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United States Department of the Air Force

Military department for the Air Force and Space Force, U.S. Department of Defense

United States Department of the Air Force

Summary

Military department for the Air Force and Space Force, U.S. Department of Defense

FieldValue
agency_nameUnited States Department of the Air Force
sealFile:Seal of the United States Department of the Air Force.svg
seal_width155px
seal_captionSeal of the U.S. Department of the Air Force
formed
preceding1Department of War
headquartersThe Pentagon, Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.
employees330,159 Regular Air Force
151,360 Civilians
68,872 Air Force Reserve
94,753 Air National Guard
budget$222.3B (FY2022)
chief1_nameTroy Meink
chief1_positionSecretary
chief2_nameMatthew L. Lohmeier
chief2_positionUnder Secretary
parent_agencyU.S. Department of Defense
child1_agency
child2_agency

151,360 Civilians 68,872 Air Force Reserve 94,753 Air National Guard

The United States 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 (codified into Title 10 of the United States Code) and it is the military department within which the United States Air Force and the United States Space Force are organized.

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 five assistant secretaries for acquisition, technology & logistics; financial management & comptroller; installations, environment & energy; manpower & reserve affairs; and space acquisition & integration and a general counsel. The highest-ranking military officers in the department, and senior military advisers to the secretary, are the chief of staff of the Air Force and chief of space operations.

By direction of the secretary of defense, the secretary of the Air Force assigns Air Force and Space Force units – apart from those units performing duties enumerated in unless otherwise directed – to the combatant commands. Only the secretary of defense and the president have the authority to approve a transfer of forces between combatant commands.

Proposed redesignations

As the Department of the Aerospace Force

In 1981, Congressman Ken Kramer introduced legislation to rename the Department of the Air Force as the Department of the Aerospace Force, along with renaming the United States Air Force as the United States Aerospace Force, to reorient the service and department from an air force to an aerospace force. The legislation would also have established a space command within the Aerospace Force and renamed the Air National Guard to the Aerospace National Guard. The legislation was cosponsored by Representatives G. William Whitehurst, Ike Skelton, and Robin Beard of the United States House Committee on Armed Services. Although the legislation was supported by General James E. Hill, who commanded North American Aerospace Defense Command and Aerospace Defense Command, the Air Force did not support the name change and the legislation did not pass.

As the Department of the Air and Space Forces

Seal of the U.S. Space Force, which is organized within the Department of the Air Force.

Following the United States Space Force's establishment, calls have been made for the Department of the Air Force to rename itself the Department of the Air and Space Forces to acknowledge the Space Force, similar to calls made for the Department of the Navy to rename itself the Department of the Navy and Marine Corps. SpaceNews reported that a proposed name change was considered in 2018, and in 2019 the Air Force Association also called for renaming the department. In 2022, the Air Force Association renamed itself the Air & Space Forces Association, internally acting on its proposal to reflect the Space Force in the organization's name. In a 2021 article in the Space Force Journal, two Space Force officers also proposed a name change for the department.

Congress has also proposed a variety of name changes within the Department of the Air Force to recognize the Space Force's establishment, including a 2022 proposal by the U.S. Senate to rename the Air National Guard to the Air and Space National Guard and 2020 proposal to rename the Airman's Medal the Air and Space Force Medal, mirroring the Navy and Marine Corps Medal.

Organizational structure

The Department of the Air Force is divided into the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, which is led by the United States secretary of the Air Force, the Air Staff which is led by the chief of staff of the Air Force, and the Space Staff which is led by the chief of space operations.

The Department of the Air Force consists of the United States Air Force, United States Space Force, and Air Force Civilian Service.

Headquarters Department of the Air Force

Secretariat

Office of the Secretary of the Air Force]]'''
  • SAF/OS – Secretary of the Air Force
    • SAF/US – Under Secretary of the Air Force
      • SAF/IA – DUSAF for International Affairs
      • SAF/MG – DUSAF for Management
    • SAF/AQ – ASAF for Acquisition, Technology & Logistics
    • SAF/FM – ASAF for Financial Management & Comptroller
    • SAF/IE – ASAF for Installations, Environment & Energy
    • SAF/MR – ASAF for Manpower & Reserve Affairs
    • SAF/SA – Director for Air Force Studies and Analysis
    • SAF/SQ – ASAF for Space Acquisition and Integration
    • SAF/AM – Administration Management for the Secretary
    • SAF/AG – Auditor General of the Department of the Air Force
    • SAF/CN - Chief Information Officer of the Air Force
    • SAF/GC – General Counsel of the Department of the Air Force
    • SAF/IG – Inspector General of the Department of the Air Force
    • SAF/LL – Legislative Liaison
    • SAF/PA – Director of Public Affairs
    • SAF/SB – Director of Small Business Programs

Service staffs

Service branches

  • Structure of the United States Air Force
  • Structure of the United States Space Force

Budget

The Department of Defense claims the 2019 Department of the Air Force budget is as follows:

Air Force Base + OCO + EmergencyFY 2018FY 2019 RequestDelta
Military Personnel35,607,36638,954,308+3,346,942
Operation and Maintenance58,191,00561,407,391+3,216,386
Procurement45,654,16050,541,275+4,887,115
RDT&E28,198,42640,492,614+12,294,188
Military Construction2,191,4512,303,699+112,248
Family Housing333,500395,720+62,220
Revolving and Management Funds63,53377,644+14,111
Total170,239,441194,172,651+23,933,210

*$ in thousands

Numbers May Not Add Due to Rounding

Bibliography

References

  1. {{UnitedStatesCode. 10. 162
  2. (1983). "Hearing on H.R. 5130 Aerospace Force Act Before the Investigations Subcommitee of the Committee on Armed Services, House of Representatives, Ninety-seventh Congress, Second Session, May 19, 1982".
  3. (Spring 2022). "One Team, One Fight The Department of the Air and Space Forces". Air&Space Operations Review.
  4. (30 November 2018). "Space Force proposal could create a broader military department for both air and space".
  5. "Fighting and Winning in Space with Our New U.S. Space Force | Air Force Association".
  6. "AFA Rebrands to Become the Air & Space Forces Association | Air & Space Forces Association".
  7. (2021-07-23). "The FAA's top space official outlines progress". [[Politico]].
  8. (29 December 2021). "Congress turns down a Space National Guard again, but Space Force isn't giving up". [[Air Force Times]].
  9. (23 July 2020). "House, Senate Approve Defense Authorization Bills".
  10. [https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Air-Force-Senior-Leaders/ "Air Force Senior Leaders". Retrieved on 14 December 2017]
  11. "FY2019_Budget_Request_Overview_Book.pdf".
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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