| Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) | |
|---|---|
.png) Shield of the Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) | |
| Active | 20 August 2020 – present (as Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central)) 5 August 2009 – 20 August 2020 (as United States Air Forces Central Command) 1 March 2008 – 5 August 2009 (Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central)) 26 June 1951 – 1 March 2008 (as Ninth Air Force) 1 August 1950 – 26 June 1951 (as Ninth Air Force (Tactical)) 28 March 1946 - 1 August 1950 18 September 1942 - 2 December 1945 as Ninth Air Force) 8 April 1942 – 18 September 1942 (as 9 Air Force) 21 August 1941 – 8 April 1942 (as 5 Air Support Command) (84 years, 2 months)[1] |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force (26 September 1947 – present) United States Army ( Army Air Forces; 8 April 1942 – 26 September 1947)[1] |
| Type | Named Air Force |
| Role | Provides combat-ready air forces and serves as theair component toU.S. Central Command[2] |
| Part of |  Air Combat Command United States Central Command |
| Headquarters | Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Engagements | See list
|
| Decorations |  Air Force Outstanding Unit Award  Air Force Organizational Excellence Award |
| Website | www |
| Commanders | |
| Commander | Lt GenDerek France |
| Deputy Commander | Maj GenCurtis R. Bass |
| Command Chief Master Sergeant | CMSgtJoshua J. Wiener |
| Notable commanders | Lewis H. Brereton Hoyt Vandenberg Gary L. North David L. Goldfein Donavon F. Smith |
| Insignia | |
| United States Air Forces Central Command emblem |  |
TheNinth Air Force (Air Forces Central)[3] is aNumbered Air Force of theUnited States Air Force headquartered atShaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component ofUnited States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint Department of Defensecombatant command responsible for U.S. security interests in 27 nations that stretch from theHorn of Africa through thePersian Gulf region, into Central Asia.[4]
Activated as 9th Air Force on 8 April 1942, the command fought inWorld War II both in theWestern Desert Campaign in Egypt and Libya and as the tactical fighter component of theUnited States Strategic Air Forces in Europe, engaging enemy forces in France, the Low Countries and in Nazi Germany. During theCold War, it was one of two Numbered Air Forces ofTactical Air Command.
Co-designated as United States Central Command Air Forces (CENTAF) on 1 January 1983, on 2009 as part of a complicated transfer of lineage, the lineage and history of the Ninth Air Force was bestowed on USAFCENT, and a new Ninth Air Force, which technically had no previous history, was activated. On 20 August 2020, the 9 AF designation was returned to USAFCENT with the deactivation of the 2009 established 9 AF.[5] It has fought in the1991 Gulf War,War in Afghanistan (OEF-A, 2001–present), theIraq War (OIF, 2003–2010), as well as various engagements within USCENTCOM.
United States Air Forces Central is the direct descendant organization of Ninth Air Force, established in 1941. AFCENT was formed as the United States Central Command Air Forces (CENTAF) underTactical Air Command (TAC). CENTAF initially consisted of designated United States Air Force elements of theRapid Deployment Joint Task Force (RDJTF) which was inactivated and reformed as USCENTCOM in 1983.
On 1 March 2008 USCENTAF was redesignated USAFCENT.[6] It shared its commander with Ninth Air Force until August 2009.[7] Ninth Air Force was redesignated USAFCENT on 5 August 2009. A new Ninth Air Force was established that date for command and control of CONUS-based Air Combat Command units formerly assigned to the previous Ninth Air Force.
In the summer of 1941General Headquarters Air Force (GHQ AF) decided to establish commands to direct itsair support mission in each of itsnumbered air forces, plus one additional command that would report directly to GHQ AF. These commands were manned from inactivatingwings, and would initially control only observation squadrons, which would be transferred from the control of the corps and divisions, although they would remain attached to these ground units.[8] GHQ AF organized5th Air Support Command atBowman Field, Kentucky in September 1941, drawing its personnel and equipment from the16th Bombardment Wing, which was simultaneously inactivated.[9][8] New observation groups were formed, with acadre drawn fromNational Guard squadrons that had been mobilized in 1940 and 1941.[8] 5th Air Support Command was redesignated as 9th Air Force in April 1942. It moved toBolling Field, DC on 22 July and transferred without personnel or equipment toCairo, Egypt on 12 November 1942.
In June 1942, the GermanAfrika Korps advance in North Africa forced theBritish Eighth Army to retreat towards Egypt putting BritishMiddle East Command at risk. The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) had already planned for a buildup of American air power in the Middle East in January 1942 in response to a request from the BritishChief of the Air Staff, but the first units arrived unexpectedly on 12 June 1942. Col. Harry A. Halverson, commanding twenty-three B-24D Liberator heavy bombers and a hand-picked crews (as a force called HALPRO – from "Halverson Project") was stopped atRAF Lydda en route to China to carry out attacks on Japan from airfields in China, but after the fall ofRangoon the Burma Road was cut, so the detachment could not be logistically supported in China. HALPRO was quickly diverted from its original mission to a new one—interdictory raids from airfields in Egypt against shipping and North African ports supporting Axis operations.[10]
On 28 June 1942, Major GeneralLewis H. Brereton arrived at Cairo to command the U.S. Army Middle East Air Force (USAMEAF), which was activated immediately. USAMEAF comprised the former Halverson Project now the 1st Provisional Bombardment Group, Brereton's detachment (9th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) and other personnel which Brereton brought from India), and the Air Section of the U.S. Military North African Mission. Several USAAF units were sent to join USAMEAF during next weeks in the destruction of Rommel's Afrika Korps by support to ground troops and secure sea and air communications in the Mediterranean.
In September 1942,RAF Middle East Command's Senior Air Staff Officer, Air Commodore[note 1]Philip. Wigglesworth was authorized by Air Chief MarshalSir Arthur Tedder to select targets for all U.S. heavy bombers.
"A development of some importance in the career of USAMEAF manifested itself administratively on 12 October (1942) when orders were cut assigning nine officers to theIX Bomber Command, which organization was then and for a month afterwards unofficial. This command had its roots in a discussion on 5 September between Tedder's senior air staff officer, Air Vice Marshal H. E. P. Wigglesworth, and G-3 officers of USAMEAF, during which Wigglesworth asserted that he had control, delegated by Tedder, over the target selection for the U.S. heavy bombers. Col. Patrick W. Timberlake, G-3 of Brereton's staff, took a serious view of this assertion in that it violated the Arnold-Portal-Towers agreement that American combat units assigned to theaters of British strategic responsibility were to be organized in "homogeneous American formations" under the "strategic control" of the appropriate British commander in chief. In a memo of 7 September, Timberlake granted that this canon might be justifiably violated in the case of the12th Bombardment and 57th Fighter Groups, but he could see no reason why operational control of the 1st Provisional and 98th Groups, comprising four-fifths of the heavy bomber force in the Middle East, should not be vested in American hands. Subsequent negotiations carried the point with the British, who even turned over their160 Squadron (Liberators) to the operational control of IX Bomber Command. On 12 October a small staff moved into Grey Pillars [RAF headquarters inGarden City, Cairo[11]], and thenceforth USAMEAF's bombers operated only under the "strategic" direction of the British. Timberlake headed the organization, with Kalberer as his A-3 and Lt. Col. Donald M. Keiser as his chief of staff."—The Army Air Forces in World War II[12]
In theSecond Battle of El Alamein under GeneralBernard Montgomery attacks by British troops depleted the Axis tanks and Field MarshalErwin Rommel began the withdrawal from Egypti.
Ninth Air Force had been first constituted as V Air Support Command, part ofAir Force Combat Command, atBowman Field,Kentucky on 11 September 1941. Its responsibility was to direct and coordinate the training activities of National Guard observation squadrons inducted into federal service with those of light bomber units training with theArmy Ground Forces. However a lack of unity of command in the organizational set-up led to an early discontinuation of the "air support commands" and V Air Support Command was redesignated as Ninth Air Force in April 1942.
It moved toBolling Field,Washington, D.C., on 22 July and transferred without personnel or equipment toCairo,Egypt on 12 November 1942. The Ninth Air Force mission comprised: (1) Gain air superiority; (2) Deny the enemy the ability to replenish or replace losses, and (3) Offer ground forces close support in North-East Africa. On 12 November 1942, the US Army Middle East Air Force was dissolved and replaced by HQ Ninth Air Force, commanded by Lieutenant General Lewis H. Brereton. At that time, the Ninth Air Force consisted of:[13]
By the end of 1942 a total of 370 aircraft had been ferried to the Ninth Air Force. While the great majority were P-40s,Consolidated B-24 Liberators (The originalHalverson Detachment (HALPRO), 98th Bombardment Group, 376th Bombardment Group, and RAF units), and B-25 Mitchells (12th) and340th Bombardment Groups), there were also more than 50 twin-engine transports (316th Troop Carrier Group), which made it possible to build an effective local air transport service. Ninth Air Force P-40F fighters (57th,79th, and324th Fighter Groups) supported theBritish Eighth Army's drive across Egypt and Libya, escorting bombers and flying strafing and dive-bombing missions against airfields, communications, and troop concentrations. Other targets attacked were shipping and harbor installations in Libya,Tunisia,Sicily, Italy,Crete, and Greece to cut enemy supply lines to Africa. ThePalm Sunday Massacre was one noteworthy mission by the P-40 and Spitfire groups.[14]
After an Allied air forces command reorganisation effective 18 February 1943, the Ninth Air Force began to report toRAF Middle East Command (RAFME) under Air Chief MarshalSir Sholto Douglas. Additionally, the Ninth's 57th, 79th, and 324th Fighter Groups and its 12th and 340th Bombardment Groups were transferred to the operational control of theNorthwest African Tactical Air Force (NATAF) under the command of Air Vice-Marshal SirArthur Coningham. The Ninth's 316th Troop Carrier Group flew its missions with theNorthwest African Troop Carrier Command (NATCC).
In February 1943, after theAfrika Korps had been driven intoTunisia, the Germans took the offensive andpushed through the Kasserine Pass before being stopped with the help of both Ninth and Twelfth Air Force units in the battle. The Allies drove the enemy back into a pocket aroundBizerte andTunis, where Axis forces surrendered in May. Thus, Tunisia became available for launching attacks on Pantelleria (Operation Corkscrew), Sicily (Operation Husky), andmainland Italy.
At the time ofOperation Husky, the invasion of Sicily on 10 July 1943, Ninth Air Force Headquarters was still based at Cairo in Egypt while the Headquarters of Ninth Fighter Command and IX Bomber Command were stationed at Tripoli and Benghazi, Libya, respectively. During this critical period of World War II when theAllied forces finally left North Africa for Europe, the groups of the Ninth Air Force consisted of:[15]
During most of 1943, the Ninth Air Force was officially assigned to RAF Middle East Command of theMediterranean Air Command. However, the Ninth's 12th and 340th Bombardment Groups were assigned to theTactical Bomber Force, the 57th and 79th Fighter Groups were assigned to theDesert Air Force, and the 324th Fighter Group was surprisingly[citation needed] assigned toXII Air Support Command. The Tactical Bomber Force under Air CommodoreLaurence Sinclair, the Desert Air Force under Air Vice MarshalHarry Broadhurst, and XII Air Support Command under Major GeneralEdwin House were sub-commands of theNorthwest African Tactical Air Force (NATAF) under Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham. NATAF was one of the three major sub-commands of theNorthwest African Air Forces (NAAF) under Lieutenant GeneralCarl Spaatz. NATAF,Northwest African Strategic Air Force (NASAF) andNorthwest African Coastal Air Force (NACAF), formed the classictri-force, the basis for the creation of NAAF in February 1943.
Ninth Air Force groups attacked airfields and rail facilities in Sicily and took part in Operation Husky, carried paratroopers, and flew reinforcements to ground units on the island. The heavy bombardment groups (B-24s) of the Ninth also participated in thelow-level assault of the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania on 1 August 1943.
On 22 August 1943 the following groups were transferred from the Ninth Air Force to the Twelfth Air Force:
The 316th Troop Carrier Group was operating underNorthwest African Troop Carrier Command with C-47 Dakotas and CG4A Waco Gliders.
Concurrently with the reassignment of Ninth Air Force formations in the Mediterranean to Twelfth Air Force, plans were afoot in Britain to moveEighth Air Force's medium bomber units to a separate command. This command was offered to Brereton, who accepted, and the force was constituted, also as Ninth Air Force, on 16 October 1943.
During the winter of 1943–1944 Ninth Air Force expanded at an extraordinary rate, so that by the end of May, its complement ran to 45 flying groups operating some 5,000 aircraft. With the necessary ground support units, the total number of personnel assigned to Ninth Air Force would be more than 200,000, a total greater than that of Eighth Air Force.
HQ Ninth Air Force extended IX Bomber Command's choice of targets considerably, although first priority forOperation Pointblank [theCombined Bomber Offensive (CBO) of US and RAF air forces against the Luftwaffe and German aircraft industry] and next priority forOperation Crossbow (codename for operations against German V-weapon sites) targets was maintained.[16] U.S. and British Air Forces aimed to defeat the GermanLuftwaffe in the air and on the ground, to bring about complete air supremacy prior to theinvasion of Normandy. Operational missions involved attacks on rail marshaling yards, railroads, airfields, industrial plants, military installations, and other enemy targets in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Other targets were GermanAtlantic Wall defenses along theEnglish Channel coast of France.
On 4 January 1944 XIX Air Support Command was activated atRAF Middle Wallop to support Patton's Third Army in Europe.[17] In February 1944 the Ninth Air Force underwent a reorganization and several troop carrier groups relocated headquarters. Major GeneralOtto P. Weyland became commanding general of XIX Air Support Command, replacing Major General Elwood R Quesada. The latter assumed dual command of both IX Fighter Command and the IX Air Support Command, which took control of all its fighter and reconnaissance units. HQ IX Air Support Command changed from Aldermaston Court to Middle Wallop.
Major GeneralPaul L. Williams, who had commanded the troop carrier operations in Sicily and Italy, replaced Giles in command of IX Troop Carrier Command.[18] The IX TCC command and staff officers were an excellent mix of combat veterans from those earlier assaults, and a few key officers were held over for continuity. The groups assigned were a mixture of experience, but training would be needed to confront the expected massive movements of troops of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions.
On 18 April 1944, the IX and XIX Air Support Commands were redesignated, respectively, asIX Tactical Air Command andXIX Tactical Air Command.[19]
Between 1 May and the invasion on 6 June, the Ninth flew approximately 35,000 sorties, attacking targets such as airfields, railroad yards, and coastal gun positions.[20] By the end of May 1944, the IX TCC had available 1,207 C-47 Skytrain troop carrier airplanes and was one-third overstrength, creating a strong reserve. Three-quarters of the aircraft were less than one year old on D-Day, and all were in excellent condition. Gliders were incorporated, Over 2,100 CG-4 Waco gliders had been sent to the UK, and after attrition during training operations, 1,118 were available for operations, along with 301 largerAirspeed Horsa gliders received from the British.
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On D-Day, IX Troop Carrier Command units flew over 2000 sorties conducting combat parachute jumps and glider landings as part ofAmerican airborne landings in Normandy of Operation Neptune. Other Ninth Air Force units carried out massive air attacks withP-51 Mustang,P-47 Thunderbolt fighter-bombers,North American B-25 Mitchell andMartin B-26 Marauder medium bombers. Air cover during the morning amphibious assault by Allied forces on the beaches of France was flown byP-38 Lightnings.
With the beaches secure, its tactical air units then provided the air power for the Allied break-out from the Normandy beachhead in the summer of 1944 during theBattle of Cherbourg,Battle for Caen, and the ultimate breakout from the beachhead,Operation Cobra.
Unlike Eighth Air Force, whose units stayed in the United Kingdom, Ninth Air Force units were very mobile, first deploying to France on 16 June 1944, ten days after the Normandy invasion by moving P-47 Thunderbolts to a beach-head landing strip.
Because of their short range, operational combat units would have to move to quickly prepared bases close to the front as soon as the Allied ground forces advanced. The bases were called "Advanced Landing Grounds" or "ALGs". On the continent, many ALGs were built either from scratch or from captured enemy airfields throughout France, the Low Countries and Germany. Ninth Air Force units moved frequently from one ALG to another.
By early August most Ninth Air Force operational fighter and bomber groups were transferred to bases in France and assigned to theU. S. Twelfth Army Group. These groups were then assigned to Tactical Air Command (TAC) organizations which supported Army ground units. XXIX Tactical Air Command (XXIX TAC) was activated in France on 15 September 1944, commanded by Brig. Gen.Richard E. Nugent, to support operations of theU.S. Ninth Army.
XXIX TAC supported the Ninth Army in the north; IX TAC supported the First Army in the center; and XIX TAC supported the Third Army in the south. Air cover over Allied-controlled areas on the continent was performed by the IX Air Defense Command. Ninth Air Force groups made numerous moves within France, theLow Countries and western Germany to keep within range of the advancing battle front before the end of hostilities in May 1945.
DuringOperation Dragoon, the invasion of Southern France in August 1944, two Ninth fighter groups were transferred to the provisional United States/Free French 1st Tactical Air Force supporting the invasion force's drive north. As part ofOperation Market-Garden, the Ninth Air Force transferred its entire IX Troop Carrier Command with its fourteenC-47 groups to the1st Allied Airborne Army in September 1944. Those troop carrier groups flew many of the C-47s and towedCG-4 Waco gliders for the Allied airborne unit drops—Operation Market Garden—to take the bridges northwest ofEindhoven at Son (mun. Son en Breugel),Veghel,Grave,Nijmegen andArnhem in the Netherlands.
In December 1944 through January 1945, Ninth Air Force fighters and bombers were critical in defeating theWehrmacht during theBattle of the Bulge. Initially American, British, and Canadian air power was grounded by very bad winter weather, but then the bad weather broke, freeing the tactical air forces to help break the back of the Wehrmacht attack. The long smash across France, Belgium, andLuxembourg was the highlight[citation needed] of the existence of the 9th Air Force.
In the spring of 1945, Ninth Air Force troop carrier units flew airborne parachute and glider units again duringOperation Varsity, the Allied assault over theRhine River on 24 March 1945. Operation Varsity was the single largest airborne drop in history. The operation saw the first use of theCurtiss-Wright C-46 Commando transport in Europe, operating with the reliable C-47 Skytrain of previous airborne operations, an experiment which ended with the catastrophic loss of 28% of the C-46s participating.
Ninth Air Force tactical air support operations were flown over western Germany until the end of hostilities on 7 May. However, once the victory had been gained, the United States plunged into demobilization, just as it had done at the end of theFirst World War.
Most officers and men were sent back to the United States and their units inactivated. Others were assigned to the newUnited States Air Forces in Europe and were moved to captured Luftwaffe airfields to perform occupation duties. Some transport units relocated to France. Finally, with the mission completed, on 2 December 1945 the Ninth Air Force was inactivated at USAFE Headquarters atWiesbaden Germany.
FollowingWorld War II, Ninth Air Force was reactivated on 28 March 1946 atBiggs AAF, Texas. After several relocations, on 20 August 1954, Ninth Air Force Headquarters was assigned toShaw Air Force Base,South Carolina, where it remains today. The postwar Numbered Air Forces were components of the new major command structure of theUnited States Air Force, and Ninth Air Force became one of the tactical air forces of the newTactical Air Command. Ninth Air Force commanded TAC Wings east of theMississippi River.
Initially being equipped with propeller-driven F-51, F-47 andF-82 aircraft during the postwar years, in the 1950s, Ninth Air Force units received the jet-poweredF/RF-80 Shooting Star,F-84G/F Thunderjet,F-86D/H Sabre, andF-100 Super Sabre aircraft. Ninth Air Force squadrons and wings were frequently deployed toNATO during the 1950s and 1960s as "Dual-Based"USAFE units, and reinforcing NATO forces in West Germany and France during theLebanon crisis of 1958 and the 1961Berlin Wall Crisis.
During the 1962Cuban Missile Crisis, Ninth Air Force units went on war alert, deploying to bases in Florida, being able to respond to the crisis on a moment's notice.
During theVietnam War, detached Ninth Air Force units engaged in combat operations overVietnam,Cambodia andLaos. The practice of stripping away squadrons and aircraft from their home Tactical Air Command Wings and attaching them indefinitely to a new wing underPacific Air Forces was the method used for long-term deployments to theSouth Vietnam andThailand air bases engaged in combat operations. In addition to these operational deployments, Ninth Air Force units performed a "backfilling" role in Japan and South Korea for PACAF as well as in Italy and Spain forUSAFE to replace units whose aircraft and personnel were deployed to Southeast Asia. With the end of American involvement during the early 1970s, these units were returned in large part to their home Ninth Air Force units in the United States.
During the remainder of the 1970s, NATO deployments resumed supporting the COMET, CORONET and CRESTED CAP exercises. These deployments were designed to exercise CONUS based Air Force squadrons long range deployment capabilities and to familiarize the personnel with the European theatre of operations. During these NATO deployments, exercises with Army infantry and armored units were conducted to enhance the Close Air Support role in Europe.
Ninth Air Force Wings in 1979 were:
During the 1980s, Ninth Air Force wings upgraded from the Vietnam-Era F-4s and A-7s to newer F-15s, F-16 and A-10 aircraft. First-generation F-15A/B models were later sent toAir National Guard fighter units while Regular Air Force units upgraded to the higher-capability F-15C/Ds and the new F-15E replaced the F-4E in the 4th TFW.
With the end of theCold War in the early 1990s, the 1991Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) reductions meant the closing of Myrtle Beach AFB and England AFB. MacDill AFB was realigned underAir Combat Command as the headquarters ofUnited States Central Command andUnited States Special Operations Command, but minus tactical aircraft operations with the reassignment of the56th Fighter Wing toAir Education and Training Command and relocation toLuke AFB, Arizona.
The restructuring of USAF CONUS forces by the inactivation ofTactical Air Command and subsequent creation ofAir Combat Command realigned Ninth Air Force with new units and new missions. In addition, the effects ofHurricane Andrew at Homestead AFB on 24 August 1992 essentially destroyed the facility. Although bothGeorge H. W. Bush andPresident Clinton promised to rebuild Homestead, the BRAC designated the installation for realignment to theAir Force Reserve, and on 1 April 1994, Headquarters, ACC inactivated its base support units and transferred base support responsibility to theAir Force Reserve Command and AFRC's482d Fighter Wing, effectively ending ACC ownership of the base.
Concurrently, ACC also transferred responsibility for MacDill AFB toAir Mobility Command following the arrival of an air refueling unit and redesignation of the host air base wing as an air refueling wing (later redesignated as an air mobility wing).
In 1980, Ninth Air Force units were allocated to the newRapid Deployment Joint Task Force (RDJTF). In 1983, the RDJTF became a separate unified command known as theUnited States Central Command (USCENTCOM), focusing on the Middle East. Ninth Air Force provided the aircraft, personnel and materiel to formUnited States Central Command Air Forces (USCENTAF), the USAF air power of CENTCOM, which was also headquartered at Shaw AFB. Starting in 1981, Ninth Air Force aircraft and personnel were deployed to Egypt forExercise Bright Star.
DuringOperation Desert Shield andOperation Desert Storm, Ninth Air Force units deployed to the Middle East, and flew combat missions overKuwait andIraq.
After the end of hostilities, units from the Ninth flew air missions over Iraq as part ofOperation Deny Flight,Operation Northern Watch andOperation Southern Watch. From 1991, the4404th Composite Wing (Provisional) served as a forward force, for most of that period flying fromKing Abdul Aziz AB, Saudi Arabia. Despite the boring nature of the quasi-peacetime patrols over both the northern and southern "no-fly zones," the years after 1991 were not entirely without hostile action. Time and time again Iraqi air defense radars came on line and "illuminated" American aircraft. There were also numerous cases where Iraqi anti-aircraft guns and missiles engaged American aircraft. In each case, the U.S. military aircraft would retaliate and in most cases, eliminate the offending air defense site(s). Among the deployed units were the 4th Air Expeditionary Wing, Camp Doha, Qatar (June 1996 and February 1997 in Air Expeditionary Force (AEF) Rotations III and IV respectively),[22] the 347th Air Expeditionary Wing, Shaikh Isa AB,Bahrain, and the363d Air Expeditionary Wing atPrince Sultan AB, Saudi Arabia.
During this "phony war," American pilots gained invaluable experience in air-to-ground tactics that could not be duplicated in practice missions back at home. Combat missions briefly resumed in 1998 duringOperation Desert Fox.
Ninth Air Force units, flying as USCENTAF, flew operational missions during the 2002Operation Enduring Freedom—Afghanistan (OEF-A) and the 2003 invasion of Iraq,Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). Air Expeditionary Force units are engaged in combat operations on an ongoing basis.
U.S. Airmen are increasingly on the ground in Iraq:[23] "They drive in convoys and even work with detainees. The main aerial hub in Iraq has 1,500 airmen doing convoy operations in and 1,000 working with detainees. The USAF is also involved in training Iraqis and performing other activities not usually associated with the Air Force. The dangers of the Air Force's new role were highlighted when the expeditionary wing lost its first female member in the line of duty in Iraq. A1C Elizabeth Jacobson, 21, was killed in a roadside bombing while performing convoy security near the U.S. detention center at Camp Bucca in southern Iraq." "More and more Air Force are doing Army jobs," said Senior Master Sgt. Matt Rossoni, 46, of San Francisco. "It's nothing bad about the Army. They're just tapped out." "Air Force Security Forces are traditionally associated with base defense, however, now they provide security for patrols and to deliver supplies."
The Air Force also is keeping up with its traditional duties. In November, the386th Air Expeditionary Wing delivered its one millionth passenger to Iraq since October 2003. USAF missions included transporting troops, casualties and cargo flights. The Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps flew thousands of missions in support of U.S. ground troops in Iraq this fall, including attacks by unmanned Predator aircraft armed with Hellfire missiles, military records show. American and allied refueling, transport and surveillance planes also are in the air. Airstrikes have been largely in areas where the insurgency is strongest, like Balad, Ramadi and in the vicinity of Baghdad, according to the U.S. Central Command.
Tenant Units assigned to the command are:
Note: The432d Air Expeditionary Wing is anAir Combat Command unit headquartered atCreech AFB, Nevada. It operatesRQ-1 Predator andMQ-9 Reaper UAV aircraft in the AFCENT AOR.
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| Award streamer | Award | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 June 1986 – 31 May 1988 | |
 | Air Force Organizational Excellence Award | 4 August 1990 – 11 April 1991 | |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1996 – 31 March 1998 | |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 June 1998 – 31 May 2000 | |
| Air Force Organizational Excellence Award | 1 June 2011 – 31 May 2013 |
| No. | Commander | Term | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Term length | |
| 1 |  | Lieutenant General Gilmary Michael Hostage III | 5 August 2009 | 3 August 2011 | 1 year, 363 days |
| 2 | .jpg) | Lieutenant General David L. Goldfein | 3 August 2011 | 12 July 2013 | 1 year, 343 days |
| 3 |  | Lieutenant General John W. Hesterman III | 12 July 2013 | 29 June 2015 | 1 year, 352 days |
| 4 |  | Lieutenant General Charles Q. Brown Jr. | 29 June 2015 | 22 July 2016 | 1 year, 23 days |
| 5 |  | Lieutenant General Jeffrey L. Harrigian | 22 July 2016 | 30 August 2018 | 2 years, 39 days |
| 6 |  | Lieutenant General Joseph T. Guastella | 30 August 2018 | 16 July 2020 | 1 year, 321 days |
| 7 |  | Lieutenant General Gregory M. Guillot | 16 July 2020 | 20 August 2020 | 35 days |
| No. | Commander | Term | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Term length | |
| 1 | .jpg) | Lieutenant General Gregory M. Guillot | 20 August 2020 | 21 July 2022 | 1 year, 335 days |
| 2 | .jpg) | Lieutenant General Alexus Grynkewich | 21 July 2022 | 18 April 2024 | 1 year, 272 days |
| 3 |  | Lieutenant General Derek France | 18 April 2024 | Incumbent | 1 year, 215 days |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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