Fact Sheet 92-13 Organization of the United States Air Force World War II had been over for two years and the Korean War lay three years ahead when the Air Force ended a 40-year association with the U.S. Army to become a separate service. The U.S. Air Force thus entered a new era in which airpower became firmly established as a major element of the nation's defense and one of its chief hopes for deterring war. The Department of the Air Force was created when President Harry S. Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947. It became effective Sept. 18, 1947, when Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson administered the oath of office to the first secretary of the Air Force, W. Stuart Symington, a position filled by presidential appointment. Under the National Security Act, the functions assigned to the Army Air Force's commanding general transferred to the Department of the Air Force. The act provided for an orderly two- year transfer of these functions as well as property, personnel and records. Later, under the Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1958, the departments of Army, Navy and Air Force were eliminated from the chain of operational command. Commanders of unified and specified commands became responsible to the president and the secretary of defense through the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The act redefined the functions of the military departments to those of essentially organizing, training, equipping and supporting combat forces assigned to unified and specified commands. Each military department retained resource management of its service. Currently, Air Force resources include 10 major commands, 36 field operating agencies, three direct reporting units, 121 major installations in the United States and overseas, and more than three-quarters of a million active-duty, Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve and civilian personnel. Fact Sheet 92-13 Organization of the United States Air Force Mission The mission of the U.S. Air Force is to defend the United States through control and exploitation of air and space. Teamed with the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, the Air Force is prepared to fight and win any war if deterrence fails. The Air Force is responsible for providing: -aircraft and missile forces necessary to prevent or fight a general war. -land-based air forces needed to establish air superiority, interdict the enemy and provide air support of ground forces in combat. -the primary aerospace forces for the defense of the United States against air and missile attack. -the primary airlift capability for use by all of the nation's military services. -major space research and development support for the Department of Defense. -assistance to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in conducting our nation's space program. Air Force Management The Department of the Air Force incorporates all elements of the U.S. Air Force. It is administered by a civilian secretary appointed by the president and is supervised by a military chief of staff. The Secretariat and Air Staff help the secretary and the chief of staff direct the Air Force mission. To assure unit preparedness and overall effectiveness of the Air Force, the secretary of the Air Force is responsible for and has the authority to conduct all affairs of the Department of the Air Force. This includes training, operations, administration, logistical support and maintenance, and welfare of personnel. The secretary's responsibilities include research and development, and any other activity prescribed by the president or the secretary of defense. The secretary of the Air Force exercises authority through civilian assistants and the chief of staff, but retains immediate supervision of activities that involve vital relationships with Congress, the secretary of defense, other governmental officials, and the public. Principal civilian assistants within the Secretariat are the under secretary of the Air Force, deputy under secretary for international affairs, assistant secretary for acquisition, assistant secretary for space, assistant secretary for manpower, reserve affairs, installations and environment, and assistant secretary for financial management and comptroller. The Office of the Secretary of the Air Force includes a general counsel, auditor general, inspector general, administrative assistant, public affairs director, legislative liaison director, small and disadvantaged business utilization director, and certain statutory boards and committees. The Air Staff The chief of staff, U.S. Air Force, is appointed by the president, with the consent of the Senate, from among Air Force general officers - normally, for a four-year term. He serves as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Armed Forces Policy Council. In the Joint Chiefs of Staff capacity, he is one of the military advisers to the president, the National Security Council and the secretary of defense. Also, he is the principal adviser to the secretary of the Air Force on Air Force activities. The chief of staff presides over the Air Staff, transmits Air Staff plans and recommendations to the secretary of the Air Force and acts as the secretary's agent in carrying them out. He is responsible for the efficiency of the Air Force and the preparation of its forces for military operations. He supervises the administration of Air Force personnel assigned to unified organizations and unified and specified commands. Also, he supervises support of forces assigned by the Air Force to these organizations and commands as directed by the secretary of defense. In addition, the chief of staff has responsibility for activities assigned to the Air Force by the secretary of defense. Other members of the Air Staff are the vice chief of staff, assistant vice chief of staff, chief master sergeant of the Air Force, deputy chief of staff for personnel, deputy chief of staff for plans and operations, deputy chief of staff for logistics, deputy chief of staff for command, control, communications and computers, assistant chief of staff for intelligence, civil engineer, chief of safety, chief of security police, Air Force historian, chief scientist, chief of the Air Force Reserve, chief of the National Guard Bureau, the U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, director of manpower and organization, Judge advocate general, director of test and evaluation, director of programs and evaluation, surgeon general, chief of chaplains, and director for morale, welfare, recreation and services. Field Organizations The 10 major commands, 36 field operating agencies, three direct reporting units and their subordinate elements constitute the field organization that carries out the Air Force mission. Major commands are organized on a functional basis in the United States and a geographic basis overseas. They accomplish designated phases of Air Force worldwide activities. Also, they organize, administer, equip and train their subordinate elements for the accomplishment of assigned missions. Major commands generally are assigned specific responsibilities based on functions. In descending order of command, elements of major commands include numbered air forces, wings, groups, squadrons and flights. The basic unit for generating and employing combat capability is the wing, which has always been the Air Force's prime war- fighting instrument. With the divestiture of several headquarters staff functions during Air Force restructuring activities since 1991, the wing has assumed a more important role in the way the Air Force conducts business in peace and war. Composite wings operate more than one kind of aircraft, and may be configured as self-contained units designated for quick air intervention anywhere in the world. Other wings continue to operate a single aircraft type ready to join air campaigns anywhere they are needed. Within the wing, operations, logistics and support groups are the cornerstones of the organization. Field operating agencies and direct reporting units are other Air Force subdivisions and report directly to Headquarters U.S. Air Force. They are assigned a specialized mission that is restricted in scope when compared to the mission of a major command. Field operating agencies carry out field activities under the operational control of a Headquarters U.S. Air Force functional manager. Direct reporting units are not under the operational control of a Headquarters U.S. Air Force functional manager because of a unique mission, legal requirements or other factors. Major Commands Air Combat Command, Langley Air Force Base, Va. Air Force Intelligence Command, Kelly Air Force Base, Texas. Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Air Force Space Command, Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. Air Force Special Operations Command, Hurlburt Field, Fla. Air Mobility Command, Scott Air Force Base, Ill. Air Training Command, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. Air University, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. Pacific Air Forces, Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. United States Air Forces in Europe, Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Note: Separate U.S. Air Force fact sheets on the major commands are available. Field Operating Agencies Air Force Audit Agency, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va. Air Force Base Disposal Agency, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va. Air Force Center for Environmental Excellence, Brooks Air Force Base, Texas. Air Force Civil Engineering Support Agency Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. Air Force Civilian Personnel Management Center, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. Air Force Combat Operations Staff, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va. Air Force Communications Command, Scott Air Force Base, Ill. Air Force Cost Analysis Agency, Arlington, Va. Air Force Flight Standards Agency, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va. Air Force Frequency Management Agency, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va. Air Force Historical Research Agency, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. Air Force Inspection Agency, Norton Air Force Base, Calif. Air Force Intelligence Support Agency, Fort Belvoir, Va. Air Force Legal Services Agency, Bolling Air Force Base, D.C. Air Force Logistics Management Agency, Maxwell Air Force Base, Gunter Annex, Ala. Air Force Management Engineering Agency, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. Air Force Medical Operations Agency, Bolling Air Force Base, D.C. Air Force Medical Support Agency, Brooks Air Force Base, Texas. Air Force Military Personnel Center, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. Air Force Morale, Welfare, Recreation and Services Agency, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. Air Force News Agency, Kelly Air Force Base, Texas. Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Bolling Air Force Base, D.C. Air Force Program Executive Office, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va. Air Force Real Estate Agency, Bolling Air Force Base, D.C. Air Force Reserve, Robins Air Force Base, Ga. Air Force Review Boards Agency, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va. Air Force Safety Agency, Norton Air Force Base, Calif. Air Force Security Police Agency, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M. Air Force Studies and Analyses Agency, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va. Air Force Technical Applications Center, Patrick Air Force Base, Fla. Air National Guard Readiness Center, Andrews Air Force Base, Md. Air Reserve Personnel Center, Denver, Colo. Air Weather Service, Scott Air Force Base, Ill. Center for Air Force History, Bolling Air Force Base, D.C. Joint Services Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape Agency, Fort Belvoir, Va. Seventh Communication Group, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va. Direct Reporting Units Air Force District of Washington, Bolling Air Force Base, D.C. Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M. United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Current as of October 1992)