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. The command provided airlift and airlift expertise to the U.S. Navy in Antarctic Operation Deep Freeze I and II, establishing a base at the South Pole. The 618th Air and Space Operations Center (Tanker Airlift Control Center), located at Scott AFB, also reports to 18 AF and serves as the organization's air operations center, planning and directing tanker and transport aircraft operations around the world. Tanner Hall, 421st Combat Training Squadron Phoenix Raven Qualification Course (PRQC) instructor, after PRQC instructors demonstrated what their students learn during the course Jan. 20, 2021, at headquarters U.S. Air Force … 18 AF also provided airdrop and airland support to Alaskan Air Command and Northeast Air Command, from March to early June 1957 in order to establish similar sites on ice islands in north polar regions. Third Air Force was inactivated on 1 November 1946 and TAC's troop carrier mission was reassigned to Ninth Air Force which moved to Greenville. In this role, he oversees an annual budget of $20 million and manages an endowment of more than $140 million. The 317th Airlift Wing activated on July 6, 2017, and was formerly a group based at Dyess. unit: 18 air installation unit korea at k-10 -1951 service or relationship: air force comments: anyone that served in the unit. 6th Operations … Air Mobility Command United States Space Force 18th Air Force. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. With these new aircraft, 18 AF units rotated troop carrier units to Europe in support of NATO. 18 AF has an assigned military and civilian workforce of more than 37,000 personnel. After the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, 374th Troop Carrier Wing and TAC C-124s airlifted wounded French soldiers out of Indochina to Japan. When the Army Air Forces (AAF) reorganized in 1946, Tactical Air Command (TAC) was established as one of its three major commands. 18 AF is headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. 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. It is stationed at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. In 1947, many of TAC's Troop Carrier Groups/Wings were assigned directly to Headquarters TAC with the rest to the Air Defense Command's Fourteenth Air Force reserve 302d Troop Carrier Wing. The next year, 18 AF C-119s from the 483rd Troop Carrier Wing (and flown by civilian crews employed by Civil Air Transport) airdropped supplies to besieged French paratroops at Dien Bien Phu, Indochina. [12] It serves as an Air Operations Center (AOC) for 18AF/AFTRANS, executing missions assigned by the United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM). Moved to Waco, Texas, effective September 1, 1957. It is located at Pope Field, North Carolina. This page was last edited on 17 January 2021, at 21:42. Known Cold War-Era operational squadrons were: 1. 18th Civil Engineer Group. Joint Base Lewis-McChord also hosts the Western Air Defense Sector, an Air National Guard unit; the 22nd Special Tactics Squadron; the 361st Recruiting Squadron and a number of other units … Today, the 7th BW is the Air Force's premier operational B-1B unit. 557th Weather Wing. Simultaneously, within hours of the passing of a Security Council Resolution, AMC tanker units rapidly formed the 313th 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 over Libya, which later became the NATO Operation Unified Protector. ", "618th Tanker Airlift Control Center redesignated as 618th Air Operations Center (Tanker Airlift Control Center). i was in charge of the electric shop. 12th Fighter-Bomber/Tactical Fighter(November 1954 – September 1967) F-86F, F-100D/F, F-105D/F/G 2. The 87th Medical Group and the 305th Aerial Port Squadron contributed joint efforts to support Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst’s first transportation of the COVID-19 vaccine to Thule Air … Chad Bickley, 18th AF command chief, visited headquarters U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center to gain a better understanding of the center’s mission and how they support Air … The organization became operational on 1 June 1951 at Donaldson AFB, South Carolina and initially assumed control of nine "medium" C-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 the Korean War. [citation needed]. Three aircraft from the 305 AMW participated in a Joint Forcible Entry exercise that acts as the culminating event for the U.S. Air Force … The 618th AOC (TACC) is responsible for planning, scheduling, and tracking aircraft performing airlift, aerial refueling, and aeromedical evacuation operations around the world. Air … 480th ISR Wing. 18 AF was reactivated on 1 October 2003 as part of an overall AMC reorganization. Between 1955 and 1957, the command offloaded and airdropped equipment supporting the construction of the Distant Early Warning Line (DEW Line) radar system across northern Canada. 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 to James Connally AFB, Texas on 1 September. The group was formed in Hawaii in 1927, and spent the inter-war period on the islands, taking part in Army-Navy manoeuvres and standard peace-time flying. In March 2012, the 18 AF inactivated its two Expeditionary Mobility Task Forces: the 21st Expeditionary Mobility Task Force at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey and the 15th Expeditionary Mobility Task Force at Travis Air Force Base, California. 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). The group suffered heavy losses … [citation needed]. 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. Sgt. Air Force Network Integration Center - The Air Force Network Integration Center (AFNIC), located at Scott AFB, Ill., is a direct reporting unit to Air Force … The group provides a full spectrum of mission support to enable … Together, the two wings fly 50 C-17 Globemaster IIIs to provide combat airlift for America. The "11" refers to the numerical designation of the unit. 6th Air Mobility Wing. At Connally the command gained responsibility for TAC's day fighter, fighter-bomber, and aerial tanker operations on western U.S. bases. 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. 18 AF also provided airlift support to other Air Force major commands and TAC organizations. Their dedication to excellence helps ensure that rapid global mobility is … Numbered air force of the United States Air Force responsible for air mobility forces, 618th Air and Space Operations Center (Tanker Airlift Control Center), United States Air Force Expeditionary Center, "Eighteenth Air Force (Air Forces Transportation) (", "Factsheets : Eighteenth Air Force (Air Forces Transportation) (", "618th Tanker Airlift Control Center enables Air Mobility Command's global reach. These inactivations administratively aligned the task forces' subordinate units, the 615th Contingency Response Wing at Travis, the 621st Contingency Response Wing at Joint Base MDL, the 515th Air Mobility Operations Wing at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, and the 521st Air Mobility Operations Wing at Ramstein Air Base, Germany under the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center (USAF EC). Lineage Constituted as Alaskan Air Force … Units. i retired from a … MacDill Air Force Base | Tampa, Florida. 18th Civil Engineer Squadron 718th Civil Engineer Squadron. 363d ISR Wing. As Air Mobility Command’s sole numbered air force, 18th Air Force ensures the readiness and sustainment of approximately 36,000 active duty, Air Force … 18 AF was inactivated effective 1 January 1958 due to budgetary reasons, and its units were reassigned to Twelfth Air Force (which had been reassigned from U.S. Air Forces Europe at Ramstein Air Base, West Germany to James Connally AFB). The arrival of the C-124 introduced the aircraft loadmaster position to the troop carrier mission. Eighteenth Air Force ensures readiness and sustainment of approximately 36,000 active duty, Air Force Reserve and civilian Airmen at 12 wings and one stand-alone group. 319th Reconnaissance Wing. Augmented troop carrier forces in the Far East and Europe provided trained crews and replacement personnel to units in the Korean War. 22nd Air Refueling Wing at McConnell AFB, KS, 62nd Airlift Wing at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA, 89th Airlift Wing at Joint Base Andrews, MD, 92nd Air Refueling Wing at Fairchild AFB, WA, 305th Air Mobility Wing at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, NJ, 437th Airlift Wing at Joint Base Charleston, SC, 385th Air Expeditionary Group, Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar. 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 and United States Department of Defense. Bibb spent time with several units across the installation and saw how the base is uniquely structured around the C-130J Super Hercules … They also carried out fixed wing assault missions using C-123 aircraft for landing on small unimproved landing areas. 55th Wing. The command was heavily committed to airlift operations in Arctic areas beginning in the Fall of 1952. 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. The winged star-in-circle is adapted from the Air Force logo and is a stylized representation of the North Star, which suggests the 11th Air Force's home base in the Alaska and the scope of the organization's defense mission. It draws its history from a World War II air … Ravenstein, Charles A. [8] Operational support aircraft are the VC-25 (Boeing 747 / Air Force One),[9] C-21,[10] C-20B (Gulfstream III),[11] C-32A (Boeing 757) [1], C-37A (Gulfstream V) [2], C-37B (Gulfstream 550) and C-40B (Boeing 737) [3]. Units reporting to 18 AF include 11 wings and two stand alone groups. 353rd Special Operations Group 353rd Operations Support Squadron 353rd Maintenance Squadron 320th Special Tactics Squadroon 1st Special Operations Squadron 17th Special Operations Squadron 733d Air Mobility Squadron ... Official United States Air Force … Maj. Gen. Kenneth T. Bibb Jr., 18th Air Force commander, experiences the virtual reality maintenance training hangar at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas, Nov. 5, 2020. Crews of the 63rd Troop Carrier Wing performed the first airdrop at the South Pole in October 1956. It was headquartered at Greenville Army Airfield, South Carolina. The 18th Mission Support Group is the largest in the Air Force, boasting six squadrons and more than 3,800 personnel. 18th Air Force USAF. 18 AF also took deliveries of the Fairchild C-123 Provider, a twin-engine transport designed for assault operations into rudimentary landing zones. With more than 400 aircraft, 18th AF supports AMC’s worldwide mission of providing rapid global mobility to America’s armed forces through airlift, aerial refueling and aeromedical evacuation. U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Thad Bibb, 18th Air Force commander, and Chief Master Sgt. At that time, every AMC wing and independent group reported to the 18 AF, including the newly designated 15th Expeditionary Mobility Task Force and 21st Expeditionary Mobility Task Force, AMC's lead agencies for conducting airlift, air refueling, aeromedical evacuation, and expeditionary combat support operations worldwide. These changes occurred on 6 January 2011, when five units transferred from the 18 AF to the command of the United States Air Force Expeditionary Center (USAFEC) at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey. The following year the command went through one of its most significant restructuring efforts to date. All this occurred against the backdrop of the massive movement of personnel and equipment from Iraq. 18 AF presents air mobility forces to combatant commanders through its role as Air Forces Transportation (AFTRANS), the air component of United States Transportation Command. 18th Wing Associate Units. ", "MAJOR GENERAL PAUL W. "BILL" ESSEX > U.S. Air Force > Biography Display", "LIEUTENANT GENERAL WILLIAM WELSER III > U.S. Air Force > Biography Display", "MAJOR GENERAL JAMES A. HAWKINS > U.S. Air Force > Biography Display", "MAJOR GENERAL WINFIELD W. SCOTT III > U.S. Air Force > Biography Display", "LIEUTENANT GENERAL ROBERT R. ALLARDICE > U.S. Air Force > Biography Display", "LIEUTENANT GENERAL MARK F. RAMSAY > U.S. Air Force > Biography Display", House Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces, House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eighteenth_Air_Force&oldid=1001020034, Numbered air forces of the United States Air Force, Military units and formations in Illinois, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2020, Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Air Force Historical Research Agency, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, 1 April 2007 - present (as Eighteenth Air Force (Air Forces Transportation)), Provide combat-ready air mobility forces to, 309th Troop Carrier Group: 8 July 1955 – 2 June 1956 (detached 8 July 1955 – May 1956). [citation needed], Since that time, the command has continued to rapidly respond to crises across the globe whether delivering relief supplies to Americans stricken by Superstorm Sandy, moving troops and equipment in the face of provocations by North Korea and Syria, or supporting international efforts battling extremists in Mali and the Central African Republic. Included in the transition were the 87th Air Base Wing at Joint Base M-D-L, the 628th Air Base Wing at Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina, the 627th Air Base Group at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, the 43rd Airlift Group at Pope Army Air Field, North Carolina and the 319th Air Refueling Wing at Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota. Organization. The 18 AF commander also acts as the Commander, Air Force Forces (COMAFFOR), and Joint Force Air Component Commander (JFACC), when so designated. As the Korean War wound down, C-119 Flying Boxcar crews from the 483rd Troop Carrier Wing began supporting French operations in Indochina. Assignments: Second Air Force, 15 Apr 1942; Fourteenth Air Force, 10 Mar 1943; United States Forces India-Burma Theater, Aug-Dec 1945; Air Transport Command, Air Weather Service, 17 Oct 1946; Military Air Transport Service, Air Weather Service, 1 Jun 1948-5 Jan 1951. Some 483rd personnel flew missions in an unofficial capacity and would play key roles in the troop carrier mission in later years. [citation needed]. The 618th AOC reports to 18th Air Force. AF Technical Applications Center. 9th Reconnaissance Wing. A C-17 Globemaster III from the 305th Air Mobility Wing is being prepared for it's return from Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Dec. 5, 2020. Air mobility leadership sought to simplify the execution of the worldwide mobility mission. The 18 AF Commander, Lt Gen Robert Allardice[19] at the time, retained operational control of Airmen in these units (a control 18 AF retains to this day), but the change reduced his administrative burden, allowing him greater focus on the command's worldwide mobility flying operations. U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Thad Bibb, 18th Air Force commander, greets U.S. Air Force Staff. They created a highly efficient organization to centralize command and control operations previously located within numbered air forces and airlift divisions. 618th Air and Space Operations Center. Chief Master Sgt. The command's mobility aircraft include the C-5 Galaxy,[4] KC-10 Extender,[5] C-17 Globemaster III,[6] C-130 Hercules,[7] KC-46 Pegasus, and KC-135 Stratotanker. The 375th AW supports four major headquarters and a numbered air force with worldwide responsibilities: U.S. Transportation Command, Air Mobility Command, the Surface Deployment Distribution Command, Defense Information Technology Systems Agency and the 18th Air Force.It also provides support for the Air Force … 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. Scott Air ... United States. 308 Bombardment Wing, 10 Oct 1951-16 Jan 1952. The 317th AW comes under the operational control of 18th Air Force and Air Mobility Command, Scott Air Force … 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 "point of release". 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. The 18th Fighter Group (USAAF) was a fighter unit that suffered heavy losses at Pearl Harbor but recovered to operate over the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, the Dutch East Indies, the Philippines and Formosa. Helicopters of the 310th 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. 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 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. Since November 1954, the 18th Wing under various designations has been the main United States Air Force operational unit at Kadena Air Base. Chris Simpson, 18th Air Force command chief, speaks during an interview Sept. 23, 2020, at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. With the advent of the C-130, TAC established the Composite 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. 18th Air Force Public Affairs 100 Heritage Dr., Suite 212 Scott AFB, IL 62225-5000 (618) 229-0483 // DSN 779 Email: 18.af.pa@us.af.mil Book: Air Force Combat Units of World War II Author: Maurer, Maurer Affiliation: USAF Date: 1986 Overview of Air Force Combat Units of World War II - Part 1. from The National Archives This book traces the lineage of each Army Air Corps and U.S. Air Force … The 375th Communications Group supports the mission of the 375th Air Mobility Wing in its global reach mission by providing command, control, communications and computer support to DoD, USTRANSCOM, AMC, 18th Air Force, SDDC, AFNIC, three flying wings, 31 tenant units and direct support to the 618th Air … This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/. Eighteenth Air Force, commanded by a two-star general and headquartered at Scott AFB, Ill., is Air Mobility Command’s sole numbered air force. The following June also saw the inactivation of the 615 CRW, with the alignment of its subordinate units under the 621 CRW. The XVIII Airborne Corps maintains a strategic response force capability to deploy on short notice anywhere in the world by land, air, or sea, to conduct full-spectrum operations as an Army, … For additional history and lineage, see 18th Operations Group 18 AF was activated on 28 March 1951, inactivated on 1 January 1958, and re-activated on 1 October 2003. The 18th Air Support Operations Group (18 ASOG) is a combat support group of the United States Air Force. 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. 19th Air Force is responsible for the training of more than 30,000 U.S. and allied students annually in numerous specialties ranging from aircrews, remotely piloted aircraft crews, air battle managers, weapons directors, Air Force … 67th Cyberspace Wing. 18TH MEDICAL GROUP. United States Air Force-supplied C-47 Skytrain and C-119s were placed "on-loan" to the French Air Force at Tourane Air Base. 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 to Iraq in only four months. Subordinate units. The group converted to the P-40 in 1941, and was using that aircraft when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. While the changes reduced the administrative demands on the 18 AF commander, they still left him with full operational control of AMC's forces. The theater troop carrier mission was expanded rapidly during the Korean War when many of these reserve units were called into active service and assigned directly to HQ TAC. We're proud of our outstanding 18th Air Force units! 18th Logistics Readiness Squadron 18th Force Support Squadron 718th Force Support Squadron. 18 AF units supplemented Military Air Transport Service (MATS) airlift when needed and transported U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force units for training and deployment. 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. ", 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. As AMC's sole NAF (and the Air Force's largest NAF), 18 AF is responsible for the command's worldwide operational mission of providing rapid, global mobility and sustainment for America's armed forces through airlift, aerial refueling, aeromedical evacuation, and a global air mobility support system. 18th Aerospace Medicine Squadron ... Official United States Air Force … let me know how you are doing. 18th Air Force Organization Eighteenth Air Force, commanded by a two-star general and headquartered at Scott AFB, Ill., is Air Mobility Command’s sole numbered air force. 18th Air Force . 70th ISR Wing. Headquartered at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, the Sixteenth Air Force (Air … At the same time, the command has undertaken the effort of redeploying equipment and troops from Afghanistan. 44th Fight… THe unit was redesignated Eighteenth Air Force on June 26, 1951. “To the professional warriors of the 18th ASOG, I am truly honored to step into the tremendous Army and Air Force legacy surrounding the 18th Airborne Corps, its divisions and our units… 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 advisory body for reserve troop carrier wings. The C-46 Commando and C-47 Skytrain were the primary troop carrier aircraft, but surplus C-54 Skymasters that had been originally purchased for the Air Transport Command (ATC) were made available for troop carrier use. 18th Air Support Operations Group [18th ASOG] The 18 ASOG mission during in-garrison, peacetime operations is to provide command and control of 19 geographically separated units, … 18 AF was established and activated 28 March 1951 to discharge Tactical Air Command's (TAC) troop carrier responsibilities. At the same time, Donaldson AFB was turned over to MATS (along with the C-124s and 63d TCW assigned there). 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. (1984). 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. TACC was redesignated as the 618th TACC on April 1, 2007, and remained under that designation until being renamed the 618th AOC (TACC) Aug. 30, 2010.[14]. 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. 688th Cyberspace Wing. 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). The AAF IX Troop Carrier Command (TCC) was inactivated as part of this reorganization and Third Air Force was reassigned to TAC to control the troop carrier units formerly part of IX TCC. One of the most demanding of those missions came when Hurricane 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. This meant that a single commander, the 18 AF commander, had tasking and execution authority for all air mobility missions. Under his leadership, and that of his successor, Maj Gen Winfield W. Scott III,[18] who took command in June 2008, the command continued to evolve to meet complex missions at home and abroad. Eighteenth Air Force (Air Forces Transportation) (18 AF) is the only Numbered Air Force (NAF) in Air Mobility Command (AMC) and one of the largest NAFs in the United States Air Force. Kudos to all of these AMC units on winning organizational awards. To train & educate the world's finest Airmen to deliver Airpower for America. [13], The 618th AOC (TACC), initially known as TACC, became operational April 1, 1992. The increasingly complex nature of the command's mission, evidenced by global demands such as these argued for a second "rebirth" of the command, which was soon to come. Eighteenth Air Force ensures … In November 2005, Maj Gen James A. Hawkins,[17] a former 18 AF vice commander, took the reins of the 18 AF. Over the past 50 years, the 18th has maintained assigned aircraft, crews, and supporting personnel in a high state of readiness for tactical air requirements of Fifth Air Force and the Pacific Air Forces. Units reporting to 18 AF include 11 wings and two stand alone groups. 18th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force (Ret) Kaleth O. Wright is the Chief Executive Officer of the Air Force Aid Society. Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947–1977.