Special Operations Wing [16th SOW] moving to Cannon AFB.

The 16th Special Operations Wing consists of approximately 7,000 
highly trained military professionals who stand ready to conduct 
special operations missions at a moment's notice. The wing is the 
largest Air Force unit assigned to the U.S. Special Operations 
Command, a command responsible for conducting special operations 
worldwide.

The 16th SOW specializes in unconventional warfare. At the direction 
of the National Command Authorities, the 16th SOW goes into action 
with specially trained and equipped forces from each service working 
as a team to support national security objectives. Special operations 
are often undertaken in enemy-controlled or politically-sensitive 
areas and can cover a myriad of activities.

The 16th SOW's motto is, "Any Time, Any Place." The wing stands ready 
to go worldwide to conduct unconventional warfare, counterinsurgency, 
or psychological operations. Through special operations, the United 
States is able to protect its interests in low-intensity conflicts 
throughout the world.
The 16th Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt is the oldest, largest 
and most seasoned unit in AFSOC.

-- 
Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity

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