WASHINGTON: The Air Force has relieved the commander of its 8th Special Operations Squadron “because of a loss of confidence in his ability to effectively command the unit” in the wake of a tiltrotor CV-22 Osprey crash June 13 that injured all five crew members and destroyed the aircraft.

Col. James Slife, commanding officer of the 1st Special Operations Wing, issued a statement that omitted the name of dismissed commander Lt. Col. Matt Glover, who took charge of the Osprey unit at Hurlburt Field, Fla., in May 2011. Slife did not offer a detailed explanation for why Glover was being relieved – a career ending development, in most cases. The wing commander’s statement, first issued to our colleagues at InsideDefense.com, merely said the “challenges of the 8th Special Operations Squadron’s demanding mission require new leadership to maintain the highest levels of precision and to reliably support the ground forces which count on the 8th SOS to safely accomplish their missions.” Glover has been replaced, Breaking Defense has learned, by Lt. Col. Matthew Smith, former commander of the 20th Special Operations Squadron, another AFSOC unit at Cannon Air Force Base, N.Mex. Keep reading →