Nineteenth Air Force
The Nineteenth Air Force is an active Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force. During the Cold War it was a component of Tactical Air Command, with a mission of command and control over deployed USAF forces in support of United States foreign policy initiatives. The command was reactivated in 1993 under Air Education and Training Command with a mission of conducting AETC's flying training.
19th Air Force was inactivated on 9 July 2012 as a cost-cutting measure by the Secretary of the Air Force, but was reactivated on 1 October 2014 when it was determined that the cost-cutting measures did not reap the savings expected. AETC commander General Robin Rand directed the reactivation to consolidate the management of the AETC flying mission again under a Numbered Air Force instead of the AETC Headquarters.
History
Cold War
Origins
In the aftermath of the Korean War in 1953, the United States Air Force began to institutionalize a quick response force to deploy personnel, aircraft and equipment to bases with minimal facilities and to develop an air refueling capacity for its fighter aircraft.From this initiatives, Tactical Air Command developed the Composite Air Strike Force , a small tactical air force composed of a command element and of fighter, reconnaissance, tanker, troop carrier, and communications support units. While it could fight, if necessary, the principal function of the CASF was to deter Communist aggression in such areas as the Middle East or Latin America, beyond the reach of American forces already stationed overseas. Its primary characteristic was fast reaction, and it would be as self-sufficient as possible. Each of its elements would prepare and store flyaway kits of spare parts and supplies, and each of its members would have specific deployment tasks assigned. Upon arrival in-theater, the unit would be able to sustain operations for 30 days on minimum logistics support, with the addition of required food, fuel, and munitions. Air-to-air refueling not only made rapid response possible, it enabled the various elements of the CASF to maintain themselves economically on their home bases until the need to deploy arose. Once the CASF concept was fully implemented and tested by the late 1950s, the first strike elements of a CASF could arrive in the Middle East within 16 hours of notification, with the total force in place and ready for operations in 48 hours. In the Far East the lead elements would arrive within 36 hours, with the full force in operational status within 72 hours.
On 8 July 1955, under the command of Brig. Gen. Henry Viccellio, TAC activated the command element of the CASF, the Nineteenth Air Force.
Structure
The headquarters of the Nineteenth Air Force was considered one of the most unusual HQs the U.S. Air Force created at the time. It had no permanently assigned aircraft or combat units. Nor did it have, since it was an operational headquarters only, any units or bases to supervise, train, or inspect. When not deployed, the Nineteenth had a close working relationship with the Ninth Air Force, which supported its administrative functions with many of its own people. These circumstances allowed the Nineteenth to limit its staff to approximately 85 military and 6 civilian personnel.The mission of Nineteenth Air Force was to prepare contingency plans for and to command short-notice deployments of the CASF anywhere in the world. It required each individual member to be ready for instant departure from the United States, and its staff sections maintained 30-day flyaway kits prepared for shipment. The Nineteenth worked closely with U.S. Army contingency units, and at one point, one-third of its staff was jump-qualified, able to parachute in with U.S. Army airborne troops. In the event of a crisis, the Nineteenth would take command of the deploying CASF and serve as part of a joint task force, as a senior air command, or as a component command. At first glance the Nineteenth had a normal headquarters organization with major sections for planning, operations, and logistics. However, these sections had an important secondary function: each served as the lead command element for various geographical contingencies.
The plans section would lead Europe and Middle Eastern deployments; the operations section would lead those to the Pacific; and the logistics section would lead deployments to Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa. This unique arrangement allowed for continuity of planning and expertise and helped overcome some of the disadvantages inherent in the U.S. armed forces policy of churning personnel through different assignments every three or so years. Within the service, the Nineteenth soon earned its nickname: The Suitcase Air Force.
In keeping with its mission of deterrence, a CASF, in theory, consisted of three task forces, each of which could vary in size and composition, according to its assigned task.
- The first task force had only a limited combat capability and consisted of a show-the-flag or a good-will package. It could fulfill the role of gunboat diplomacy. A force such as this went to Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan in February 1960.
- The second task force consisted of the basic CASF combat element and would serve as the initial force for a small war. TAC kept the units of the second task force on a progressive 24-hour alert system and planned for the first portion to move within four hours of alert and the entire force to deploy in 24 hours.
- The third task force, composed of additional fighter squadrons, would augment the second if the situation required an expanded force.
1958 Lebanon Crisis
To support the Marines, the National Command Authorities alerted the CASF. Under the command of Maj. Gen. Henry Viccellio, within three hours, B-57 Canberra tactical bombers of the 345th Bombardment Wing, Langley AFB, left for the only friendly major operating airfield in the region, Adana Air Base, Turkey, fifteen minutes' flight time from Beirut. In another three hours, TAC KB–50J Superfortress tankers from the 427th Air Refueling Squadron left Langley AFB to refuel F-100 Super Sabre fighters from the 354th Tactical Fighter Wing departing Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, South Carolina, while RF-101 Voodoos and RB-66 Destroyers from the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing left Shaw AFB, South Carolina. Sixty C–130 Hercules ferried support personnel, spare parts, and equipment. Thirteen hours and 6,700 miles after the initial alert, the F–100s were taxiing to alert ramps at Adana. All deployed aircraft came from the Ninth Air Force. Within two days an underutilized Turkish Air Force gunnery base had become an American air center, with an operations center manned by Nineteenth Air Force personnel and integrated with USN, USMC, and U.S. Army forces in the Middle East.
1958 Taiwan Straits Crisis
Because the entire Nineteenth Air Force headquarters had deployed to Lebanon, TAC ordered its Twelfth Air Force to form another command element similar to that of the Nineteenth, should another emergency arise. Given the upsurge in tension between the Communist Chinese government on the Asian mainland and the Nationalist Chinese regime on Taiwan, the new command element focused its planning on the Far East. The People’s Republic of China had announced its intention to reincorporate a series of small Nationalist-held islands within artillery range of the mainland, in particular the islands of Quemoy and Matsu. During the summer of 1958, the magnitude and duration of the Communists' bombardments increased dramatically.The United States responded by supplying the Nationalists with tanks and new heavy and longer-ranged artillery as well as by beefing up its own forces in the region. TAC placed on alert a squadron of F–100s; transport aircraft loaded with supplies, parts, and equipment; and a communications and control squadron. It also began to "lean forward", sending tankers, weathermen, maintenance crews, and control units to islands on the air route between California and Thirteenth Air Force headquarters at Clark AB in the Philippine Islands.
Late on 29 August 1958, the second CASF received the "go" order. F–100s from the 31st Tactical Fighter Wing, George Air Force Base carrying AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles took off on 30 August and spent that night at Hickam AFB, Hawaii. The next night they were at Andersen AFB, Guam, where Typhoon Lola delayed their movement for 24 hours. On 2 September, they landed at Clark AB, after a flight of 9,500 miles and an elapsed time of 96 hours. RF–101s from the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing Shaw AFB arrived soon after, and C–130s formed an airlift bridge carrying support personnel, equipment, tools, and workstands to Clark. On 5 and 6 September, the CASF, with much assistance from both the Thirteenth Air Force and the Fifth Air Force in Japan, flew to Chia-ti AB, a Nationalist air base on Taiwan where they came under the control of a joint operations center established the previous day by CASF personnel. Nine days later, a squadron of F-104 Starfighters of the 83d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, Hamilton AFB, California, occupied another Nationalist air base. Two more fighter squadrons at Kadena AB, and a B-57 Canberra squadron at Naha AB, Okinawa backed up this force. The mission of all units was to defend the straits between Formosa and the mainland.