The chain of command leads from the President through the Secretary of Defense down to the newest recruits. The United States armed forces are organized through the United States Department of Defense, which oversees a complex structure of joint command and control functions with many units reporting to various commanding officers. The following is an incomplete list of the various major military units, commands, and DOD offices and agencies, including civilian and military chains of command.
Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) was a major command of the United States Air Force from September 1982 to December 2019. On 20 December 2019, concurrent with the signing of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2020, it was re-designated as the United States Space Force to stand up as a new sixth service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for space warfare.
In the United States, Office of Inspector General (OIG) is a generic term for the oversight division of a federal or state agency aimed at preventing inefficient or unlawful operations within their parent agency. Such offices are attached to many federal executive departments, independent federal agencies, as well as state and local governments. Each office includes an inspector general and employees charged with identifying, auditing, and investigating fraud, waste, abuse, embezzlement and mismanagement of any kind within the executive department.
The Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) is one of the three primary commissioning sources for officers in the United States Air Force and United States Space Force, the other two being the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) and Air Force Officer Training School (OTS). A subordinate command of the Air University within the Air Education and Training Command (AETC), AFROTC is aligned under the Jeanne M. Holm Center for Officer Accessions and Citizen Development at Maxwell AFB, Alabama. The Holm Center, formerly known as the Air Force Officer Accession and Training Schools (AFOATS), retains direct responsibility for both AFROTC and OTS.
The Defense Criminal Investigative Service is the criminal investigative arm of the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Defense. DCIS protects military personnel by investigating cases of fraud, bribery, and corruption; preventing the illegal transfer of sensitive defense technologies to proscribed nations and criminal elements; investigating companies that use defective, substandard, or counterfeit parts in weapons systems and equipment utilized by the military; and stopping cyber crimes and computer intrusions.
The United States Air Force established the Air Force Agency for Modeling and Simulation (AFAMS) in June 1996. AFAMS mission is to facilitate integrated, realistic and efficient operational training across warfighting domains to enable full-spectrum readiness. AFAMS manages the enterprises level programs in the Live/Virtual/Constructive, Operational Training Infrastructure, and constructive environments. AFAMS directly supports the USAF & DoD training mission in five functional areas: mission rehearsal, exercises & operational training, warfighter M&S technology improvements, database and model management, enterprise requirements and standards. Air Force Mission Directive 56 established AFAMS with the following mandates:
The Air Force Network Integration Center (AFNIC), located at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the United States Air Force's only organization for Air Force Network integration, cyber simulation, and network standards, architecture and engineering services.
Unit Compliance Inspection (UCI) is a United States Air Force inspection conducted to assess areas mandated by law, as well as mission areas identified by senior Air Force and Major Command (MAJCOM) leadership as critical or important to the health and performance of a unit. Failure to comply with established directives in these areas could result in significant legal liabilities, penalties, or significant mission impact. During CIs, MAJCOM inspector generals evaluate each common core compliance area (CCCA), which is driven by law, executive order, or applicable directive. Examples of Air Force-level CCCAs based on law are intelligence oversight, transition assistance programs, voting assistance programs, sexual harassment education and prevention, and homosexual conduct policy.
The Air War College (AWC) is the senior Professional Military Education (PME) school of the U.S. Air Force. A part of the United States Air Force's Air University, AWC emphasizes the employment of air, space, and cyberspace in joint operations. Headquartered at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama, its higher headquarters is the Air Education and Training Command (AETC) at Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. It is one of six war colleges within the U.S. Department of Defense's Joint Professional Military Education (JPME) Phase II Education Program for commissioned officers.
Brigadier General Patricia C. Lewis was Assistant Surgeon General, Medical Plans and Programs, and Chief of the Medical Service Corps, Office of the Surgeon General, Bolling Air Force Base, D.C. As the Air Force Medical Service senior programmer, General Lewis’ key responsibilities were integrating, analyzing and defending the Defense Health Program and medical elements of Air Force funding during the Program Objective Memoranda, Program Budget Decision and Program Decision Memorandum. She provided expert consultative leadership for all of the Air Force Medical Service. The Medical Service supports the activities of 39,000 personnel serving 2.6 million beneficiaries through 75 medical treatment facilities worldwide with a budget of $6.3 billion. In her dual role as Chief of the Medical Service Corps, General Lewis was the senior healthcare administrator in the Air Force and responsible for accessions, development and management of 1,100 healthcare administrative professionals in the corps.
The 30th Space Wing is a United States Space Force wing assigned to Space Operations Command and stationed at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The 30th Space Wing is responsible for all space launch operations from the west coast, which includes all polar launches. It supports the Western Range, including launch activities for the Space Force, Department of Defense, NASA, and other private space corporations. Aside from space launch, the 30th Space Wing also supports the U.S. Air Force's intercontinental ballistic missile force by providing test and evaluation launches.
Retired Maj. Gen. Roosevelt Mercer Jr., SES, is the Director of the Interagency Planning Office (IPO) for the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) at the Federal Aviation Administration where he provides high-level leadership for interagency and international collaboration related to NextGen. He executes the collaborative processes needed to ensure efficient coordination among all federal partners whose decisions impact NextGen. The federal partner agencies include the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Commerce (DOC), National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), National Science Foundation (NSF), and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), as well as the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) as an ex officio participant. Mr. Mercer is charged with providing executive direction to a dynamic multi-agency and international partnering organization focused on future NextGen technology, policy, and collaborative activities.
On August 29, 2007, six AGM-129 ACM cruise missiles, each loaded with a W80-1 variable yield nuclear warhead, were mistakenly loaded onto a United States Air Force (USAF) B-52H heavy bomber at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota and transported to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. The nuclear warheads in the missiles were supposed to have been removed before the missiles were taken from their storage bunker. The missiles with the nuclear warheads were not reported missing, and remained mounted to the aircraft at both Minot and Barksdale for 36 hours. During this period, the warheads were not protected by the various mandatory security precautions for nuclear weapons.
The Space Development and Test Wing (SDTW) was a unit of Air Force Space Command's Space and Missile Systems Center of the United States Air Force. The wing is located at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The Air Force Inspection Agency (AFIA) operates as a U.S. Air Force Field Operating Agency under the direction of the Air Force Inspector General. It provides independent assessments of acquisition, nuclear surety, operations, logistics, support, and healthcare to Air Force senior leadership. Additionally, the agency identifies deficiencies and recommends improvements for accomplishing peacetime and wartime missions. It also evaluates Air Force activities, personnel, and policies, and provides legal and compliance oversight of all Air Force-level Field Operating Agencies and Direct Reporting Units.
The Air Force Safety Center is a Field Operating Agency with headquarters at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.
The Department of Defense Inspector General (DoDIG) is an independent, objective agency that provides oversight related to the programs and operations of the United States Department of Defense (DoD). DoD IG was created in 1982 as an amendment to the Inspector General Act of 1978.
The Department of Defense Whistleblower Program in the United States is a whistleblower protection program within the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) whereby DoD personnel are trained on whistleblower rights. The Inspector General's commitment fulfills, in part, the federal mandate to protect whistleblowers. It also administers the Defense Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Program (DICWP), as a sub-mission for the intelligence community. The Inspector General's Defense Criminal Investigative Service also conducts criminal investigations which rely, in part, on Qui Tam relators.
The United States Air Force Inspector General Badge is a United States Air Force duty badge authorized for wear by all personnel who are assigned to the United States Air Force Inspector General duty positions. The badge is required to be worn by any personnel performing official duties and assigned to an IG office after completing required training and taking an official oath.
