1st Air Force transitions to warfighting headquarters

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Kelly Widener
  • 1st Air Force Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFPN) --  First Air Force and Continental U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Command Region are making structural changes to transition into one of 10 warfighting headquarters to better support geographic and functional combatant commanders worldwide.

The transition is part of the Air Force’s move to replace some of the numbered air forces with new organizations designed to focus on warfighting missions.

“In the old construct, numbered air forces focused on warfighting and a lot of headquarters management functions such as organizing and equipping,” said William Scott, 1st Air Force chief of staff. “In the new warfighting construct, the primary focus will be on warfighting, leaving the principal organize, train and equip functions to the major commands above it.”

As this transformation takes place and is completed, 1st Air Force will become Air Force North, or AFNORTH (1AF) -- a warfighting headquarters.

The headquarters will directly support Navy Adm. Timothy Keating in his current role as commander of NORAD and U.S. Northern Command. Maj. Gen. Marvin S. “Scott” Mayes will command the headquarters and serve as the Continental U.S. NORAD Region joint force air component commander and Air Force Forces commander.

“AFNORTH (1AF) will be a new organization that will enable the Air Force and Air National Guard to smoothly execute the full spectrum of Air Combat Command, NORAD and U.S. Northern Command’s homeland security missions,” General Mayes said. “Speaking as a Joint Force Air Component commander, this is a great step in allowing commanders the ability to focus on planning and warfighting.”

The term warfighting encompasses the entire spectrum of conflict and Air Force capabilities from shaping and engaging to combat operations and disengagements, Mr. Scott said.

By using this warfighting concept, the headquarters will have the ability to plan, integrate, and command and control Air Force air and space power capabilities to better execute the national defense strategy.

“The warfighting headquarters gives us the ability to use forces worldwide to ensure we meet our national security objectives,” General Mayes said. “AFNORTH (1AF) will be the center of ACC’s and NORAD-NORTHCOM’s ongoing transformation effort to better posture forces to protect our homeland.”

The 10 Air Force warfighting headquarters will allow more efficient execution and planning of Air Force capabilities, officials said. The standardized design of the warfighting headquarters will allow for better information flow between the headquarters and their senior leaders. The warfighting headquarters is considered the best construct to support global joint operations as well as current and future strategic objectives.

All warfighting headquarters will be made up of three primary elements, Mr. Scott said. They will consist of a command element, air operations center and a headquarters Air Force Forces staff. The size of each warfighting headquarters will differ based on missions and regional requirements.

For servicemembers attached to 1st Air Force, the transition will be almost unnoticeable, Mr. Scott said. This is because 1st Air Force has already adapted to the new structure and activities over the past year in anticipation of the change.

“We evolved into the warfighting headquarters architecture on March 1,” Mr. Scott said. “We established additional required (Air Force Forces) staff directorates, and we delineated a clear division of labor between the (air operations center and Air Force Forces) staff.”

Additional changes within Continental U.S. NORAD Region will be the realignment and consolidation from three air defense sectors now surveilling the United States to two air defense sectors. The air defense sectors now consist of the Northeast Air Defense, Southeast Air Defense and the Western Air Defense sectors. Under the new headquarters’ structure the Northeast and the Southeast Air Defense sectors will become Eastern Air Defense sector.

“The largest change will affect the former Southeast sector,” Mr. Scott said. “By transferring former Southeast sector personnel into the air operations center, we are able to provide needed manpower to the warfighting headquarters without presenting Air Combat Command a major manpower bill.”

The new warfighting headquarters will not be officially and formally designated until early 2006, but 1st Air Force is prepared and ready.

“Thanks to the commander’s vision and everyone’s support and hard work over the last few years, 1st Air Force is in position to implement this AFNORTH (1AF) transformation without interrupting ongoing operations and missions,” Mr. Scott said. “We have been involved in the warfighting headquarters concept from the very beginning, and we are ready."