United States Air Force

The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aviation branch of the United States armed forces.

The mission of the USAF is "to defend the United States through control and exploitation of air and space".

Organization

There are three components of the USAF:

Air Force
U.S. Air Force Reserve[?]
Air National Guards[?] of the several States, territories, and the District of Columbia

The Secretary of the Air Force[?] is Dr. James G. Roche[?]. The Chief of Staff of the Air Force is Gen. John P. Jumper[?]. Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force is the senior enlisted man in the Air Force. In 2002 the position was held by CMSgt Gerald R. Murray[?].

The USAF is organized into nine major commands (MAJCOMS), reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force[?]:

**Major Commands of the USAF**
Major Command and Commanders	Location of Headquarters
Air Combat Command (ACC)	Langley Air Force Base[?], Virginia
Air Education & Training Command[?] (AETC)	Randolph Air Force Base[?], Texas
Air Force Materiel Command[?] (AFMC)	Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio
Air Force Reserve Command[?] (AFRC)	Robins Air Force Base[?], Georgia
Air Force Space Command[?] (AFSPC)	Peterson Air Force Base[?], Colorado
Air Force Special Operations Command[?] (AFSOC)	Hurlburt Field[?], Florida
Air Mobility Command[?] (AMC)	Scott Air Force Base[?], Illinois
U.S. Air Forces Europe[?] (USAFE)	Ramstein Air Base, Germany
U.S. Air Forces Pacific[?] (PACAF)	Hickam Air Force Base[?], Hawaii

Air Forces[?] within the major commands:

**Air Forces**
Air Force	Location of Headquarters	Major Command and Commander
First Air Force[?]	Tyndall Air Force Base[?], Florida	ACC
Second Air Force[?]	Keesler Air Force Base[?], Mississippi	AETC[?]
Third Air Force[?]	RAF Mildenhall[?], England	USAFE[?]
Fourth Air Force[?]	Robins Air Force Base[?], Georgia	AMC[?] AFRC[?]
Fifth Air Force[?]	Yokata Air Base[?], Japan	PACAF[?]
Seventh Air Force[?]	Osan Air Base[?], Korea	PACAF[?]
Eighth Air Force[?]	Barksdale Air Force Base[?], Louisiana	ACC
Ninth Air Force[?]	Shaw Air Force Base[?], South Carolina	ACC
Tenth Air Force[?]	Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base[?], Fort Worth, Texas	ACC AFRC[?]
Eleventh Air Force[?]	Elmendorf Air Force Base[?], Alaska	PACAF[?]
Twelfth Air Force[?]	Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona	ACC
Thirteenth Air Force[?]	Andersen Air Force Base[?], Guam	PACAF[?]
Fourteenth Air Force[?]	Vandenberg Air Force Base, California	AFSPC[?]
Fifteenth Air Force[?]	Travis Air Force Base[?], California	ACC
Sixteenth Air Force[?]	Aviano Air Base[?], Italy	USAFE[?]
Twentieth Air Force[?]	F.E. Warren Air Force Base[?], Wyoming	AFSPC[?]
Nineteenth Air Force[?]	Randolph Air Force Base[?], Texas	AETC[?]
Twenty-First Air Force[?]	McGuire Air Force Base[?], New Jersey	AMC[?]
Twenty-Second Air Force[?]	Dobbins Air Reserve Base[?], Georgia	AMC[?] AFRC[?]

Air forces are composed of two or more air divisions. Air divisions are composed of two or more wings.

**Wings**
Wing	Location	Air Force and Commander	Aircraft
5th Bomb Wing (BW)	Barksdale Air Force Base[?], Lousiana and Minot Air Force Base[?], North Dakota	U.S. Strategic Command[?] (STRATCOM)	B-52H
149th Fighter Wing (FW)		Texas Air National Guard	F-16
15th Air Base Wing	Hickham Air Force Base[?], Hawaii	PACAF[?]
18th Wing	Kadena Air Force Base[?], Japan	PACAF	F-15C
1st Fighter Wing	Langley Air Force Base[?], Virginia	ACC	F-15C
21st Space Wing	Peterson Air Force Base[?], Colorado
30th Wing	Vandenburg Air Force Base[?], California	AFSC
319th Air Refueling Wing	Grand Forks Air Force Base[?], North Dakota
347th Rescue Wing	Moody Air Force Base[?], Georgia		HH-60 Pave Hawk
355th Wing	Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona	ACC	HH-60 Pave Hawk KC-130
36th Wing	Anderson Air Force Base[?], Guam	PACAF
376th Air Expeditionary Wing	Bagram AB, Afghanistan[?]	ACC
39th Wing	Incirlik AB, Turkey[?]	ACC
412th Test Wing	Edwards Air Force Base[?], California
49th Fighter Wing	Holloman Air Force Base[?], New Mexico	ACC	F-117
509th Bomb Wing	Whiteman Air Force Base[?], Missouri	STRATCOM	B-2
57th Wing	Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada	ACC
60th Air Mobility Wing (AMW)	Travis Air Force Base[?], California	AMC	C-5B
62nd Air Wing (AMW)		AMC	C-17 Globemaster 3[?]
90th Space Wing	F.E. Warren Air Force Base[?], Wyoming	STRATCOM	Minuteman III[?] ICBM
939th Rescue Wing	Portland, Oregon		HH-60 Pave Hawk KC-130
99th Air Base Wing	Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada	ACC

Wings are composed of several groups with functional responsibilities. Groups are composed of several squadrons. Squadrons are composed of two or more flights.

**Offices in the U.S. Air Force**
Wing	Location	Major Command and Commander
Air Force Institute of Technology	Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio
Air Warfare Center	Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada	ACC
Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center	Tinker Air Force Base[?], Oklahoma	AFMC[?]

Brief History

For a detailed history, see United States Air Force--History[?].

United States Air Force KC-135R Stratotanker, two F-15 Eagles (twin fins) and two F-16 Fighting Falcons, on a refueling training mission.
Larger version

In 1912, an Aviation Section of the U.S. Army Signal Corps[?] was created.

In 1917, upon the United States' entry into World War I, the U.S. Army Air Service[?] was formed as part of the American Expeditionary Force[?] (AEF). Major General Patrick Mason[?] commanded the AEF air forces; his deputy was Brigadier-General Billy Mitchell. The Air Service provided tactical support for the U.S. Army, especially during the Battle of Saint-Mihiel[?] and the Meuse-Argonne offensives[?]. Among the aces of the Air Service were Captain Eddie Rickenbacker and Frank Luke.

In 1926 the Air Service was reorganized as a branch of the Army and became the U.S. Army Air Corps (USAAC). During this period, the USAAC began experimenting with new techniques, including air-to-air refueling and the development of the B-9 and the Martin B-10, the first all-metal monoplane bomber, and new fighters. In 1937, the B-17 Flying Fortress made its first appearance. In a spectacular feat of navigation, three B-17s intercepted the Italian passenger liner Rex[?] at sea.

In 1941, the Army Air Corps became the U.S. Army Air Forces. The USAAF reached status as a separate arm of the Army, with equal voice with the Army and Navy in 1943.

In Europe, the USAAF began daylight bombing operations, over objections of the Royal Air Force planners on the Combined Chiefs of Staff[?]. The US strategy involved flying bombers together, relying on the defensive firepower of a close formation. The tactic was only successful in part. American flyers took tremendous casualites during raids on the oil refineries of Ploesti[?], Rumania and the ball-bearing factories at Schweinfurt[?] and Regensburg, Germany. When the P-51 Mustang, with its increased range, was introduced to combat, American combat losses dropped, and operations during Big Week[?] in late winter of 1944 caused the Luftwaffe to lose experienced pilots.

In the Pacific theater, the USAAF used the B-29 Superfortress to launch attacks on the Japanese mainland from China. One of the major logisitical efforts of the war, "flying the Hump" over the Himalayas, took place. To carry both a bomb load and fuel and to bomb at high altitude through the jet stream affected the B-29's range. As soon as airbases on Saipan were captured in 1944, General Curtis LeMay changed strategy from high-level precision bombings to low-level incendiary bombings, aimed at destroying the distributed network of Japanese industrial manufacturing. Many Japanese cities suffered extensive damage. Tokyo suffered a firestorm in which over 100,000 persons died.

The B-29 was also used to drop two nuclear weapons on Japan in August 1945.

The Department of the Air Force[?] was created when President Harry S Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947. It became effective September 18, 1947, when Chief Justice Fred Vinson[?] administered the oath of office to the first secretary of the Air Force, Stuart Symington[?].

In 1948, Communist authorities in Eastern Germany cut off road and air transportation to West Berlin. Military Airlift Command supplied the city during the Berlin airlift[?], using C-121 Constellation[?] and the C-54 Skymaster[?]. The Royal Air Force also played a significant role in flying tonnage into the city with Avro Yorks, Avro Tudors and Douglas Dakotas.

The Korean War saw the Far Eastern Air Force[?] losing its main airbase in Kimpo[?], South Korea, and forced to provide close air support[?] to the defenders of the Pusan pocket from bases in Japan. However, General Douglas B. MacArthur's[?] landing at Inchon in September 1950 enabled the FEAF to return to Kimpo and other bases, from which they supported MacArthur's drive to the Korean-Chinese border. When the Chinese People's Liberation Army intervened in December, 1950, the USAF provided tactical air support. The introduction of the Soviet-made MiG-15 caused problems for the B-29s used to bomb North Korea, but the USAF countered the MiGs with the F-86 Sabre[?].

In 1954, the United States Air Force Academy opened in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Women first graduated from the USAFA in 1976.

Aircraft

External links

Official USAF website (http://www.af.mil/)
USAF History Support Office (http://www.airforcehistory.hq.af.mil/)
Air Force Historical Reseach Agency (http://www.au.af.mil/au/afhra/)

Common misspelling and questions (FAQ)

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Licence of article: GNU FDL.
Original source @ wikipedia.