Air and Space Operations Center

An Air and Space Operations Center (AOC) is a type of command center used by the United States Air Force. It is the senior agency of the Air Force component commander to provide command and control of air and space operations.[1]

The US Air Force employs two kinds of AOCs: regional AOCs (the AN/USQ-163 Falconer) that support geographic combatant commanders, and functional AOCs that support functional combatant commanders.[2] When there is more than one military service working in an AOC, it is called a Joint Air and Space Operations Center (JAOC). In cases of allied or coalition (multinational) operations, the AOC is called a Combined Air and Space Operations Center (CAOC).[1]

An AOC is the senior element of the Theater Air Control System (TACS). The Joint Force Commander (JFC) assigns a Joint Forces Air Component Commander (JFACC) to lead the AOC weapon system. Quite often the Commander, Air Force Forces (COMAFFOR) is assigned the JFACC position for planning and executing theater-wide air and space forces.

Contents

Divisions

There are five divisions in the AOC. These separate, but distinct, organizations fuse information that eventually becomes the Air Tasking Order.

Strategy Division (STRAT)

Combat Plans Division (CPD)

Combat Operations Division (COD)

Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR) Division

Air Mobility Division (AMD)

List of Air and Space Operations Centers

The table below lists the Air and Space Operations Centers currently in service in the US Air Force, the Numbered Air Force (NAF) and Major Command (MAJCOM) to which they are assigned, Unified Combatant Command they support, and where they are stationed.

Shield AOC NAF MAJCOM UCC Role Station
601st Air and Space Operations Center 1AF/AFNORTH ACC USNORTHCOM Regional Tyndall AFB, Florida[4]
603d Air and Space Operations Center 3AF/AFEUR USAFE USEUCOM Regional Ramstein AB, Germany[5]
607th Air and Space Operations Center (KAOC) 7AF/AFKOR PACAF USPACOM Regional Osan AB, South Korea[6]
608th Air and Space Operations Center 8AF/AFSTRAT-GS AFGSC USSTRATCOM Functional Barksdale AFB, Louisiana[7]
609th Air and Space Operations Center (CAOC) 9AF/AFCENT ACC USCENTCOM Regional Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar
611th Air and Space Operations Center 11AF PACAF USPACOM/USNORTHCOM Regional Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska[8]
612th Air and Space Operations Center 12AF/AFSOUTH ACC USSOUTHCOM Regional Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona[9]
613th Air and Space Operations Center 13AF/AFPAC PACAF USPACOM Regional Hickam AFB, Hawaii[10]
614th Air and Space Operations Center 14AF/AFSTRAT-SP AFSPC USSTRATCOM Functional Vandenberg AFB, California[11]
617th Air and Space Operations Center 17AF/AFAFRICA USAFE USAFRICOM Regional Ramstein AB, Germany[12]
618th Air and Space Operations Center (Tanker Airlift Control Center) 18AF/AFTRANS AMC USTRANSCOM Functional Scott AFB, Illinois[13]
623d Air and Space Operations Center 23AF/AFSOF AFSOC USSOCOM Functional Hurlburt Field, Florida
624th Operations Center 24AF/AFCYBER AFSPC USCYBERCOM Functional Lackland AFB, Texas[14]

Training/Experimentation

AOC-equipping Units

NATO Air Operations Centres

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) also uses the Combined Air Operations Center concept at multiple locations. Supporting the air component commands are four static Combined Air Operations Centres (CAOCs) to direct NATO air operations–in Uedem , Germany ; Finderup , Denmark ; Poggio Renatico , Italy ; and Larissa , Greece ; and two deployable CAOCs in Uedem and Poggio Renatico. The static CAOCs can support Allied air operations from their fixed locations, while the deployable CAOCs will move where they are needed.

Active AOCs

Inactive AOCs

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Air Force Doctrine Document 1-2, Air Force Glossary. 11 January 2007. Accessed 29 January 2011.
  2. ^ Air Force Doctrine Document 2, Operations and Organization. 3 April 2007. Accessed 29 January 2011.
  3. ^ http://www.afcent.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=12153
  4. ^ 601st Air and Space Operations Center factsheet
  5. ^ 3rd Air Force - Units
  6. ^ 7th Air Force - Units
  7. ^ 8th Air Force - 608th AOC
  8. ^ Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson - 11th Air Force
  9. ^ Factsheets : 612th Air and Space Operations Center
  10. ^ Factsheets : 613th Air and Space Operations Center
  11. ^ Extreme make-over: 14th Air Force becomes component numbered AF
  12. ^ 617th Air and Space Operations Center activates at Ramstein
  13. ^ 618th Air and Space Operations Center (TACC) - Home
  14. ^ Factsheets : 624 Operations Center (AFSPC)
  15. ^ [1]
  16. ^ [2]
  17. ^ 112d Air Operations Squadron Homepage
  18. ^ NYANG - 152d AOG Homepage
  19. ^ Air Force Reserve News
  20. ^ "CAOC 2: State-of-the-Art Engineering for more Security" Allied Air Component Command HQ Ramstein - Press Release
  21. ^ CAOC-6 Factsheet
  22. ^ Allied Joint Force Command Naples
  23. ^ "Air Operations Centre in Spain" - NATO Official Website
  24. ^ US Army NATO
  25. ^ "Combined Air Operations Center will move to new Italy location"
  26. ^ Globalsecurity.org