First Air Force
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| First Air Force | |
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 Emblem of the First Air Force |
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| Active | 18 December 1940 |
| Country | United States of America |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Part of | Air Combat Command United States Northern Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Tyndall Air Force Base |
First Air Force (1 AF) / Air Forces Northern (AFNORTH) is a numbered air force (NAF) in Air Combat Command (ACC) and the headquarters for the Air Force component of United States Northern Command. It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base near Panama City, Florida.
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[edit] Mission
First Air Force is an intermediate echelon responsible for air defense units in the contiguous United States (CONUS). The First Air Force also serves as the Air Force component of the United States Northern Command, and Air Forces Northern (AFNORTH), the Air Force warfighting headquarters supporting United States Northern Command.
First Air Force also serves as the CONUS geographical component of the binational North American Aerospace Defense Command.
The command is unique in both its mission and composition. With the transfer of responsibility for continental air defense from the active duty component of the Air Force to the Air National Guard, First Air Force became the first numbered air force to be made up primarily of citizen airmen.
Units aligned under First Air Force/AFNORTH include:
- Northeast Air Defense Sector (NEADS), Rome, New York
- Western Air Defense Sector (WADS), McChord AFB Washington
- 601st Air Operations Group
- Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (AFRCC), Langley AFB Virginia
- Air Force National Security Emergency Preparedness Agency (AFNSEP), Fort McPherson Georgia
- Detachment 1, First Air Force, Winnipeg
- 702 Norad System Support Facility, Tyndall AFB FL
Additionally, First Air Force provides operational control of alert Air National Guard air defense fighter units:
- 104th Fighter Wing, Barnes MAP, MA
- 119th Fighter Wing, Fargo AP, ND
- 120th Fighter Wing, Great Falls IAP, MT
- 125th Fighter Wing, Jacksonville IAP, FL
- 142d Fighter Wing, Portland IAP, OR
- 144th Fighter Wing, Fresno, AP CA
- 148th Fighter Wing Duluth IAP, MN
- 158th Fighter Wing, Burlington AP, VT
- 177th Fighter Wing, Atlantic City AP, NJ
[edit] History
First Air Force is one of the original four numbered United States Army Air Forces formed on 18 December 1940 at Mitchel AAF, Long Island, N.Y. It was redesignated First Air Force on 9 April 1941.
[edit] World War II/Postwar Era
During World War II, First Air Force was responsible for the air defense of the entire eastern seaboard of the United States. In January 1942, the command commenced shore based anti-submarine operations flying non-combat capable Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortresses" from Langley AAF Virginia.
Later in 1942, the mission of First Air Force was changed to training combat air crews for immediate deployment to overseas theaters. First Air Force bases were located in the northeast and upper Midwestern states, from Minnesota to Missouri, east to Virginia and north to Maine.
At the end of the war, First Air Force was assigned to Air Defense Command in March 1946 and to Continental Air Command in December 1948 being primarily concerned with air defense. In 1949 Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve units were placed under its command.
The command was inactivated on 23 June 1958.
[edit] 1960s
First Air Force was reactivated at Stewart Air Force Base, Newburgh, N.Y., on 20 January 1966. During this period, the command was again charged with the air defense of the northeastern United States, Greenland, Iceland and parts of Canada. By July 1968, First Air Force had again assumed total responsibility for the air defense of the eastern seaboard, just as it had during World War II.
Its second period of service was short lived, however, and the command was again inactivated as the result of an air defense reorganization on 31 December 1969.
[edit] ADTAC
As part of realignment of military assets. the Aerospace Defense Command was deactivated in the summer of 1979. The air assets of ADC were assigned to TAC. With this move many Air National Guard units that had an air defense mission also came under the control of TAC, which established a component called Air Defense, Tactical Air Command (ADTAC).
On 6 December 1985 HQ USAF reactivated First Air Force at Langley Air Force Base, Va., and assigned it to Tactical Air Command (TAC). First Air Force was given the mission to provide, train and equip ADTAC combat ready forces for the air defense of the North American continent.
Upon its reactivation, First Air Force was composed of units of the active Air Force and the Air National Guard. Because of its unique mission and its binational responsibilities, First Air Force works closely with the Canadian Forces. Canadian personnel are stationed at First Air Force Headquarters at Tyndall Air Force Base Florida, and at the various regional air defense sectors located throughout the United States.
Activation of the Continental United States North American Aerospace Defense Regions on 1 October 1986, resulted in a new structure for the 30-year-old, binational North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Although the U.S. Air Force had already deactivated Aerospace Defense Command, the continental U.S. region, along with Alaskan and Canadian regions provided an improved command and operational system for North American air defense.
[edit] Air National Guard
In the years since its third activation, more of the responsibility for the defense of American air sovereignty has shifted to the Air National Guard. Also, reorganization of the command structure of the U.S. Air Force saw the assignment of air defense to Tactical Air Command and later, its successor, Air Combat Command.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the role of the Air National Guard in the defense of North America increased. As this role changed, discussions between the active Air Force and the Air National Guard commenced concerning roles and responsibilities.
As the Cold War began to wind down and budgetary constraints became realities, more and more of the missions previously carried out by active duty forces began to be transferred into the reserve components. By the 1990s, 90 percent of the air defense mission was being handled by the Air National Guard.
In October 1997, First Air Force became a primarily Air National Guard numbered air force charged with the air defense of the North American continent. Today, First Air Force consists primarily of members of the Air National Guard. Its headquarters is located at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. It comprises 10 Air National Guard fighter wings and three air defense sectors for the Northeast, Western and Southeast regions of the country.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
Much of this text in an early version of this article was taken from pages on the First Air Force website, which as a work of the U.S. Government is presumed to be a public domain resource.
[edit] External links
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