Behind the Lines: The History of Air Force Special Operations

By David Burnell

Air Force Special Operations has shaped modern warfare in ways few outside the profession fully understand. Operating in secrecy, denied environments, and the margins of conventional conflict, specialized airpower has enabled missions that reshaped battlefields, doctrine, and national strategy.

Behind the Lines is a comprehensive documentary history of Air Force Special Operations-from the earliest foundations of airpower to the creation of Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) and its role in modern multidomain conflict. Written as an institutional history rather than a memoir, this book traces how unconventional aviation capabilities evolved through World War II, the Cold War, Vietnam, and post-9/11 operations.

This volume examines:

The origins of special operations aviation and the Air Commandos

Tactical innovation during World War II and Vietnam

The institutional failures that led to reform and centralization

The creation of Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC)

Special Tactics Forces and air-ground integration

Special operations aviation platforms and the AC-130 gunship

ISR, precision warfare, and modern counterterrorism operations

Joint, interagency, and coalition integration

Emerging threats, multidomain warfare, and the future force

Drawing exclusively from open-source materials, official histories, and publicly available doctrine, Behind the Lines presents a clear, neutral account of how specialized airpower became an indispensable element of U.S. special operations.

This book intentionally avoids personal narratives, tactical instruction, or classified detail. Instead, it provides readers with historical context, institutional understanding, and doctrinal insight into one of the most consequential-and least documented-capabilities in modern military history.

Behind the Lines is ideal for:

Military professionals and veterans

Aviation and airpower historians

Policy and defense studies readers

Students of special operations and modern warfare

Civilian readers seeking an authoritative, accessible history

This is not a story of individuals-it is the documented history of a capability that operates, quite literally, behind the lines.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0GL6SJPMQ
• ISBN13: 9798246656815
• Release Date: February 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 124 Pages
• Weight: 0.39 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"