Ninth Air Force commanded TAC Wings east of the Mississippi River. Ninth Air Force is also responsible for the operational readiness of 16 National Guard and Air Force Reserve units. This collection makes the 379th AEW a large hub for humanitarian airlift activity in Iraq and Afghanistan while providing mission-essential combat power, aeromedical evacuation and intelligence support for multiple-theaters of operations. United States Air Forces Central (USAFCENT/AFCENT) is a unit of the United States Air Force headquartered at Al Udeid AB, Qatar. Air cover over Allied-controlled areas on the continent was performed by the IX Air Defense Command. Ninth Air Force provided the aircraft, personnel and materiel to form United States Central Command Air Forces (USCENTAF), the USAF air power of CENTCOM, which was also headquartered at Shaw AFB. Others were assigned to the new United States Air Forces in Europe and were moved to captured Luftwaffe airfields to perform occupation duties. The 455th Air Expeditionary Wing at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, provides close air support; combat search rescue; aerial intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; and airlift capabilities to U.S. and coalition forces assisting in Resolute Support. Ninth Air Force squadrons and wings were frequently deployed to NATO during the 1950s and 1960s as "Dual-Based" USAFE units, and reinforcing NATO forces in West Germany and France during the Lebanon crisis of 1958 and the 1961 Berlin Wall Crisis. During the remainder of the 1970s, NATO deployments resumed supporting the COMET, CORONET and CRESTED CAP exercises. "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 the IX Bomber Command, which organization was then and for a month afterwards unofficial. 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 the Army Ground Forces. Ninth Air Force P-40F fighters (57th, 79th, and 324th Fighter Groups) supported the British Eighth Army's drive across Egypt and Libya, escorting bombers and flying strafing and dive-bombing missions against airfields, communications, and troop concentrations. This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/. Jet Black CAOC 9th AFCENT FHQ Super Wide poster art. The 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing generates, executes, and sustains combat airpower and combat search and rescue forces across the Levant. 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. The Ninth Air Force (9 AF) was a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command (ACC). 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. Ninth AF (AFCENT) in conjunction with its coalition partners, provides the command and control of airpower throughout the 20-nation CENTCOM area of responsibility in Southwest Asia. Although both George H. W. Bush and President Clinton promised to rebuild Homestead, the BRAC designated the installation for realignment to the Air Force Reserve, and on 1 April 1994, Headquarters, ACC inactivated its base support units and transferred base support responsibility to the Air Force Reserve Command and AFRC's 482d Fighter Wing, effectively ending ACC ownership of the base. 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. Other targets attacked were shipping and harbor installations in Libya, Tunisia, Sicily, Italy, Crete, and Greece to cut enemy supply lines to Africa. While the proposal impacts only a handful of 9th Air Force and Air Combat Command Airmen at Shaw AFB, the temporary movement of the AFCENT commander and a small 30-40 person staff element will significantly enhance focus and continuity for AFCENT staff in theater, said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz. HQ Ninth Air Force extended IX Bomber Command's choice of targets considerably, although first priority for Operation Pointblank [the Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO) of US and RAF air forces against the Luftwaffe and German aircraft industry] and next priority for Operation Crossbow (codename for operations against German V-weapon sites) targets was maintained. The bases were called "Advanced Landing Grounds" or "ALGs". U.S. Airmen are increasingly on the ground in Iraq:[22] "They drive in convoys and even work with detainees. On 20 August 2020, the 9 AF designation was returned to USAFCENT with the deactivation of the 2009 established 9 AF. On 28 June 1942, Major General Lewis H. Brereton arrived at Cairo to command the U.S. Army Middle East Air Force (USAMEAF), which was activated immediately. "Air Force Security Forces are traditionally associated with base defense, however, now they provide security for patrols and to deliver supplies.". It was under ACC the entire time and never had MAJCOM status (despite its misleading name). From 1991, the 4404th Composite Wing (Provisional) served as a forward force, for most of that period flying from King Abdul Aziz AB, Saudi Arabia. Volunteers from 9th Air Force and U.S. Air Forces Central took time out of their lives to have a positive impact on the Airmen living in the dorms here, Jan. The wing also provides combat service support to land and sea component forces throughout the Persian Gulf Region. [5] It has fought in the 1991 Gulf War, War in Afghanistan (OEF-A, 2001–present), the Iraq War (OIF, 2003–2010), as well as various engagements within USCENTCOM. 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. While the great majority were P-40s, Consolidated B-24 Liberators (The original Halverson Detachment (HALPRO), 98th Bombardment Group, 376th Bombardment Group, and RAF units), and B-25 Mitchells (12th and 340th 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. [citation needed]. 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. The Combined Air Operations Center is home to the 609th Air Operations Center and host the Air Force Central Command forward headquarters. 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. With the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s, the 1991 Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) reductions meant the closing of Myrtle Beach AFB and England AFB. 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 under Northwest African Troop Carrier Command with C-47 Dakotas and CG4A Waco Gliders. On 4 January 1944 XIX Air Support Command was activated at RAF Middle Wallop to support Patton's Third Army in Europe. The operation saw the first use of the Curtiss-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. During Operation 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. 9AF (AFCENT) is responsible for air operations, either unilaterally or in concert with coalition partners, and developing contingency plans in support of national objectives for USCENTCOM's 20-nation area of responsibility in Southwest Asia. Splitting 9th AF and AFCENT. This command was offered to Brereton, who accepted "with utmost eagerness",[citation needed] and the force was constituted, also as Ninth Air Force, on 16 October 1943. The prior and current Ninth Air Force is known as United States Air Forces Central (USAFCENT). Read the full history here. Air cover during the morning amphibious assault by Allied forces on the beaches of France was flown by P-38 Lightnings. “ACE is a force multiplier that takes our readiness to new levels,” said Col. Michael Egbalic, Ninth Air Force (AFCENT) special assistant to the chief of staff. This artwork is is not an accurate depiction of the Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC) for security purpose, the building featured is an artistic representation. In June 1942, the German Afrika Korps advance in North Africa forced the British Eighth Army to retreat towards Egypt putting British Middle East Command at risk. A legend retires, MH-60G Pave Hawk tail number 009 soars one last time; Airmen showcase COVID-19 Community … 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. The creation of the new NAF is part of a larger force optimization effort within ACC, which began with the stand-up of 16th Air Force, a … Those troop carrier groups flew many of the C-47s and towed CG-4 Waco gliders for the Allied airborne unit drops—Operation Market Garden—to take the bridges northwest of Eindhoven at Son (mun. The 380th Air Expeditionary Wing is a refueling wing for operations in the Arabian Gulf and provides combat service support to land component forces throughout the Persian Gulf Region and Iraq. Concurrently with the amalgamation of Ninth Air Force formations in the Mediterranean with Twelfth Air Force, plans were afoot in Britain to devolve Eighth Air Force's medium bomber force to a separate command. After the end of hostilities, units from the Ninth flew air missions over Iraq as part of Operation Deny Flight, Operation Northern Watch and Operation Southern Watch. Air Force officials mull 9th Air Force, AFCENT separation. Other targets were German Atlantic Wall defenses along the English Channel coast of France. Timberlake headed the organization, with Kalberer as his A-3 and Lt. Col. Donald M. Keiser as his chief of staff. Sgt. [6] It shared its commander with Ninth Air Force until August 2009. Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is the air component of United States Central Command, a regional unified command. 379th Air Expeditionary Wing
[17] 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.