Eighteenth Air Force
Shield of the Eighteenth Air Force
Active	6 January 2019 – Present (as Eighteenth Air Force) 1 April 2007 – 6 January 2019 (as Eighteenth Air Force (Air Forces Transportation)) 1 October 2003 – 1 April 2007 26 June 1951 – 1 January 1958 (as Eighteenth Air Force) 7 March 1951 – 26 June 1951 (as Eighteenth Air Force (Troop Carrier)) (74 years, 8 months)[1]
Country	United States of America
Branch	United States Air Force
Type	Numbered Air Force
Role	Provide combat-ready air mobility forces toU.S. Transportation Command[2]
Part of	Air Mobility Command U.S. Transportation Command
Headquarters	Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, U.S.
Decorations	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award[1]
Website	www.18af.amc.af.mil
Commanders
Commander	Maj GenCharles D. Bolton
Vice Commander	ColPatrick C. Winstead
Command Chief	CMSgtThomas W. Blount
Notable commanders	Col Earl Young[3]

Eighteenth Air Force (18 AF) is one of twoNumbered Air Forces (NAF) inAir Mobility Command (AMC) and one of the largest NAFs in theUnited States Air Force. Eighteenth Air Force was activated on 28 March 1951, inactivated on 1 January 1958, and re-activated on 1 October 2003. It is headquartered atScott Air Force Base, Illinois.

As one of AMC's numbered air forces, 18 AF ensures readiness and sustainment of approximately 33,000 active duty, Air Force Reserve, and civilian Airmen at 12 wings. With more than 400 aircraft, Eighteenth Air Force supports AMC's worldwide mission of providing rapid global mobility to America's armed forces through airlift, aerial refueling, and aeromedical evacuation.

The command's mobility aircraft include theC-5 Galaxy,^[4]C-17 Globemaster III,^[5]C-130 Hercules,^[6]KC-46 Pegasus, andKC-135 Stratotanker.^[7] Operational support aircraft are theVC-25 (Boeing 747 /Air Force One),^[8] C-21,^[9]C-20B (Gulfstream III),^[10] C-32A (Boeing 757)[1],C-37A (Gulfstream V)[2],C-37B (Gulfstream 550) andC-40B (Boeing 737)[3].

18 AF has an assigned military and civilian workforce of more than 33,000 personnel.

Units reporting to 18 AF include 9 wings.

Other AMC units assigned to 18 AF are:

Formerly under 18 AF, now directly under AMC, the618th Air Operations Center (Tanker Airlift Control Center), located at Scott AFB, serves as the organization's air operations center, planning and directing tanker and transport aircraft operations around the world. It is stationed atScott Air Force Base,Illinois. The 618 AOC (TACC) is responsible for planning, scheduling, and tracking aircraft performingairlift,aerial refueling, andaeromedical evacuation operations around the world.^[11] It serves as anAir Operations Center (AOC) for AMC, executing missions assigned by theUnited States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM).^[12]

The 618 AOC (TACC), initially known as TACC, became operational on 1 April 1992. Air mobility leadership sought to simplify the execution of the worldwide mobility mission. They created a highly efficient organization to centralize command and control operations that previously resided within numbered air forces and airlift divisions. TACC was redesignated as the 618 TACC on 1 April 2007, and remained under that designation until being renamed the 618 AOC (TACC) on 30 August 2010.^[13]AMC extensively reorganized the 618 AOC in 2020 and reassigned it from 18 AF to the AMC Directorate of Operations, Strategic Deterrence, and Nuclear Integration (AMC/A3).^[14]

When theArmy Air Forces (AAF) reorganized in 1946,Tactical Air Command (TAC) was established as one of its three major commands. The AAFIX Troop Carrier Command (TCC) was inactivated as part of this reorganization andThird Air Force was reassigned to TAC to control the troop carrier units formerly part of IX TCC. It was headquartered atGreenville Army Airfield, South Carolina. TheC-46 Commando andC-47 Skytrain were the primary troop carrier aircraft, but surplusC-54 Skymasters that had been originally purchased for theAir Transport Command (ATC) were made available for troop carrier use.

Third Air Force was inactivated on 1 November 1946 and TAC's troop carrier mission was reassigned toNinth Air Force which moved to Greenville. In 1947, many of TAC's Troop Carrier Groups/Wings were assigned directly to Headquarters TAC with the rest to theAir Defense Command'sFourteenth Air Force reserve302d Troop Carrier Wing. The theater troop carrier mission was expanded rapidly during theKorean War when many of these reserve units were called into active service and assigned directly to HQ TAC.

Eighteenth Air Force was established and activated 28 March 1951 to dischargeTactical Air Command's (TAC) troop carrier responsibilities. The organization became operational on 1 June 1951 atDonaldson AFB,South Carolina and initially assumed control of nine mediumC-119 Flying Boxcar troop carrier wings (314th, 375th, 403d, 433d, 434th, 435th, 443d, 514th and 515th), seven of which were Air Force Reserve wings called to active duty during theKorean War.

The command added a heavy (C-124 Globemaster) wing, the 62nd Troop Carrier Wing, in Fall 1951 and another in early 1953, the 63rd Troop Carrier Wing.

In the spring of 1952, 18 AF C-124 Globemasters were sent to Japan and by July 1952, C-124s from the 22nd Troop Carrier Squadron were flying missions in South Korea. The arrival of the C-124 introduced the aircraft loadmaster position to the troop carrier mission. As the Korean War wound down, C-119 Flying Boxcar crews from the483rd Troop Carrier Wing began supporting French operations in Indochina. United States Air Force-suppliedC-47 Skytrain and C-119s were placed "on-loan" to theFrench Air Force atTourane Air Base.

By early 1953, the Air Force Reserve wings were replaced by active duty wings organized, administered, equipped, trained, and prepared for combat by 18 AF. Augmented troop carrier forces in the Far East and Europe provided trained crews and replacement personnel to units in the Korean War.

The next year, 18 AF C-119s from the 483rd Troop Carrier Wing (and flown by civilian crews employed byCivil Air Transport) airdropped supplies to besieged French paratroops atDien Bien Phu, Indochina. Some 483rd personnel flew missions in an unofficial capacity and would play key roles in the troop carrier mission in later years. After the Battle of Dien Bien Phu,374th Troop Carrier Wing and TAC C-124s airlifted wounded French soldiers out of Indochina to Japan.

The command also took part in joint exercises and provided support for airborne paratroop training all the while working to improve communications capabilities and to advocate for the inclusion of medical air evacuation in joint exercises. 18 AF also provided airlift support to other Air Force major commands and TAC organizations.

The advent of the jet age saw TAC with a new mission, as it became the focal point for a new military philosophy based on the rapid deployment of heavily armed fighter/bomber units and Army airborne and light infantry units to overseas "trouble spots" before conflicts could escalate into full-scale war. 18 AF units supplementedMilitary Air Transport Service (MATS) airlift when needed and transportedU.S. Army and U.S. Air Force units for training and deployment.

The Korean War illustrated the need for a medium transport capable of operating from dirt airstrips, which led to the development of several new transport aircraft, including the delivery of the jet-prop powered C-130 Hercules at the end of 1956. 18 AF also took deliveries of theFairchild C-123 Provider, a twin-engine transport designed for assault operations into rudimentary landing zones.

With the advent of the C-130, TAC established theComposite Air Strike Force, commonly known as a CASF, which was centered on troop carrier C-130s supplemented by MATS aircraft to deliver personnel and cargo at a moment's notice to support TAC fighter/bombers at overseas destinations. With these new aircraft, 18 AF units rotated troop carrier units to Europe in support of NATO.

The command was heavily committed to airlift operations in Arctic areas beginning in the Fall of 1952. Between 1955 and 1957, the command offloaded and airdropped equipment supporting the construction of theDistant Early Warning Line (DEW Line) radar system across northern Canada. Helicopters of the310th Troop Carrier Squadron, operating from two icebreakers, provided support airlift to the U.S. Navy in the HIRAN (High Precision Air Navigation) project in January 1956. The command provided airlift and airlift expertise to the U.S. Navy in the AntarcticOperation Deep Freeze I and II, establishing a base at theSouth Pole. Crews of the63rd Troop Carrier Wing performed the first airdrop at the South Pole in October 1956. A combat controller of the 1st Aerial Port Squadron performed the first parachute jump at the South Pole in November 1956 (in order to determine the necessary corrections for ongoing airdrops of equipment). 18 AF also provided airdrop and air-land support toAlaskan Air Command andNortheast Air Command, from March to early June 1957 in order to establish similar sites on ice islands in north polar regions.

The command was also instrumental in the development of the aerial port concept, including techniques and equipment for loading troop carrier aircraft and the airdrop of cargo.

18 AF Airmen also developed the Air Force "pathfinder" combat controller capability to establish ground-to-air communications and navigation aids at jump sites and to select landing sites. They also carried out fixed-wing assault missions using C-123 aircraft for landing on small unimproved landing areas. The command organized the first rotary assault group in the U.S. Air Force before losing the mission to the U.S. Army and served as an advisory body for reserve troop carrier wings. Finally, the command was also heavily involved in the testing of new aerial delivery equipment, equipment and techniques for dropping paratroops and cargo, and navigation devices to determine the point of release.

A realignment of Troop Carrier forces in 1957 led to the reassignment of 18 AF's C-124 wings to MATS and its headquarters was moved toJames Connally AFB, Texas on 1 September. At the same time, Donaldson AFB was turned over to MATS (along with the C-124s and 63d TCW assigned there). At Connally AFB, the command gained responsibility for TAC's day fighter, fighter-bomber, and aerial tanker operations on western U.S. bases.

18 AF was inactivated effective 1 January 1958 due to budgetary reasons, and its units were reassigned toTwelfth Air Force (which had been reassigned fromU.S. Air Forces Europe atRamstein Air Base, West Germany to James Connally AFB).

18 AF was reactivated on 1 October 2003 as part of an overall AMC reorganization.Born from the consolidation of AMC's 15th and 21st Air Forces under the leadership of Maj Gen Bill Essex,^[15] AMC'S director of plans and programs, the command had a modest restart. By the time Lt Gen William Welser III^[16] was finally confirmed as commander a mere two months after reactivation, the 18 AF headquarters staff numbered 30 (of which more than half was the legal office).

At that time, every AMC wing and independent group reported to the 18 AF, including the newly designated15th Expeditionary Mobility Task Force and21st Expeditionary Mobility Task Force, AMC's lead agencies for conducting airlift, air refueling, aeromedical evacuation, and expeditionary combat support operations worldwide. This meant that a single commander, the 18 AF commander, had tasking and execution authority for all air mobility missions. It became quickly apparent that in order for the command to effectively oversee the global air mobility enterprise it would have to grow and develop strong relationships with key organizations across the Air Force andUnited States Department of Defense.^{[citation needed]}

In November 2005, Maj Gen James A. Hawkins,^[17] a former 18 AF vice commander, took the reins of the 18 AF. Under his leadership, and that of his successor, Maj GenWinfield W. Scott III,^[18] who took command in June 2008, the command continued to evolve to meet complex missions at home and abroad.

One of the most demanding of those missions came whenHurricane Katrina made landfall on the Gulf Coast in August 2005, eventually causing more than 1,800 deaths and nearly $80 billion in damage over an area of approximately 90,000 square miles. From the initial response through recovery, 18 AF Airmen were part of a massive total force team that flew more than 300 missions that moved nearly 1,800 sick and injured hurricane victims to safety and airlifted more than 4,000 tons of relief supplies to the stricken area.

A mere two years afterward, the command also flexed its muscle overseas with the deployment of approximately 1,500 Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles toIraq in only four months.

On 6 January 2011, AMC reassigned five units from 18 AF to theUnited States Air Force Expeditionary Center (USAFEC) atJoint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey. Included in the transition were the87th Air Base Wing at Joint Base MDL, the628th Air Base Wing atJoint Base Charleston, South Carolina, the 627th Air Base Group atJoint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, the43rd Airlift Group atPope Army Air Field, North Carolina and the319th Air Refueling Wing atGrand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota.

The 18 AF Commander, Lt GenRobert Allardice^[19] at the time, retained operational control of Airmen in these units, but the change reduced his administrative burden, allowing him greater focus on the command's worldwide mobility flying operations. The need for that focus had become obvious over the years, reflected in a doubling of the 18 AF's headquarters staff between 2003 and 2010. During the same time, the headquarters also added Operations and Plans directorates as well as an integration cell to leverage other key AMC staff members performing operational tasks supporting the command's mission.

While the 2011 restructuring was one of the most visible elements of an evolutionary process that enhanced the 18 AF's operational capability, it was far from the last. The following year the command went through one of its most significant restructuring efforts to date.

In March 2012, the 18 AF inactivated its two Expeditionary Mobility Task Forces: the21st Expeditionary Mobility Task Force at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey and the15th Expeditionary Mobility Task Force atTravis Air Force Base, California. These inactivations administratively aligned the task forces' subordinate units, the615th Contingency Response Wing at Travis, the621st Contingency Response Wing at Joint Base MDL, the515th Air Mobility Operations Wing atJoint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, Hawaii, and the521st Air Mobility Operations Wing atRamstein Air Base, Germany under theU.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center (USAFEC). The following June also saw the inactivation of the 615 CRW, with the alignment of its subordinate units under the 621 CRW.

While the changes reduced the administrative demands on the 18 AF commander, they still left him with full operational control of AMC's forces. Lt Gen Mark Ramsay,^[20] then-18 AF Commander, noted that the changes represented a more effective and efficient way of carrying out the command's global air mobility mission "especially the planning, exercising, execution, and assessment of airlift, air refueling, and aeromedical evacuation operations in support of combatant commanders across the globe."

In the wake of Japan's 2011 earthquake and tsunami, the command orchestrated efforts transporting hundreds of tons of humanitarian relief while assuring the safe return of thousands of military families back to the U.S. Simultaneously, within hours of the passing of a Security Council Resolution, AMC tanker units rapidly formed the313th Air Expeditionary Wing, a total force "Calico wing" (so named for the variety of aircraft tail flashes from the different units that constituted it) to support the U.S.Operation Odyssey Dawn overLibya, which later became the NATOOperation Unified Protector. All this occurred against the backdrop of the massive movement of personnel and equipment from Iraq.^{[citation needed]}

Since that time, the command has continued to rapidly respond to crises across the globe whether delivering relief supplies to Americans stricken bySuperstorm Sandy, moving troops and equipment in the face of provocations byNorth Korea andSyria, or supporting international efforts battling extremists inMali and theCentral African Republic. At the same time, the command has undertaken the effort of redeploying equipment and troops fromAfghanistan.^{[citation needed]}

In 2020, HQAir Mobility Command restructured its command and control authorities, pulling operational control (OPCON) back to the AMC Commander. With the change, 18 AF lost the designation of Air Forces Transportation and reverted from a Component-NAF (C-NAF) to a standard NAF.

• Established asEighteenth Air Force (Troop Carrier) on 7 March 1951.

Organized on 28 March 1951.

RedesignatedEighteenth Air Force on 26 June 1951.

Inactivated on 1 January 1958.

• Activated on 1 October 2003.
• RedesignatedEighteenth Air Force (Air Forces Transportation) on 1 April 2007.
• RedesignatedEighteenth Air Force on 6 January 2019

• Tactical Air Command, 28 March 1951 – 1 January 1958.
• Air Mobility Command, 1 October 2003 – Present

• 42d Air Division: 1 October 1957 – 1 January 1958

Bergstrom AFB, Texas

• 831st Air Division: 8 October 1957 – 1 January 1958

George AFB, California

• 832d Air Division: 8 October 1957 – 1 January 1958

Cannon AFB, New Mexico

• 834th Airlift Division: 1 October 1957 – 1 January 1958

England AFB, Louisiana

• 309th Troop Carrier Group: 8 July 1955 – 2 June 1956 (detached 8 July 1955 – May 1956)

Assigned to:Ardmore AFB, Oklahoma (USAFR), C-122, C-123

• Greenville AFB (later, Donaldson AFB), South Carolina, 28 March 1951
• James Connally AFB, Texas, 1 September 1957 – 1 January 1958
• Scott AFB, Illinois, 1 October 2003 – present.

No.	Commander		Term
	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Term length
1		Lieutenant General William Welser III	1 October 2003	29 November 2005	2 years, 59 days
2		Major General James A. Hawkins	29 November 2005	24 June 2008	2 years, 208 days
3		Major General Winfield W. Scott III	24 June 2008	19 August 2009	1 year, 56 days
4		Lieutenant General Robert R. Allardice	19 August 2009	September 2011	~2 years, 13 days
5		Lieutenant General Mark F. Ramsay	September 2011	August 2012	~335 days
6		Lieutenant General Darren W. McDew	August 2012	April 2014	~1 year, 243 days
7		Lieutenant General Carlton D. Everhart II	June 2014	August 2015	~1 year, 61 days
8		Major General Thomas Sharpy	August 2015	October 2015	~61 days
9		Lieutenant General Samuel D. Cox	October 2015	1 June 2017	~1 year, 243 days
10		Lieutenant General Giovanni K. Tuck	1 June 2017	31 July 2018	1 year, 60 days
11		Major General Sam C. Barrett	31 July 2018	18 August 2020	2 years, 18 days
12		Major General Kenneth Bibb	18 August 2020	19 August 2022	2 years, 1 day
13		Major General Corey Martin	19 August 2022	9 August 2024	1 year, 356 days
14		Major General Charles D. Bolton	9 August 2024	Incumbent	1 year, 102 days

 This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947–1977. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History.ISBN 0-912799-12-9.

• Official Eighteenth Air Force website

• Numbered air forces of the United States Air Force
• Military units and formations in Illinois

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