Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) is the Special Operations
component of the United States Air Force and the US Air Force component
command to the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), a
unified command located at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. AFSOC
provides AF Special Operations Forces (SOF) for worldwide deployment and
assignment to regional unified commands.

AFSOC was initially
established on February 10, 1983 as Twenty-Third Air Force (23 AF), a
subordinate numbered air force of the Military Airlift Command (MAC),
with its headquarters at Hurlburt Field, Florida. On May 22, 1990, 23 AF
was redesignated as AFSOC and became a separate United States Air Force
(USAF) major command (MAJCOM) responsible for all USAF special
operations forces (SOF), aircraft and personnel in the Regular Air
Force, and the operational "gaining command" for all USAF SOF, aircraft
and personnel in the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) and the Air
National Guard (ANG).