Western Air Defense Force


The Western Air Defense Force is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Hamilton Air Force Base, California. It was inactivated on 1 July 1960.

History

WADF was an intermediate-level command and control organization of Air Defense Command. Its origins date to 1 March 1949 when Continental Air Command reorganized Air Defense Command when it became an operating agency. Air defense units within the Continental United States were given to the Eastern and Western Air Defense Liaison Groups, with Western and Eastern Air Defense Forces activated on 1 September 1949.
The command was originally assigned the region within the Continental United States to the west of the 102d degree of longitude, from the Canada–US border in the north to the Rio Grande border between the United States and Mexico in the south and west to the Pacific Ocean coastline. This was adjusted in 1951 with the activation of Central Air Defense Force with the region being adjusted slightly to the west to the border of Montana and North Dakota at the Canada–US border, south along the eastern borders of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico to the Mexico–US border. Organizations stationed east of that boundary were transferred to CADF.
The delineation was again adjusted in March 1956 to the region generally to the west of the 114th degree of longitude, roughly along the eastern borders of Idaho, Nevada and California from the Canada–US border in the north to the Mexico–US border in the south. Organizations stationed east of that boundary were transferred to CADF, whose region was shifted westward.
Western Air Defense Force was inactivated on 1 July 1960, with its assigned units reassigned either to 25th or 28th Air Divisions, or to the new Air Defense Sectors created with the advent of the Semi Automatic Ground Environment system.

Lineage

  • Established as Western Air Defense Force and organized 1 September 1949.

Assignments

Stations

Components

Air Divisions

Air Defense Sectors

Wings

Groups

Squadrons