The Special Warfare Candidate Course (SWCC) and Assessment & Selection (A&S) are the gateway courses for the Air Force’s elite jobs such as Combat Control, Special Reconnaissance, Pararescue, Combat Rescue Officer and Special Tactics Officer. SWCC (7 weeks) and A&S (4 weeks) are the first two courses of the respective specialties’ pipelines and considered the most demanding, with success rates hovering around 30% when combing the two courses.
Course dates are published on fiscal years, which run between 1 October and 30 September annually. Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) course start dates between those dates are as follows:
SWCC:
31 Oct ’22 – 30 Dec ’22
9 Jan ’23 – 28 Feb ’23
6 Mar – 21 Apr
1 May – 20 Jun
5 Jul – 22 Aug
5 Sep – 24 Oct
A&S:
26 Oct ’22 – 20 Nov ’22
9 Jan ’23 – 3 Feb ’23
6 Mar – 31 Mar
24 Apr – 19 May
26 Jun – 21 Jul
23 Aug – 17 Sep
SWCC and A&S run back-to-back with one week of administration time separating the two courses. (Example: A candidate graduating the 9 Jan – 28 Feb SWCC would enter the 6 Mar – 31 Mar A&S)
Dates are subject to change.