Hurlburt hosting Emerald Warrior

The Air Force Special Operations Command is currently hosting the 10th annual Emerald Warrior 2017 exercises through March 11 at Hurlburt Field, Fla. Emerald Warrior is a U.S. Special Operations Command exercise during which joint special operations forces train to respond to various threats across the spectrum of conflict. On March 2, there is a scheduled “helocast” mission. A small boat will be hoisted by a Navy helicopter, and Army commandos will drop from the chopper into Santa Rosa Sound to board and recover the boat to the shore. Helocasting is an airborne technique used by small Special Operations Force units to insert personnel into a military area of operations. Generally, the helicopter assumes a just-above-the-water-surface altitude at an air speed of 10 knots or less. Hurlburt Field is home to the Air Force Special Operations Command headquarters. USSOC is headquartered out of Tampa, Fla. (Source: AF Special Operations Command press advisory 03/01/17)