Continental Air Command

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Continental Air Command

Emblem of Continental Air Command
Active 1948 - 1968
Country United States
Branch United States Air Force
Type Major Command

Continental Air Command (ConAC) (1948 - 1968) was a Major Command of the United States Air Force (USAF) responsible primarily for administering the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve.

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[edit] History

In 1947 the United States Congress provided the necessary legislation to create a Department of the Air Force and established the United States Air Force as a separate service equal to the Army and the Navy in the nation's military establishment. Earlier, on 21 March 1946, General Carl Spaatz, Commanding General of the United States Army Air Forces had undertaken a major re-organization that had included the establishment of three new combat commands in the United States. These were:

  • Strategic Air Command (soon known everywhere as SAC), to provide a long-range striking force capable of bombardment operations in any part of the world

On 1 December 1948 TAC and ADC were reduced from major commands to operating agencies when they were assigned to the Continental Air Command (ConAC) which assumed jurisdiction over North American continental air defense. Continental Air Command also had charge of all Air Force reserve units because most of these forces were to be used in either air defense or tactical operations.

This move reflected an effort to concentrate all fighter forces deployed within the continental United States to strengthen the air defense of the North American continent.

The creation of ConAC was largely an administrative convenience, as the units assigned to ConAC were dual-trained and in case of war, were expected to revert to their primary roles after the North American air defense battle was won.

Numbered Air Forces assigned to ConAC were:

The headquarters of ConAC was Mitchel AAF, New York.

Two years later, on 1 December 1950, the Air Force reestablished Tactical Air Command as a major command and removed it from assignment to ConAC. Air Defense Command, inactivated on 1 July 1950, was reestablished as a major command on 1 January 1951 when ConAC ceased to handle the nation's air defense mission.

During the remainder of its existence, Continental Air Command was responsible primarily for administering the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve. CONAC installations, many of which are still active today as Air Force Reserve or Air National Guard installations, included:

Beginning in the mid-1950s and lasting through the 1960s, all Continental Air Command flying units were troop carrier units, equipped with either C-118 Cargomaster, C-119 Flying Boxcar, C-123 Provider, or C-124 Globemaster aircraft.

Several major re-organizations occurred to Continental troop carrier wings. Their original Table of Organization was a wing headquarters, a troop carrier group, an Air Base Group, a maintenance and supply group, and a medical group. In 1957, the troop carrier group and maintenance and supply groups were inactivated, with their squadrons reassigned directly to the wing headquarters - despite the fact that many wings had squadrons spread out over several bases due to centers of population.

Following a series of mobilizations in 1961 and 1962 for the Berlin Crisis and the Cuban Missile Crisis, Continental Air Command realized that it was unwieldy to mobilize an entire wing unless absolutely necessary. Therefore, in 1963, the wings were again reorganized. Troop Carrier Groups were activated at every base that held a CONAC troop carrier squadron, with each group comprising a material squadron, a troop carrier squadron, a tactical hospital or dispensary, and a combat support squadron. Each troop carrier wing was comprised of 3 or 4 of these groups. By doing so, CONAC could facilitate the mobilization of either aircraft and aircrews alone, aircraft and minimum support personnel (one troop carrier group), or the entire troop carrier wing.

While these troop carrier groups have been redesignated several times through the decades with changes in missions and aircraft (the Air Force Reserve Command now operates several different types of aircraft, not all of which are transports), many still exist and today are designated as Wings.

Continental Air Command was inactivated on 1 August 1968 and was replaced by the Air Force Reserve (AFRES). AFRES was initially a field operating agency, later redesignated Air Force Reserve Command on 17 February 1997 and status changed from a field operating agency to a major command of the United States Air Force.

Continental Air Command was disestablished on 21 September 1984

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[edit] References

[edit] External links

http://www.afhra.af.mil Air Force Historical Research Agency