In the shadow of their better-known Army and Navy counterparts, Air Force commandos have been sent into Iraq and Afghanistan so frequently that strains are showing in many corners of their secretive world.

Wear and tear on their specialized helicopters and airplanes is mounting, as is the human toll in lives lost and families separated. Spare parts are in such demand for special operations aircraft now seeing action that those remaining at Hurlburt are not fully ready for training.

"We're wearing 'em down," says Lt. Col. Don Timpson of the 19th Special Operations Squadron, which trains air crews. He was referring to pilots who fly the AC-130 gunships, MC-130 Combat Talon airlifters and other specialized airplanes and helicopters that require extensive training.

Their planes are equipped with radar and electronic gear to enable them to penetrate enemy airspace undetected at night as well as guns and cannons capable of exceptionally heavy fire on a target.

Timpson and other officers are using flight simulators much more to train new pilots and keep veterans proficient because they sometimes cannot practice in the air for lack of planes.

At their Hurlburt Field headquarters on Santa Rosa Sound, in Florida's Panhandle, air commandos point with pride to the furious pace of their service in the war on terror since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

"We are going just full throttle" to get additional air commandos trained, said Col. Thomas Hull, vice director of operations for Air Force Special Operations Command.

One unit, the 8th Special Operations Squadron, was the most-deployed squadron in the entire active-duty Air Force in 2002 and 2003. It flies the MC-130E Combat Talon I, now in its fifth decade of use to deliver and retrieve forces behind enemy lines.

Likewise, elements of the 20th Special Operations Squadron, which flies the MH-53J Pave Low helicopter, have been serving in Afghanistan and Iraq almost continuously since September 2001. Finally getting a six-month break, all members of the unit were home together for the first time last Christmas. Now some are back in Iraq for another tour.

Source: Yahoo.com