United States Department of the Air Force

Not to be confused with United States Air Force.
Department of the Air Force
DAF

Seal of the U.S. Department of the Air Force
Agency overview
Formed September 18, 1947
Preceding agency
Headquarters The Pentagon, Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.
Employees 330,159 Regular Air Force
151,360 Civilians
68,872 Air Force Reserve
94,753 Air National Guard
Annual budget $170.6 billion
(2010 Budget Request)
Agency executive
Parent agency U.S. Department of Defense
Website www.af.mil

The Department of the Air Force (DAF) is one of the three Military Departments within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. The Department of the Air Force was formed on September 18, 1947, per the National Security Act of 1947 and it includes all elements and units of the United States Air Force (USAF).

The Department of the Air Force is headed by the Secretary of the Air Force (SAF/OS), a civilian, who has the authority to conduct all of its affairs, subject to the authority, direction and control of the Secretary of Defense. The Secretary of the Air Force's principal deputy is the Under Secretary of the Air Force (SAF/US). Their senior staff assistants in the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force are four Assistant Secretaries for Acquisition, Financial Management & Comptroller, Installations, Environment & Logistics, Manpower & Reserve Affairs and a General Counsel. The highest-ranking military officer in the department is the Chief of Staff of the Air Force who is the senior uniformed adviser to the Secretary, represents the Air Force on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, heads the Air Staff and is assisted in the latter capacity by the Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force.

By direction of the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Air Force assigns Air Force units - apart from those units performing duties enumerated in 10 U.S.C. § 8013 unless otherwise directed - to the Commanders of the Combatant Commands. Only the Secretary of Defense (and the President) has the authority to approve transfer of forces between Combatant Commands.

Organizational structure

See Structure of the United States armed forces

Headquarters Air Force

Office of the Secretary of the Air Force

The Air Staff

Major Commands

ShieldNameAcronymHeadquarters Location
Air Combat Command ACC Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia
First Air Force 1 AF Tyndall Air Force Base, Panama City, Florida
Ninth Air Force 9 AF Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina
Twelfth Air Force 12 AF Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson, Arizona
Twenty-Fifth Air Force 25 AF Langley Air Force Base, Virginia
United States Air Force Warfare Center USAFWC Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada
Air Force Command and Control Integration Center AFC2IC Langley Air Force Base, Virginia
Air Education and Training Command AETC Randolph Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas
Second Air Force 2 AF Keesler Air Force Base, Biloxi, Mississippi
Nineteenth Air Force 19 AF Randolph Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas
Air Force Recruiting Service AFRS Randolph Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas
Air University AU Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Alabama
Wilford Hall Medical Center WHMC Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas
Air Force Global Strike Command AFGSC Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana
Eighth Air Force 8 AF Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana
Twentieth Air Force 20 AF Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Cheyenne, Wyoming
Air Force Materiel Command AFMC Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio
Air Force Life Cycle Management Center AFLCMC Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio
Air Force Flight Test Center AFFTC Edwards Air Force Base, Palmdale, California
Air Force Global Logistics Support Center AFGLSA Scott Air Force Base, Belleville, Illinois
Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center AFNWC Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Air Force Research Laboratory AFRL Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio
Air Force Security Assistance Center AFSAC Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio
Air Armament Center AAC Eglin Air Force Base, Fort Walton Beach, Florida
Arnold Engineering Development Center AEDC Arnold Air Force Base, Manchester, Tennessee
Electronic Systems Center ESC Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts
Air Force Reserve Command AFRC Robins Air Force Base, Georgia
Fourth Air Force 4 AF March Air Reserve Base, Southern California
Tenth Air Force 10 AF Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas
Twenty-Second Air Force 22 AF Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia
Air Reserve Personnel Center ARPC Denver, Colorado
Air Force Space Command AFSPC Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Fourteenth Air Force 14 AF Vandenberg Air Force Base, Lompoc, California
Twenty-Fourth Air Force 24 AF Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas
Space and Missile Systems Center SMC Los Angeles Air Force Base, El Segundo, California
Space Innovation and Development Center SIDC Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado
Air Force Network Integration Center AFNIC Scott Air Force Base, Illinois
Air Force Special Operations Command AFSOC Hurlburt Field, Florida
Air Force Special Operations Air Warfare Center AFSOAWC Hurlburt Field, Florida
Air Mobility Command AMC Scott Air Force Base, Belleville, Illinois
Eighteenth Air Force 18 AF Scott Air Force Base, Belleville, Illinois
United States Air Force Expeditionary Center AFEC Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey
United States Air Forces in Europe USAFE Ramstein Air Base, Germany
Third Air Force 3 AF Ramstein Air Base, Germany
Pacific Air Forces PACAF Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii
Fifth Air Force 5 AF Yokota Air Base, Japan
Seventh Air Force 7 AF Osan Air Base, South Korea
Eleventh Air Force 11 AF Elmendorf Air Force Base, Anchorage, Alaska

Direct Reporting Units

Main article: Direct Reporting Unit

The Air Force has a very limited number of Direct Reporting Units:

ShieldNameAcronymHeadquarters Location
Air Force District of Washington AFDW Joint Base Andrews Naval Air Facility, Maryland
Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center AFOTEC Kirtland Air Force Base New Mexico
United States Air Force Academy USAFA United States Air Force Academy, Colorado

Field Operating Agencies

Field Operating Agencies (FOA) perform field activities beyond the scope of any of the Major Commands. Their activities are specialized or associated with an Air Force wide mission, and their heads report directly to a functional manager in either the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force or the Air Staff.

ShieldNameAcronymHeadquarters Location
Air Force Agency for Modeling and Simulation AFAMS Orlando, Florida
Air Force Audit Agency AFAA Washington, D.C.
Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment AFCEE Port San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas
Air Force Civil Engineer Support Agency AFCESA Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida
Air Force Cost Analysis Agency AFCAA Arlington, Virginia
Air Force Flight Standards Agency AFFSA Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Air Force Frequency Management Agency[1] AFFMA Alexandria, Virginia
Air Force Historical Research Agency AFHRA Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, Alabama
Air Force Inspection Agency AFIA Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico
Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency AFISRA Lackland Air Force Base, Texas
Air Force Legal Operations Agency AFLOA Bolling Air Force Base, District of Columbia
Air Force Logistics Management Agency AFLMA Gunter Annex, Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, Alabama
Air Force Manpower Agency AFMA[2] Randolph Air Force Base, Texas
Air Force Medical Operations Agency AFMOA Lackland Air Force Base, Texas
Air Force Medical Support Agency AFMSA Bolling Air Force Base, District of Columbia
Air Force Network Integration Center AFNIC Scott Air Force Base, Illinois
Air Force Office of Special Investigations AFOSI Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia
Air Force Personnel Center AFPC [3] Randolph Air Force Base, Texas
Air Force Personnel Operations Agency AFPOA Washington, D.C.
Air Force Public Affairs Agency AFPAA San Antonio, Texas
Air Force Real Property Agency AFRPA Lackland Air Force Base, Texas
Air Force Review Boards Agency AFRBA Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland
Air Force Safety Center AFSC Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico
Air Force Security Forces Center AFSFC Lackland Air Force Base, Texas
Air Force Services Agency AFSVA San Antonio, Texas
Air Force Weather Agency AFWA Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska

History

The department has suffered many problems in aircraft acquisition over the years.

See also

Notes and references

  1. Archived March 25, 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Archived June 24, 2003 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Shalal-Esa, Andrea. "U.S. Air Force sees Afghan plane issue as 'isolated'." Reuters. March 9, 2012.

Bibliography

External links

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