The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal Corps, the USAF was established as a separate branch of the United States Armed Forces in 1947 with the enactment of the National Security Act of 1947. It is the second youngest branch of the United States Armed Forces and the fourth in order of precedence. The United States Air Force articulates its core missions as air supremacy, global integrated intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, rapid global mobility, global strike, and command and control.
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consist of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. All six armed services are among the eight uniformed services of the United States.
North American Aerospace Defense Command, known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada department, that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection for Canada and the continental United States.
The Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force is a unique non-commissioned rank in the United States Air Force. The holder of this rank and position of office represents the highest enlisted level of leadership in the Air Force, unless an enlisted airman is serving as the senior enlisted advisor to the chairman. The CMSAF provides direction for the enlisted corps and represents their interests, as appropriate, to the American public, and to those in all levels of government. The CMSAF is appointed by the Air Force chief of staff (AF/CC) and serves as the senior enlisted advisor to the Air Force chief of staff and the secretary of the Air Force on all issues regarding the welfare, readiness, morale, and proper utilization and progress of the enlisted force.
The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force and is presented to airmen and guardians to recognize distinguished and exceptionally meritorious service to the United States while serving in a duty or position of great responsibility. The Distinguished Service Medal was created by an act of the United States Congress on July 6, 1960 and was first awarded in 1965. Prior to the creation of the Distinguished Service Medal in 1960, United States Air Force airmen were awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal.
The Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) is a postgraduate institution and provider of professional and continuing education for the United States Armed Forces and is part of the United States Air Force. It is in Ohio at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, near Dayton. AFIT is a component of the Air University and Air Education and Training Command.
The United States Military Training Mission (USMTM) to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a Security Assistance Organization (SAO) which manages and is primarily funded by Foreign Military Sales (FMS) cases between the United States Government and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. USMTM was the result of a meeting between King Abdul Aziz and United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt at Great Bitter Lake.
The Inspector General of the Department of the Air Force is responsible for conducting investigations and inspections as directed by the Secretary of the Air Force, Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, and Chief of Space Operations. The position was originally established after World War II as The Air Inspector, which was carried over from the United States Army Air Forces. The current mission of the Inspector General is prescribed by Title 10 and Title 32 of the United States Code to develop United States Air Force (USAF) and United States Space Force (USSF) policy to assess readiness, discipline and efficiency with a vision to help shape senior leader decisions affecting the readiness of the USAF and USSF to strengthen the nation's defense.
The chief of space operations (CSO) is the service chief of the United States Space Force. The CSO is the principal military adviser to the secretary of the Air Force for Space Force operations and, as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a military adviser to the National Security Council, the secretary of defense, and the president. The CSO is a statutory office held by a Space Force general, who is typically the highest-ranking officer on active duty in the Space Force.
David Dean Thompson is a retired United States Space Force general who served as the first vice chief of space operations from 2020 to 2023. He served as the vice commander of the Air Force Space Command from 2018 to 2020.
The United States Space Force is organized by different units: the Space Staff, the field commands, and the space deltas.
The Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration (SAF/SQ) is a civilian position in the United States Department of the Air Force that is appointed by the president of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate. This position is established under Title 10 US Code Section 9016. The assistant secretary reports to the Secretary of the Air Force.
Charles Seth Corcoran is a United States Air Force major general who most recently served as the acting deputy chief of staff for operations of the United States Air Force from July 2022 to December 2022, and most recently served as the assistant deputy chief of staff for operations from July 2021 to July 2022. He also served as the commander of the United States Air Force Warfare Center. Previously, he was the director of operations, strategic deterrence and nuclear integration of the United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa.
Heather L. Pringle is a retired United States Air Force major general who last served as the commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory. She previously served as the director of strategic plans of the U.S. Air Force.
This is a list of all commanders, deputy commanders, senior enlisted leaders, and chiefs of staff of the United States Northern Command.
A deputy chief of space operations is a senior leadership position in the United States Space Force. There are four deputy chiefs of space operations in the Space Force, staffed either by a lieutenant general or a senior executive service personnel. They are the service's equivalent to the Army's and Air Force's deputy chiefs of staff, the Marine Corps' deputy commandants, and the Navy's deputy chiefs of naval operations. They are part of the Office of the Chief of Space Operations and hold office at the Pentagon.
This is a list of all commanders of Space Systems Command and all its historical antecedents, organizations that took its lineage.
The commander of Space Operations Command is a lieutenant general who leads the field command that provide space forces to the United States Space Command and supports other unified combatant commands. A senior leader in the Space Force, it is only one of three field commanders and, of which, only one of two held by a lieutenant general.
This is a list of all commanders of Space Training and Readiness Command and all its historical antecedents, organizations that took its lineage.
