<text id=00od0900><title>Commands: Air Force Command Structure</title>
<history>US Air Force: Commands</history>
<article><hdr>Organization and Deployment—Air Force Command Structure</hdr><body>
<display id=\commands\usaf00b2.bmp>
<p>When the USAF's command structure was reorganized in 1992, publicists wrote a glitzy sentence to sum it up: "Air Force people building the world's most respected air and space force, with global power and reach for America." Translated into English, 'power' is Air Combat Command while 'reach' is Air Mobility Command—these being two of the USAF's three principal components:
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<p>Air Combat Command (ACC), at Langley AFB, Virginia, is responsible for warplanes (with few exceptions) ranging from B-2s to F-16s. ACC is a 'holding' command: it carries out realistic warfighting preparation but in actual conflict would turn its resources over to the CINC of a unified or specified command.
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<p>It works this way: ACC 'owns' fighters, fighter-bombers and assault transports in a composite wing, but would turn them over to the CINC of US Central Command if they were deployed to fight in the Middle East. ACC 'owns' B-2s, B-1Bs and B-52s, but would turn them over to the CINC of US Strategic Command if they were employed in an actual nuclear conflict. Turnover is easy because the people remain the same; the officer who carries out his USAF role by commanding ACC's 9th Air Force, for example, also has a second duty in his Joint-Service role as Commander of US Central Command's Air Forces (CENTAF).
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<p>ACC was formed on 1 June 1992 from combat assets of the former SAC and TAC, in recognition that the distinction between 'strategic' and 'tactical' air power was artificial. Thus, ACC trains for B-2 'strategic' missions and for expeditionary deployment to Third World locations by OA-10s, A-10s and C-130Hs of a 'tactical' composite wing.
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<p>Air Mobility Command (AMC) at Scott AFB, Illinois, is responsible for airlift and most inflight-refueling tanker operations. Also formed on 1 June 1992 by merging airlift forces of the former Military Airlift Command with former SAC tankers, AMC is responsible for C-17s, C-5Bs, KC-135s and other globe-spanning combat support aircraft.
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<p>Air Force Matériel Command (AFMC) at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, is responsible for developing, acquiring, delivering and sustaining USAF weapons systems. Formed 1 July 1992, AFMC employs integrated weapons systems management for 'cradle to grave' management of USAF aircraft and other systems. While the other commands break down into numbered air forces, AFMC is broken into centers, such as the Aeronautical Systems Center (formerly ASD, Aeronautical Systems Division) at Wright-Patterson AFB.
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<p>At home, other USAF components also include Air Education and Training Command (AETC) and AF Special Operations Command (AFSOC). Abroad, the USAF operates US Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), and Pacific Air Forces (PACAF).
