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[[Image:b52.climbout.arp.jpg|thumb|right|[[B-52|Boeing B-52]] strategic bomber taking off.]]
The '''United States Air Force''' ('''USAF''') is one of the seven Uniformed services of the United States whose primary mission focus is on [[air superiority]]. Previously part of the [[United States Army]], the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on [[September 18]], 1947.<ref>80 P.L. 235, 61 Stat. 495 (1947); Air Force Link, (2006)''[http://www.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=2 Factsheets: The U.S. Air Force]''. Retrieved April 7, 2006.</ref>
The '''United States Air Force''' ('''USAF''') is the air service branch of the country's armed forces, and is one of the three military departments of the [[Department of Defense]]. It was founded on 1 August 1907 as part of the United States Army Signal Corps, and then re-established in 1947 as a service branch in its own right.
 
The USAF is the largest and most technologically advanced [[air force]] in the world, with about 6013 manned aircraft in service (4,282 USAF; 1,321 [[Air National Guard]]; and 410 [[Air Force Reserve]]); approximately 160 [[unmanned aerial vehicle]]s, 2161 [[Cruise missile|Air-Launched Cruise Missile]]s, and 580 [[Intercontinental ballistic missile| Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM)]];<ref name =USAFsize/> and as of 2006, had 334,200 personnel on active duty, 120,369 in the [[Air Force Reserve Command|Selected and Individual Ready Reserves]], and 107,000 in the [[Air National Guard]]. An additional 10,675 personnel were in the Standby Reserve, and the Air Force employed 168,558 civilian personnel.<ref name="USAFsize"> {{cite web  | year = | url = http://www.afa.org/magazine/may2007/0507structure.pdf| title = 2007 USAF Almanac: USAF Personnel Strength| publisher = ''AIR FORCE Magazine''| accessdate = 4 May| accessyear = 2007}}</ref>
==Personnel==
The USAF is currently undergoing a massive Reduction-in-Force (RIF). Because of budget constraints, the USAF will reduce the service's current size by 40,000 full time equivalent positions by 2011, with approximately half  eliminated in FY 2007.
 
All the services operate aircraft and helicopters.
==Senior leadership==
The Department of the Air Force is headed by the civilian [[United States Secretary of the Air Force|Secretary of the Air Force]] who heads administrative affairs. The Department of the Air Force is a division of the [[United States Department of Defense]] which is headed by the [[United States Secretary of Defense]], [[Robert Gates]], who continued from the [[George W. Bush Administration]]. The highest ranking military officer in the department is the [[Chief of Staff of the Air Force]] (CSAF), General [[Norton Schwartz|Norton A. Schwartz]]; he is the first CSAF to come from the transport, rather than fighter or bomber, cultures of the Air Force.
 
In June 2008, Defense Secretary [[Robert M. Gates]] ousted the Air Force's civilian and military chiefs, Air Force Secretary [[Michael Wynne]] and the chief of staff, Gen. [[T. Michael Mosely|T. Michael "Buzz" Moseley]]. It was an unprecedented move that came after a Pentagon investigation found "a chain of failures" in the Air Force's safeguarding of the U.S. nuclear arsenal.  Gates' decision followed a series of scandals that included a bomber wing inadvertently flying nuclear warheads over the continental United States, the mistaken and long-unnoticed transfer of secret nuclear-related materials to Taiwan, and a corrupt $50 million contract for a Thunderbirds air show that went to a company owned by a retired four-star general and a civilian friend of senior Air Force leaders.<ref> Ann Scott Tyson and Josh White, "Top Two Air Force Officials Ousted; Failures in Oversight Of Nuclear Arms Cited," [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/05/AR2008060501908.html?hpid=moreheadlines ''Washington Post'' June 6, 2008]</ref>
==Mission==
The stated mission of the USAF today is to "deliver sovereign options for the defense of the United States of America and its global interests &mdash; to fly and fight in Air, Space, and Cyberspace".<ref>Air Force Link, (2005). ''[http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?storyID=123013440 Air Force releases new mission statement]''. Retrieved December 8, 2005.</ref>
 
===Search and rescue===
 
The '''National Search and Rescue Plan''' designates the [[United States Coast Guard]] as the federal agency responsible for ''maritime'' search-and-rescue (SAR) operations, and the United States Air Force as the federal agency responsible for ''inland'' SAR. Both agencies maintain Rescue Coordination Centers to coordinate this effort.[http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-o/g-opr/nsarc/nsarc.htm]
 
* [[U.S. Air Force Rescue Coordination Center]]
 
==History==
{{main|U.S. Air Force, history}}
The United States Air Force became a separate military service on September 18, 1947, with the implementation of the [[National Security Act of 1947]].<ref>U.S. Intelligence Community (October 2004). ''[http://www.intelligence.gov/0-natsecact_1947.shtml National Security Act of 1947]''. Retrieved April 14, 2006.</ref> The Act created the [[United States Department of Defense]], which was composed of three branches, the Army, Navy and a newly-created Air Force.<ref>U.S. Department of State(2006). ''[http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/cwr/17603.htm National Security Act of 1947]''. Retrieved April 14, 2006.</ref> Prior to 1947, the responsibility for military aviation was divided between the Army (for land-based operations) and the Navy, for sea-based operations from [[aircraft carrier]] and [[amphibious warfare|amphibious]] aircraft. The Army created the first antecedent of the Air Force in 1907, which through a succession of changes of organization, titles, and missions advanced toward eventual separation 40 years later. The predecessor organizations of today's U.S. Air Force are:
*[[Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps]] (1907 to 1914)
*[[Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps]] (1914 to 1918)
*[[Division of Military Aeronautics]] (1918)
*[[U.S. Army Air Service]] (1918 to 1926)
*[[U.S. Army Air Corps]] (1926 to 1941) and
*[[U.S. Army Air Forces]] (AAF) (1941 to 1947)
 
===Wars===
The Air Force has been involved in many wars, conflicts, and operations since its conception; these include:
 
* [[World War I]]<ref> Air Force Pamphlet 36-2241 (1 July 2007). ''[http://www.e-publishing.af.mil/pubfiles/af/36/afpam36-2241/afpam36-2241.pdf].''</ref> [Aviation Section, US Army Signal Corps]
* [[World War II, air war]](Army Air Forces, AAF)
* [[Cold War]]
* [[Korean War]]
* [[Vietnam War]]
* [[Operation Eagle Claw]]
* [[Operation URGENT FURY]]
* [[Operation Just Cause]]
* [[Operation ELDORADO CANYON]]
* [[Gulf War]]
* [[Operation NORTHERN WATCH]]
* [[Operation SOUTHERN WATCH]]
* [[Kosovo War]]
* [[Operation ENDURING FREEDOM]]
* [[Iraq War]]
* [[Operation Odyssey Dawn]]
 
===Humanitarian operations===
The U.S. Air Force has taken part in numerous humanitarian operations. Some of the more major ones include the following:<ref>The primary source for the humanitarian operations of the USAF is the United States Air Force Supervisory Examination Study Guide (2005)</ref>
*[[Berlin Blockade#The Berlin Airlift|Berlin Airlift (Operation Vittles), 1948-1949]]
*[[Operation Safe Haven (1957)|Operation Safe Haven, 1956-1957]]
*Operations [[Operation Babylift|Babylift]], [[Operation New Life|New Life]], [[Operation Frequent Wind|Frequent Wind]], and [[Operation New Arrivals|New Arrivals]], 1975
*[[Operation Provide Comfort]], 1991
*[[Operation Sea Angel]], 1991
*[[Operation Provide Hope]], 1992-1993
 
==Administrative organization==
 
The Air Force is one of three service departments (i.e., Department of the Army, Department of the Navy, Department of the Air Force), and is managed by the (civilian) [[United States Secretary of the Air Force|Secretary of the Air Force]] (SECAF) and the Secretary's staff and advisors. The military leadership is the [[Air Staff (United States)|Air Staff]], lead by the [[Chief of Staff of the Air Force]]  (CSAF).
 
USAF direct subordinate commands and units are the [[List of United States Air Force Field Operating Agencies|Field Operating Agency]] (FOA), [[Direct Reporting Unit]] (DRU), and the currently unused Separate Operating Agency.
 
The Major Command (MAJCOM) is the superior hierarchical level of command:
*[[Air Combat Command]]
*[[Air Mobility Command]]
*[[Air Force Space Command]]
*[[Air Force Special Operations Command]]
 
The Numbered Air Force (NAF) or equivalent (e.g., USAFE) is a level of command directly under the MAJCOM. Most NAF report, for training and readiness, to a MAJCOM, but may be "dual-hatted" as the air component commander for a [[Unified Combatant Command]]:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! NAF
! MAJCOM
! UCC
|-
| [[First Air Force]]
| [[Air Combat Command]]
| [[United States Northern Command]]
|-
| [[Third Air Force]]
| [[U.S. Air Forces in Europe]] ([[USAFE]])
| [[United States European Command]]
|-
| [[Fifth Air Force]]
| [[Pacific Air Forces]]
| [[United States Pacific Command]]
|-
| [[Seventh Air Force]]
| [[Pacific Air Forces]]
| [[United States Pacific Command]]
|-
| [[Eighth Air Force]]
| [[Air Combat Command]]
| [[United States Strategic Command]]
|-
| [[Ninth Air Force]]
| [[Air Combat Command]]
| [[United States Central Command]]
|-
| [[Tenth Air Force]]
| [[Air Force Reserve Command]]
| [[United States Pacific Command]]
|-
| [[Eleventh Air Force]]
| [[Pacific Air Forces]]
| [[United States Pacific Command]]
|-
| [[Twelfth Air Force]]
| [[Air Combat Command]]
| [[United States Strategic Command]]
|-
| [[Thirteenth Air Force]]
| [[Pacific Air Forces]]
| [[United States Pacific Command]]
|-
| [[Fourteenth Air Force]]
| [[Air Force Space Command]]
| [[United States Strategic Command]] for nuclear operations or any regional [[Unified Combatant Command]]
|-
| [[Seventeenth Air Force]] (headquarters only)
| [[U.S. Air Forces in Europe]]
| [[United States Africa Command]]
|-
| [[Eighteenth Air Force]]
| [[Air Mobility Command]]
| [[United States Transportation Command]]
|-
| [[Twentieth Air Force]]
| [[Air Combat Command]]
| [[United States Strategic Command]]
|-
| Twenty-third Air Force
| ''23 AF became'' [[Air Force Special Operations Command]]
| [[United States Special Operations Command]]
|}
 
Wings report to NAF, Groups report to Wings, and Squadrons report to Groups.
 
==Operational organization==
<!--[[Image:AF-Logo.svg|thumb|150px|The official symbol of the USAF. The wings represent the enlisted force. The sphere within the star represents the globe. The star represents the officer corps. The three diamonds represent the USAF core values]]-->
The above organizational structure is responsible for the peacetime Organization, Equipping, and Training of aerospace units for operational missions. When required to support operational missions, the [[National Command Authority]] directs a Change in Operational Control (CHOP) of these units from their peacetime alignment to a geographic or functional [[Unified Combatant Command]] (CCDR). In the case of AFSPC, AFSOC, PACAF, and USAFE units, forces are normally employed in-place under their existing CCDR. Likewise, AMC forces operating in support roles retain their componency to [[USTRANSCOM]] unless chopped to a Regional CCDR.
 
See [[air warfare planning]] for a general view of air warfare doctrine and missions.
 
There are some special designators for individual aircraft. [[Air Force One]], for example, is not any specific physical aircraft, but the call sign for an aircraft carrying the [[President of the United States of  America]]. In like manner, Air Force Two is any aircraft carrying the Vice President, while Marine One is a Marine aircraft carrying the president, as, for example, the helicopter that flies from the [[White House]] to the long-range transport base at nearby [[Andrews Air Force Base]] in Maryland.
 
===Aerospace Expeditionary Task Force===
CHOPPED units are referred to as "forces". The top-level structure of these forces is the [[Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force]] (AETF). The AETF is the Air Force presentation of forces to a CCDR for the employment of Air Power. Each CCDR is supported by a standing Component Numbered Air Force (C-NAF) to provide planning and execution of aerospace forces in support of CCDR requirements. Each C-NAF consists of a Commander, Air Force Forces (COMAFFOR) and AFFOR/A-staff, and an Air Operations Center (AOC). As needed to support multiple Joint Force Commanders (JFC) in the COCOM's Area of Responsibility (AOR), the C-NAF may deploy Air Component Coordinate Elements (ACCE) to liaise with the JFC. If the Air Force possesses the most strategic air assets in a JFC's area of operations, the COMAFFOR will also serve as the Joint Forces Air Component Commander (JFACC).
 
===Commander, Air Force Forces===
The Commander, Air Force Forces (COMAFFOR) is the senior Air Force officer responsible for the employment of Air Power in support of JFC objectives. The COMAFFOR has a special staff and an A-Staff to ensure assigned or attached forces are properly organized, equipped, and trained to support the operational mission.
 
====Air Operations Center====
The [[Air Operations Center]] (AOC) is the JFACC's [[Command and Control (Military)|Command and Control]] (C²) center. This center is responsible for planning and executing air power missions in support of JFC objectives.
 
===Air Expeditionary Wings/Groups/Squadrons===
The AETF generates air power to support COCOM objectives from [[Air Expeditionary Wing]]s (AEW) or Air Expeditionary Groups (AEG). These units are responsible for receiving combat forces from Air Force MAJCOMs, preparing these forces for operational missions, launching and recovering these forces, and eventually returning forces to the MAJCOMs. Theater Air Control Systems control employment of forces during these missions.
 
==Vocations==
The vast majority of Air Force members remain on the ground. There are hundreds of support positions which are necessary to the success of a mission.
 
The classification of an Air Force job is the [[Air Force Specialty Code]] (AFSC). They range from flight combat operations such as a gunner, to working in a dining facility to ensure that members are properly fed. There are many different jobs in fields such as computer specialties, mechanic specialties, [[Aircrew Badge#Air Force|enlisted aircrew]], medical specialties, civil engineering, public affairs, hospitality, law, drug counseling, mail operations, [[Air Force Security Forces|security forces]], and search and rescue specialties.
 
Perhaps the most dangerous Air Force jobs are [[Pararescue]], [[Combat Control team|Combat Control]], [[Special operations weather|Combat Weather]] and [[Tactical Air Control Party]], who deploy with [[infantry]] and [[special operations]] units who rescue downed or isolated personnel, call in [[air strike]]s and set up landing zones in forward locations. Most of these are [[enlisted]] positions.
 
Nearly all enlisted jobs are "entry level," meaning that the Air Force provides all training. Some enlistees are able to choose a particular job, or at least a field before actually joining, while others are assigned an AFSC at Basic Training. After Basic Military Training, new Air Force members attend a technical training school where they learn their particular AFSC. Second Air Force, a part of Air Education and Training Command is responsible for nearly all technical training.
 
Training programs vary in length; for example, 3M0X1 (Services) has 31 days of tech school training, while 1C2X1 ([[Combat Control team|Combat Control]]) is 35 weeks long with 10 separate courses. 1N3X4 (Cryptologic Linguist) and 1A8X1 (Airborne Linguist) requires a language course ranging from 23 to 63 weeks, and a 4 to 5 month course. Some AFSC's have even longer training.
 
==Aircraft and systems==
[[Image:b52.climbout.arp.jpg|thumb|right|[[B-52|Boeing B-52]] strategic bomber taking off]]
 
The United States Air Force has over 7,500 aircraft commissioned as of 2004. Until 1962, the Army and Air Force maintained one system of aircraft naming, while the U.S. Navy maintained a separate system. In 1962, these were unified into a single system heavily reflecting the Army/Air Force method.
 
===Historic aircraft===
* [[P-38 Lightning]], World War II fighter
* [[P-47]],  Thunderbolt, [[World War II, air war|WW2]] fighter
* [[P-51]],  Mustang, [[World War II, air war|WW2]] fighter
* [[B-17]], [[World War II, air war|WW2]] heavy bomber
* [[B-29]], [[World War II, air war|WW2]] heavy bomber
* [[B-47 Stratojet]], Cold War medium bomber
* [[B-58 Hustler]], Cold War supersonic medium bomber
* [[SR-71 Blackbird]], Cold war supersonic reconnaissance aircraft
* [[F-117 Nighthawk|F-117A Nighthawk]]
* [[MH-53 PAVE LOW]]
 
==Culture==
===Uniforms===
{{main|United States Air Force uniform}}
United States Air Force personnel wear uniforms which are distinct from those of the other branches of the United States Armed Forces. The current uniform is an olive drab/black/brown and tan combination called the [[Battle Dress Uniform]] (BDU). Members deployed to an AOR wear a variation of the BDU, tan/brown and black in color, called the Desert Camouflage Uniform (DCU). A new uniform called the Airman Battle Uniform (ABU) is currently being distributed some bases, and in a memo from HQ AFPC at Randolph AFB dated September 2007, will be distributed to basic trainees in their clothing issue starting October 2007. The ABU is already authorized for wear, and is scheduled to completely replace the BDU and DCU by November 2011.
===Grade Structure and Insignias===
The standard USAF uniform is also decorated with an insignia to designate rank. USAF rank is divided between [[Enlisted rank|enlisted]] airmen, and commissioned officers, and ranges from "Airman Basic" to the commissioned rank of General. Promotions are granted based on a combination of test scores, years of experience, and selection board approval. Promotions among enlisted men and non-commissioned officers rankings are generally designated by increasing numbers of insignia chevrons. Commissioned officer rank is designated by bars, oak leaves, a silver eagle, and anywhere from one to five (only in war-time) stars.
 
''For cadet rank at the U.S. Air Force Academy, see [[United States Air Force Academy Cadet Insignia]].''


==References==
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
{{reflist}}


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Boeing B-52 strategic bomber taking off.

The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the country's armed forces, and is one of the three military departments of the Department of Defense. It was founded on 1 August 1907 as part of the United States Army Signal Corps, and then re-established in 1947 as a service branch in its own right.

References

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