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Department of the Air Force
DAF
Seal of the US Air Force
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 seal Office of the Secretary of the Air Force

Headquarters US Air Force Badge The Air Staff

Major Commands[]

Shield Name Acronym Headquarters Location
Air Combat Command Air Combat Command ACC Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia
1st AF insignia badge First Air Force 1 AF Tyndall Air Force Base, Panama City, Florida
9th Air Force Ninth Air Force 9 AF Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina
12th Air Force Twelfth Air Force 12 AF Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson, Arizona
USAF - Warfare Center United States Air Force Warfare Center USAFWC Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada
Air Force Global Cyberspace Integration Center Air Force Command and Control Integration Center AFC2IC Langley Air Force Base, Virginia
Air Education and Training Command Air Education and Training Command AETC Randolph Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas
2d Air Force Second Air Force 2 AF Keesler Air Force Base, Biloxi, Mississippi
Afg 030609 010 Air Force Recruiting Service AFRS Randolph Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas
Air University Air University AU Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Alabama
59th Medical Wing Wilford Hall Medical Center WHMC Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas
Air Force Global Strike Command Air Force Global Strike Command AFGSC Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana
8th Air Force Eighth Air Force 8 AF Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana
20th Air Force Twentieth Air Force 20 AF Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Cheyenne, Wyoming
Air Force Materiel Command Air Force Materiel Command AFMC Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio
USAF - Aeronautical Systems Center Aeronautical Systems Center ASC Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio
Air Force Flight Test Center Air Force Flight Test Center AFFTC Edwards Air Force Base, Palmdale, California
USAF - Global Logistical Support Agency Air Force Global Logistics Support Center AFGLSA Scott Air Force Base, Belleville, Illinois
Nuclear Weapons Center Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center AFNWC Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Air Force Research Laboratory Air Force Research Laboratory AFRL Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio
USAF - Security Assistance Center Air Force Security Assistance Center AFSAC Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio
Air Armament Center Air Armament Center AAC Eglin Air Force Base, Fort Walton Beach, Florida
Arnold Engineering Development Center Arnold Engineering Development Center AEDC Arnold Air Force Base, Manchester, Tennessee
USAF - Electronic Systems Center Electronic Systems Center ESC Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts
Air Force Reserve Command Air Force Reserve Command AFRC Robins Air Force Base, Georgia
4th Air Force Fourth Air Force 4 AF March Air Reserve Base, Southern California
10th Air Force Tenth Air Force 10 AF Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas
22d Air Force Twenty-Second Air Force 22 AF Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia
USAF - Air Reserve Personnel Center Air Reserve Personnel Center ARPC Denver, Colorado
Air Force Space Command Air Force Space Command AFSPC Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado Springs, Colorado
14th Air Force emblem Fourteenth Air Force 14 AF Vandenberg Air Force Base, Lompoc, California
24th Air Force Twenty-Fourth Air Force 24 AF Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas
Space and Missile Systems Center Space and Missile Systems Center SMC Los Angeles Air Force Base, El Segundo, California
Space Innovation and Development Center Space Innovation and Development Center SIDC Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado
AFNIC shield Air Force Network Integration Center AFNIC Scott Air Force Base, Illinois
Shield of the United States Air Force Special Operations Command Air Force Special Operations Command AFSOC Hurlburt Field, Florida
Twenty-Third Air Force Twenty-Third Air Force 23 AF Hurlburt Field, Florida
USAF - Special Operations Training Center Special Operations Training Center AFSOTC Hurlburt Field, Florida
Air Mobility Command Air Mobility Command AMC Scott Air Force Base, Belleville, Illinois
18th Air Force Eighteenth Air Force 18 AF Scott Air Force Base, Belleville, Illinois
United States Air Force Expeditionary Center United States Air Force Expeditionary Center AFEC Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey
United States Air Forces in Europe United States Air Forces in Europe USAFE Ramstein Air Base, Germany
3d Air Force Third Air Force 3 AF Ramstein Air Base, Germany
Pacific Air Forces Pacific Air Forces PACAF Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii
5th Air Force Fifth Air Force 5 AF Yokota Air Base, Japan
7th Air Force Seventh Air Force 7 AF Osan Air Base, South Korea
11th Air Force Eleventh Air Force 11 AF Elmendorf Air Force Base, Anchorage, Alaska
13th Air Force Thirteenth Air Force 13 AF Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii

Direct Reporting Units[]

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

Shield Name Acronym Headquarters Location
Air Force District of Washington Air Force District of Washington AFDW Joint Base Andrews Naval Air Facility, Maryland
Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center AFOTEC Kirtland Air Force Base New Mexico
US-AirForceAcademy-Shield 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.

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

Bibliography[]

External links[]

All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at United States Department of the Air Force and the edit history here.