United States Pacific Air Forces
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Pacific Air Forces | |
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 Pacific Air Forces emblem |
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| Active | 3 August 1944 - Current |
| Country | United States of America |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Type | Major Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii |
| Nickname | PACAF |
| Engagements | Vietnam War 15 November 1961 - 30 April 1975 |
Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) is one of two United States Air Force major commands outside of the continental United States, the other being the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE). PACAF is the air force component of United States Pacific Command and was created on 1 July 1957, by a redesignation of the United States Far East Air Forces.
PACAF is headquartered at Hickam Air Force Base Hawaii.
PACAF's area of responsibility extends from the west coast of the United States to the east coast of Africa and from the Arctic to the Antarctic, more than 100 million square miles (260,000,000 km²). The area is home to nearly two billion people who live in 44 countries.
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[edit] Leadership
Commander, Pacific Air Forces is General Carrol H. "Howie" Chandler, Maj. Gen. Edward A. Rice, Jr. is Vice Commander. Chief Master Sergeant Anthony L. Bishop is current Command Chief Master Sergeant. In this position, he represents the 40,000 Airmen of Pacific Air Forces.[1]
[edit] Mission
PACAF's primary mission is to provide ready air and space power to promote U.S. interests in the Asia-Pacific region during peacetime, through crisis and in war.
The command's vision is to be the most respected air warrior team employing the full spectrum of air and space power, with our Asia-Pacific partners, to ensure peace and advance freedom.
[edit] Current Operating Units
PACAF is headquartered at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii.
PACAF's major units are Fifth Air Force, Yokota Air Base, Japan; Seventh Air Force, Osan Air Base, South Korea; Eleventh Air Force, Elmendorf AFB, Alaska; and Thirteenth Air Force, Hickam AFB, Hawaii.
This is further divided into the Wings of each Air Force, their headquarters and a summary of each wing's aircraft.
- Fifth Air Force - Yokota Air Base, Tokyo, Japan
- 18th Wing - Kadena Air Base, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan
(HH-60G, F-15C/D, KC-135R, E-3 Sentry) - 35th Fighter Wing - Misawa Air Base, Aomori Prefecture, Japan
(F-16CJ/DJ) - 374th Airlift Wing - Yokota Air Base
(C-130E, C-21A, UH-1N) - 605th Air and Space Operations Center - Yokota Air Base
- 18th Wing - Kadena Air Base, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan
- Seventh Air Force (AFKOR) - Osan Air Base, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
- 8th Fighter Wing - Kunsan Air Base, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea
(F-16CG/DG, F-16C/D) - 51st Fighter Wing - Osan Air Base
(A-10/OA-10, F-16CG/DG, C-12) - 607th Air and Space Communications Group - Osan Air Base
- 607th Air and Space Operations Center - Osan Air Base
- 607th Air Support Group - Osan Air Base
- 607th Air Support Operations Group - Osan Air Base
- 8th Fighter Wing - Kunsan Air Base, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea
- Eleventh Air Force - Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska
- 3d Wing - Elmendorf Air Force Base
(F-22 Raptor, F-15E Strike Eagle, C-130H, C-12, E-3B) - 354th Fighter Wing - Eielson AFB, Alaska
(F-16CG/DG, A-10/OA-10) - 611th Air and Space Operations Center - Elmendorf Air Force Base
- 611th Air Support Group - Elmendorf Air Force Base
- 3d Wing - Elmendorf Air Force Base
- Thirteenth Air Force (AFPAC) - Hickam AFB, Hawaii
- 15th Airlift Wing - Hickam AFB
(C-17, C-37, C-40) - 13th Air Expeditionary Group - Hickam AFB, Hawaii (Seasonal)
- 613th Air and Space Operations Center - Hickam AFB
- 613th Support Group - Hickam AFB
- 36th Wing - Andersen AFB, Guam
(No aircraft assigned)
- 15th Airlift Wing - Hickam AFB
[edit] History
[edit] Lineage
- United States Far East Air Forces, August 3, 1944
- United States Pacific Air Forces, 1 July 1957
[edit] United States Far East Air Forces
PACAF traces its roots to the activation of the World War II United States Far East Air Forces (FEAF))*, on August 3, 1944, at Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. FEAF was subordinate to the U.S. Army Forces Far East and served as the headquarters of Allied Air Forces Southwest Pacific Area. On June 15th, 1945, United States Army Air Forces numbered air forces in the Asiatic-Pacific theater were assigned to FEAF to support operations in the Pacific, these being:
- Fifth Air Force, New Guinea
- Seventh Air Force, Okinawa
- Thirteenth Air Force, Solomon Islands
- Twentieth Air Force, Mariana Islands (December 6, 1945)
Although engaged in combat operations against Japan, Tenth Air Force and Fourteenth Air Force were assigned to the China Burma India Theater of World War II and were not part of Far East Air Forces.
At that time, the Army Air Forces in the Pacific became part of the largest and most powerful military organization ever fielded by any country in the world. After World II, HQ FEAF and Fifth Air Force remained in Japan, while Seventh Air Force operated from Hawaii, Thirteenth Air Force from the Philippines, and Twentieth from Okinawa.
In the post-war years, FEAF was designated the theater air force for the Far East Command and was headquartered in Japan. All United States air forces in the Far East and Southwest Pacific were placed under one Air Force commander for the first time.
When the North Koreans crossed the 38th parallel June 25, 1950, FEAF consisted of the following:
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In addition, elements of the 2d and 3d Air Rescue squadrons, attached to FEAF by the Military Air Transport Service (MATS), were located at various bases where they could best perform emergency rescue services with their SB-17's. The 512th and 514th Weather Reconnaissance Squadrons (2143d Air Weather Wing) were located at Yokota and Anderson. All USAF units engaged in combat during the Korean War were under the overall command of Far East Air Forces.
On 1 July 1957 United States Far East Air Forces was redesignated Pacific Air Forces and transferred its headquarters to Hickam AFB, Territory of Hawaii.
[edit] Notes
* The United States Far East Air Forces was a separate command from the World War II Far East Air Force (28 October 1941 - 5 February 1942) which fought in the Philippine and Dutch East India campaigns. Initially it was comprised mostly of aircraft and personnel from the Philippine Army Air Corps. It was largely destroyed during the Battle of the Philippines (1941-42). The surviving personnel and aircraft were later re-organised in Australia, as the U.S. Fifth Air Force.
** The 31st Photo Reconnaissance squadron was a Strategic Air Command (SAC) organization, attached to FEAF for operations. On June 29, 1950 the unit began flying combat missions to provide FEAF Bomber Command with target and bomb-damage assessment photography.
*** In mid-July 1950, the 6204th Photo Mapping Flight, located at Clark AB, Philippines, deployed the Flight's two RB-17 aircraft complete with combat crews and maintenance personnel to Johnson AB, Japan. The FEAF deployment order specified that the two RB-17 aircraft be equipped with normal armament insofar as practicable, not to interfere with the photographic capability of the aircraft. This posed a problem for the Flight, since the RB-17s had been flying peacetime missions and were not equipped for combat. However, the 6204th found the necessary gunners and equipment, made the modifications to the aircraft, and by late August 1950 the detachment began flying photo-mapping missions over Korea. By the end of November 1950, it had photographed the entire North Korean area at least once and re-photographed some areas as far north as weather conditions permitted. By early December the detachment returned to Clark AB and resumed the flight's mapping program in the Philippine area.
[edit] Cold War
By 1960, PACAF maintained a combat-ready deterrent force of some 35 squadrons, operating from 10 major bases in a half-dozen countries. In the early 1960s communist military strength and firepower in Vietnam increased. As a result, PACAF began a buildup in the area with the addition of troops and better arms and equipment.
In response to what has become known as the Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1964, Tactical Air Command pilots and support personnel found themselves deployed from the CONUS to PACAF bases such as Da Nang Air Base and Phan Rang AB in South Vietnam. Bases in Thailand (Takhli RTAFB, Korat RTAFB} were also used by deployed TAC fighter squadrons.
As the American effort in Southeast Asia increased, TAC permanently reassigned entire wings of aircraft from CONUS bases to PACAF and increased the number of rotated tactical fighter and recon squadrons on rotating Temporary Duty commitments to PACAF bases in Vietnam and Thailand, along with units to South Korea, Japan and the Philippines. On a daily basis, flight crews would hurl themselves and their planes at targets across the area of operations over the skies of North and South Vietnam.
At the height of the Vietnam War (1968), PACAF commanded forces at major air bases in the following countries:
- Japan (Fifth Air Force)
- South Korea (Fifth Air Force)
- Philippines (Thirteenth Air Force)
- Taiwan (Thirteenth Air Force)
- South Vietnam (Seventh Air Force)
- Thailand (Seventh/Thirteenth Air Force)
By 1970 the war was winding down as the conflict was being Vietnamized. Units from the South Vietnamese Air Force (SVNAF) took on more and more combat to defend their nation. PACAF tactical air strength was being reduced as several air bases were turned over to the SVNAF. Combat aircraft of PACAF flew their last strikes in Cambodia Aug. 15, 1973, writing the final chapter to the long and costly history of active American participation in the Indochina War. The Paris Peace Accords of 1973 ended PACAF's use of South Vietnamese bases, and by 1976 bases in Thailand were turned over to the Thai government. In 1979, normalization of relations with the People's Republic of China led to the withdrawal of PACAF personnel from Ching Chuan Kang Air Base, Republic of China (Taiwan).
The post-Vietnam era found the command focusing on improving its readiness, and PACAF's organizational structure saw a marked period of rapid and extensive changes. Deactivated at the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, Seventh Air Force was reactivated at Osan Air Base, South Korea in 1986 to take over Fifth Air Force activities in South Korea. Andersen AFB was reassigned from Strategic Air Command in 1989, and Eleventh Air Force became a part of the command in late 1990. Following the volcanic eruption of Mount Pinatubo, Clark AB, the Philippines, was closed and Thirteenth Air Force relocated in 1991.
[edit] Post Cold War
In 1992, changes took place in force structure within PACAF as the command assumed control of theater-based tactical airlift wings, theater C-130 aircraft and crews, and associated theater C-130 support. PACAF also gained control of all operational support aircraft and all aeromedical airlift assets in the Pacific.
Throughout its history PACAF has played a vital role in world events. In addition to its key combat role in World War II, Korea and Vietnam, PACAF units fought in Desert Storm in 1991, and they continue to deploy to Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Italy for peacekeeping operations. PACAF provided its expertise, aircraft, personnel and equipment to facilitate the new Expeditionary Air Force, especially as it applied to successful airbridge operations spanning the vast Pacific Ocean. Following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, PACAF again demonstrated its intrepid spirit through its units deployed in support of operations Noble Eagle and Enduring Freedom.
Since 1944, the command has participated in more than 140 humanitarian operations within its area of responsibility and beyond. In these operations PACAF people quickly and efficiently airlifted food, medicine and other supplies to areas devastated by storms, floods, earthquakes, volcanoes and other natural disasters.
[edit] See also
- United States Forces Korea (USFK)
- Military of South Korea (ROK Armed Forces)
- United States Air Force In South Vietnam
- United States Air Force In Thailand
- USAF Organizations in the Korean War
[edit] References
- This article includes content from United States Pacific Air Forces website, which as a work of the U.S. Government is presumed to be a public domain resource. That information was supplemented by:
- Endicott, Judy G. (1999) Active Air Force wings as of 1 October 1995; USAF active flying, space, and missile squadrons as of 1 October 1995. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. CD-ROM.
- Fletcher, Harry R. (1989) Air Force Bases Volume II, Active Air Force Bases outside the United States of America on 17 September 1982. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0912799536
- Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947-1977. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0912799129.
- Rogers, Brian (2005). United States Air Force Unit Designations Since 1978. Hinkley, England: Midland Publications. ISBN 1-85780-197-0.
[edit] External links
- Pacific Air Forces (official site)
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