United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States.[12] Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal Corps, the USAF was established as a separate branch of the United States Armed Forces in 1947 with the enactment of the National Security Act of 1947. It is the second youngest branch of the United States Armed Forces[e] and the fourth in order of precedence. The United States Air Force articulates its core missions as air supremacy, global integrated intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, rapid global mobility, global strike, and command and control.
For the civilian military department for air and space forces, see United States Department of the Air Force. For the song, see The U.S. Air Force (song).United States Air Force
- 18 September 1947
- (76 years, 7 months)
- 321,848 active duty personnel[a][2]
105,104 Air National Guard personnel[b][2]
68,927 Air Force Reserve personnel[c][2]
495,879 total uniformed personnel
147,879 civilians[d][3]
appox. 65,000 Auxiliarists[4] - appox. 5,500 aircraft[5]
- appox. 400 ICBMs[6]
Ultramarine blue, Golden yellow[9]
18 September[10]
- Mexican Expedition (As Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps)
- World War I (As Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps and Army Air Service)
- World War II (As USAAF)
- Korean War
- Lebanon Crisis
- Second Taiwan Strait Crisis
- Quemoy and Matsu Islands
- Vietnam Assistance
- Congo Crisis
- Berlin Crisis
- Vietnam War
- Laotian Civil War
- Cuban Missile Crisis
- Congo – Operation Dragon Rouge
- Dominican Civil War – Operation Power Pack
- Korean DMZ Conflict
- Cambodian Campaign
- Communist insurgency in Thailand
- Cambodia – Operation Eagle Pull
- Vietnam – Operation Frequent Wind
- Mayaguez Operation
- Grenada – Operation Urgent Fury
- Lebanese Civil War
- Persian Gulf – Operation Earnest Will
- Libya – Operation El Dorado Canyon
- Panama – Operation Just Cause
- Southwest Asia Conflict
- Somali Civil War
- Haiti – Operation Uphold Democracy
Kosovo Campaign
- Afghanistan Campaign
- Global War on Terrorism
- Iraq Campaign
- Operation Inherent Resolve[11]
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The United States Air Force is a military service branch organized within the Department of the Air Force, one of the three military departments of the Department of Defense. The Air Force through the Department of the Air Force is headed by the civilian Secretary of the Air Force, who reports to the Secretary of Defense and is appointed by the President with Senate confirmation. The highest-ranking military officer in the Air Force is the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, who exercises supervision over Air Force units and serves as one of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. As directed by the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of the Air Force, certain Air Force components are assigned to unified combatant commands. Combatant commanders are delegated operational authority of the forces assigned to them, while the Secretary of the Air Force and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force retain administrative authority over their members.
Along with conducting independent air operations, the United States Air Force provides air support for land and naval forces and aids in the recovery of troops in the field. As of 2020, the service operates approximately 5,500 military aircraft[13] and approximately 400 ICBMs.[14] The world's largest air force, it has a $179.7 billion budget[15][16][17] and is the second largest service branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, with 321,848 active duty airmen,[f][2] 147,879 civilian personnel,[g] 68,927 reserve airmen,[h][2] 105,104 Air National Guard airmen,[i][2] and approximately 65,000 Civil Air Patrol auxiliarists.[4]
Mission, vision, and functions
Missions
According to the National Security Act of 1947 (61 Stat. 502), which created the USAF: