AMC reactivates 18th Air Force

  • Published
  • By Cynthia Bauer
  • Air Mobility Command Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (AFPN) --  The first major change in the Air Force’s organizational structure in more than a decade occurred here Oct. 1. During a formal ceremony, Air Mobility Command officials reactivated 18th Air Force, to lead the command’s global airlift, air refueling and aeromedical evacuation operations.

During the ceremony, AMC’s two numbered air forces -- 15th Air Force at Travis Air Force Base, Calif.; and 21st Air Force at McGuire AFB, N.J. -- were redesignated as expeditionary mobility task forces.

“What a historic day we’re gathered here to witness, as Air Mobility Command makes perhaps the most dramatic transformation of its rich and incredible history,” said Gen. John W. Handy during the ceremony. He is the commander of U.S. Transportation Command and AMC.

The reactivation of 18th Air Force and redesignation of the 15th and 21st represent the command’s ability to present forces anywhere in the world, a world Handy called much smaller than the one of five or 10 years ago. He said life dramatically changed for all Americans on Sept. 11, 2001.

“The world is no longer one of simple challenges,” Handy said. “The world is a complicated place. ... Our current global war on terrorism presents remarkable challenges to this command. It started on that tragic day and continues around the world today.”

Maj. Gen. William Essex will serve as 18th Air Force’s interim leader until a permanent commander is nominated for promotion to lieutenant general by the president and approved by Congress.

In his comments, Essex focused on the organization’s motto, “Expedite!”

“It means ‘with dispatch,’ or ‘accomplish with speed or efficiency,’” Essex said. “What motto could be more fitting for Air Mobility Command’s reactivated 18th Air Force. It describes the very nature of our business and the attitude of every person connected to the 12 wings, two expeditionary mobility task forces, three separate groups and … our Tanker Airlift Control Center.”

The people assigned under 18th Air Force have shown the world that “AMC does everything with speed and efficiency. These same men and women will now set even higher standards in a leaner, transformed organizational structure.”

All AMC wings and groups based in the continental United States report to 18th Air Force.

The 15th and 21st EMTFs serve as lead agencies for conducting mobility operations worldwide, including air refueling, airlift, aeromedical evacuation and base opening.

The Tanker Airlift Control Center here serves as 18th Air Force’s air operations hub, directing tanker and transport aircraft operations around the world.