<article><hdr>Organization and Deployment—National Command Structure</hdr><body>
<p>The National Command Authority (NCA) is the 'chain of command' under which the USAF flies in peacetime and fights in war. Unlike the USAF itself, the NCA has not been restructured. It is rooted in the principle that policy decisions are made by civilian leaders.
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<p>Key figure in this national chain of command is the CINC, pronounced 'sink', the Commander-in-Chief of any of the Joint-Service unified and specified commands. A celebrity-class CINC in recent years was US Army General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, who headed US Central Command responsible for the Middle East. A CINC is a four-star general or admiral: except for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he is the highest-ranking officer to command combat forces.
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<p>There are five unified commands, which have a geographic purview, these being Atlantic Command (Atlantic Ocean, Central Command (Middle East and Southwest Asia), European Command (Europe), Pacific Command (Far East and Pacific Ocean) and Southern Command (Central and South America). Four of these have an air component supplied by a 'majcom', the exception being Atlantic Command. 'Majcom' assignments are 9th Air Force, Air Combat Command, (to Central Command), 12th Air Force, Air Combat Command (to Southern Command), US Air Forces in Europe (to European Command) and Pacific Air Forces (to Pacific Command).
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<p>In addition there are five specified commands which control specific activities. These, together with their functions and 'majcom'-supplied air components are NORAD (air defense of North America—1st Air Force, Air Combat Command), Space Command (space defense and exploration—14th Air Force, Air Force Space Command), Special Operations Command (joint-service special forces activities—Air Force Special Operations Command), Strategic Command (control of strategic nuclear weapons—8th Air Force, Air Combat Command, and 20th Air Force, Air Force Space Command) and Transportation Command (Air Mobility Command).
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<p>The NCA 'chain of command' runs downward from the President, in his role as Commander-in-Chief, to the Secretary of Defense, to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to the CINCs. Unlike many nations, the United States does not have a general staff. The Chairman is the only officer above the CINC. Other Washington brass, including the Air Force Chief of Staff, hold advisory roles and command no combat forces—though they wield enormous influence.
