Pacific Air Forces

Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) is a Major Command of the United States Air Force. PACAF is also the air component of the United States Pacific Command (USPACOM). PACAF is headquartered at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam Hawaii. It is one of two USAF Major Commands assigned outside of the Continental United States, the other being the United States Air Forces in Europe. Over the past sixty plus years, PACAF has been engaged in combat twice during the Korean and Vietnam Wars.

The mission of Pacific Air Forces is to provide ready air and space power to promote U.S. interests in the Asia-Pacific region during peacetime, through crisis, and in war. PACAF organizes, trains, and equips the 45,000 Total Force personnel with the tools necessary to support the Commander of United States Pacific Command. PACAF comprises four numbered Air Forces, nine main bases and nearly 375 aircraft.

The command's area of responsibility extends from the west coast of the United States to the east coast of Asia and from the Arctic to the Antarctic, more than 100000000 sqmi. The area is home to nearly two billion people who live in 44 countries.

Far East Air Forces

 * Not to be confused with Far East Air Force (United States), the military aviation organization of the United States Army in the Philippine Islands from 1941 to 1942.

PACAF traces its roots to the activation of Far East Air Forces (FEAF) on 3 August 1944, at Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. FEAF was subordinate to the U.S. Army Forces Far East and served as the headquarters of Allied Air Forces Southwest Pacific Area. The creation of FEAF consolidated the command and control authority over United States Army Air Force units widely deployed throughout the southwest Pacific in World War II. On 15 June 1945, all United States Army Air Forces numbered air forces in the Pacific theater were assigned to FEAF to support combat operations in the Pacific, these being:


 * Fifth Air Force, New Guinea
 * Seventh Air Force, Okinawa
 * Thirteenth Air Force, Solomon Islands

Although engaged in combat operations against Japan, Tenth Air Force stationed in India and Fourteenth Air Force stationed in China were not part of Far East Air Forces. Twentieth Air Force was assigned directly to Headquarters USAAF at The Pentagon and also was not part of Far East Air Forces. However, the combined Army Air Forces in both the China Burma India Theater and the Pacific theater were the largest and most powerful military organization ever fielded by any country in the world.

With the end of World War II in September 1945, the USAAF found its units deployed throughout the Pacific, from Hawaii to India, from Japan to Australia, and based on a hundred island airstrips, along with bases in China and Burma. A realignment of these forces was needed by the USAAF to better organize its forces in the Pacific for peacetime. On 6 December 1945, Far East Air Forces was redesignated Pacific Air Command, United States Army (PACUSA), and its Air Forces were redeployed as follows:


 * Fifth Air Force: Assigned to Tokyo, Japan.
 * Its primary mission performing occupation duty on the Japanese Home Islands and the Korean peninsula.


 * Seventh Air Force: Assigned to Hickam Field, Hawaii
 * Returning to its prewar mission for the defense of the Hawaiian Islands, including Midway Island; the Marshall Islands and other Central Pacific islands


 * Eighth Air Force: Assigned to Kadena Army Air Base, Okinawa
 * Defense of the Ryukyu Islands, including Iwo Jima


 * Thirteenth Air Force: Assigned to Clark Field, Philippines
 * Defense of the Philippines, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.


 * Twentieth Air Force: Assigned to Harmon Field, Guam, Mariana Islands
 * Reassigned to PACUSA 6 December 1945. Provided a strategic deterrent for the entire Western Pacific region.

With this realignment and reassignment of forces, PACUSA controlled and commanded all United States Army Air Forces in the Far East and Southwest Pacific, and all air forces were placed under one Air Force commander for the first time.

In November 1945 the 509th Composite Group left Tinian and was reassigned to Roswell Army Air Field, New Mexico, taking the Atomic Bomb delivery capability of PACUSA to the United States. Shortly afterwards, Eighth Air Force was reassigned to the new Strategic Air Command (SAC) on 7 June 1946 and its strategic units reassigned to the 1st Bombardment Division.

The major mission of PACUSA in the postwar years (1946–1950) was occupation duty in Japan and the demilitarization of the Japanese society in conjunction with the United States Army. In addition, PACUSA helped to support Atomic Bomb testing in the Pacific Proving Grounds beginning with the Operation Crossroads test on Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands in 1946. With the establishment of the United States Air Force, PACUSA was redesignated Far East Air Forces  (FEAF) on 1 January 1947. On that same date, Seventh Air Force in Hawaii was inactivated with its organization absorbed by HQ, FEAF.

PACUSA/FEAF deployments to Korea prior to the 1948 partition of the country helped in the establishment of the Republic of Korea (South Korea), along with the transfer of surplus military equipment and other aid to French Indochina as well as aid to the Nationalist Chinese during the Chinese Civil War which resumed after the end of World War II (1945–1949).

Korean War
for information concerning aircraft flown by FEAF in the Korean War; bases, and units engaged in combat operations. On 25 June 1950, the armed forces of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) invaded South Korea. On 27 June the United Nations Security Council voted to assist the South Koreans in resisting the invasion. President Harry Truman authorized General Douglas MacArthur (commander of the US occupying forces in Japan) to commit units to the battle. MacArthur ordered General George E. Stratemeyer, CIC of FEAF to attack attacking North Korean forces between the front lines and the 38th parallel.

Order of Battle, June 1950
Despite the post-World War II demobilization of United States forces the United States Air Force still had substantial forces in the Pacific to oppose the North Korean military. When the North Koreans crossed the 38th parallel 25 June 1950, FEAF consisted of the following primary units*:


 * Fifth Air Force (Japan)
 * Itazuke Air Base, Kyushu
 * 8th Fighter-Bomber Wing/Group (F-80, F-82)
 * Johnson Air Base, Honshu
 * 3d Bombardment Wing/Group (B-26)
 * Nagoya Air Base, Honshu
 * 347th Fighter AW Wing/Group (inactivated 24 June 1950)
 * Tachikawa Air Base, Honshu
 * 374th Troop Carrier Wing/Group (C-54)
 * Yokota Air Base, Honshu
 * 35th Fighter-Interceptor Wing/Group (F-80, RF-80, F-82)
 * Misawa Air Base, Honshu
 * 49th Fighter-Bomber Wing/Group (F-80)


 * Twentieth Air Force (Okinawa and the Marianas)
 * Naha Air Base, Okinawa
 * 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing/Group (F-80, F-82)
 * Kadena Air Base, Okinawa
 * 31st Photo Reconnaissance Squadron, VLR** (RB-29)
 * Andersen Air Force Base, Guam
 * 19th Bombardment Wing/Group (B-29)


 * Thirteenth Air Force (Philippines)
 * Clark Air Force Base, Luzon
 * 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing/Group (F-80)
 * 21st Troop Carrier Squadron (C-54)
 * 6204th Photo Mapping Flight (RB-17))

At that time, the combat units of the FEAF were equipped with the Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star fighter, the North American F-82 Twin Mustang all weather escort fighter, the Douglas B-26 Invader light attack bomber, the Lockheed RF-80A tactical reconnaissance aircraft, and the Boeing B-29 Superfortress heavy bomber.

During the Korean War (1950–1953) FEAF's Fifth Air Force was the main United Nations combat air command until the Korean Armistice Agreement ended the combat 1953.

* Elements of the 2d and 3d Air Rescue squadrons, attached to FEAF by the Military Air Transport Service (MATS), were located at various bases where they could best perform emergency rescue services with their SB-17's. The 512th and 514th Weather Reconnaissance Squadrons (2143d Air Weather Wing) were located at Yokota and Anderson. All USAF units engaged in combat during the Korean War were under the overall command of Far East Air Forces.


 * The 31st Photo Reconnaissance squadron was a Strategic Air Command (SAC) organization, attached to FEAF for operations. On 29 June 1950 the unit began flying combat missions over the Korean Peninsula to provide FEAF Bomber Command with target and bomb-damage assessment photography.

Cold War
With the 1953 Korean Armistice, the deployed SAC and TAC units to Japan and Korea were gradually withdrawn, and returned to the United States. Twentieth Air Force was inactivated on 1 March 1955, leaving FEAF with two Air Forces, the Fifth in Japan and the Thirteenth in the Philippines, although units were maintained on Guam and Okinawa.

On 1 July 1954 The Pacific Air Force (PACAF) was activated at Hickam Air Force Base, Territory of Hawaii, and assigned to Far East Air Forces (FEAF), which was headquartered in Japan. Pacific Air Force at Hickam functioned primarily as the Air Force staff component and planning element of U.S. Pacific Command. On 1 July 1956, Pacific Air Force was redesignated Pacific Air Force/FEAF (Rear). Headquarters FEAF began preparations to move from Japan to Hawaii. Smith assumed additional responsibilities as deputy commander, Far East Air Forces.

Tensions between the Communist Chinese on the mainland and the Nationalist Chinese on Taiwan dominated FEAF during the mid to late 1950s. The 1954 and 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis both threatened to break out into a war, and USAF F-104C units were deployed to Kung Kuan Air Base on Taiwan in 1958. The question of "Matsu and Quemoy" became an issue in the 1960 American Presidential election when Richard Nixon accused John F. Kennedy of being unwilling to commit to using nuclear weapons if the People's Republic of China invaded the Nationalist outposts.

On 1 July 1957 United States Far East Air Forces was redesignated Pacific Air Forces and transferred its headquarters to Hickam AFB, Territory of Hawaii. By 1960, PACAF maintained a combat-ready deterrent force of some 35 squadrons, operating from 10 major bases in a half-dozen countries.

Vietnam War
In the early 1960s communist military strength and firepower in Vietnam increased. As a result, PACAF began a buildup in the area with the addition of troops and better arms and equipment.

In response to what has become known as the Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1964, Tactical Air Command pilots and support personnel found themselves deployed from the CONUS to PACAF bases such as Da Nang Air Base and Phan Rang AB in South Vietnam. Bases in Thailand (Takhli RTAFB, Korat RTAFB) were also used by deployed TAC fighter squadrons.

As the American effort in Southeast Asia increased, TAC permanently reassigned entire wings of aircraft from CONUS bases to PACAF and increased the number of rotated tactical fighter and recon squadrons on rotating Temporary Duty commitments to PACAF bases in Vietnam and Thailand, along with units to South Korea, Japan and the Philippines. On a daily basis, flight crews would hurl themselves and their planes at targets across the area of operations over the skies of North and South Vietnam.

At the height of the Vietnam War (1968), PACAF commanded forces at major air bases in the following countries:


 * Japan (Fifth Air Force)
 * South Korea (Fifth Air Force)
 * Philippines (Thirteenth Air Force)
 * Taiwan (Thirteenth Air Force)
 * South Vietnam (Seventh Air Force)
 * Thailand (Seventh/Thirteenth Air Force)

In 1962, PACAF activated the 2d Air Division to be the main warfighting organization in South Vietnam. As the conflict escalated, Seventh Air Force was activated on 1 April 1966, replacing 2d Air Force. PACAF units in Thailand were under the command of Thirteenth Air Force beginning in 1964, then in 1973 a joint Seventh/Thirteenth Air Force headquarters was established in Bangkok to direct PACAF forces in Thailand operating in Indochina (until 15 August 1973), and Thailand until the final USAF withdrawal from Southeast Asia in the beginning of 1976.

 for the PACAF order of battle in South Vietnam  for the PACAF order of battle in Thailand

By 1970 the war was winding down as the conflict was being Vietnamized. Units from the South Vietnamese Air Force (SVNAF) took on more and more combat to defend their nation. PACAF tactical air strength was being reduced as several air bases were turned over to the SVNAF. Combat aircraft of PACAF flew their last strikes in Cambodia 15 August 1973, writing the final chapter to the long and costly history of active American participation in the Indochina War. The Paris Peace Accords of 1973 ended PACAF's use of South Vietnamese bases, and by 1976 bases in Thailand were turned over to the Thai government. In 1979, normalization of relations with the People's Republic of China led to the withdrawal of PACAF personnel from Ching Chuan Kang Air Base, Republic of China (Taiwan).

Post Cold War
The post-Vietnam era found the command focusing on improving its readiness, and PACAF's organizational structure saw a marked period of rapid and extensive changes. Inactivated at the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, Seventh Air Force was reactivated at Osan Air Base, South Korea in 1986 to take over Fifth Air Force activities in South Korea. Andersen AFB was reassigned from Strategic Air Command in 1989, and Eleventh Air Force became a part of the command in late 1990. Following the volcanic eruption of Mount Pinatubo, Clark AB, the Philippines, was closed and Thirteenth Air Force relocated in 1991.

In 1992, changes took place in force structure within PACAF as the command assumed control of theater-based tactical airlift wings, theater C-130 aircraft and crews, and associated theater C-130 support. PACAF also gained control of all operational support aircraft and all aeromedical airlift assets in the Pacific.

In 1986, the Goldwater-Nichols Act reworked the command structure of the United States military. With the creation of Unified Combatant Commands (UCC) organized either on a geographical basis (known as "Area of Responsibility", AOR) or on a functional basis, Pacific Air Forces became a part of the United States Pacific Command (USPACOM).

Throughout its history PACAF has played a vital role in world events. In addition to its key combat role in World War II, Korea and Vietnam, PACAF units fought in Desert Storm in 1991, and they continue to deploy to Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Italy for peacekeeping operations. PACAF provided its expertise, aircraft, personnel and equipment to facilitate the new Expeditionary Air Force, especially as it applied to successful airbridge operations spanning the vast Pacific Ocean. Following the 11 September 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, PACAF again demonstrated its intrepid spirit through its units deployed in support of Operation Noble Eagle and Operation Enduring Freedom.

Since 1944, the command has participated in more than 140 humanitarian operations within its area of responsibility and beyond. In these operations PACAF people quickly and efficiently airlifted food, medicine and other supplies to areas devastated by storms, floods, earthquakes, volcanoes and other natural disasters.

In December 2012, the USAF will choose a new backup runway in the Marianas.

Lineage

 * Established as Far East Air Forces (Provisional) on 31 July 1944
 * Reestablsihed: Far East Air Forces on 3 August 1944
 * Activated on 3 August 1944
 * Redesignated: Pacific Air Command, United States Army, on 6 December 1945
 * Redesignated: Far East Air Forces on 1 January 1947
 * Redesignated Pacific Air Forces on 1 July 1957

Assignments

 * Southwest Pacific Area, 3 August 1944
 * US Army Forces, Pacific, 6 December 1945
 * United States Air Force, 26 September 1947 – present

Operational Components
Commands
 * Far East Air Forces Bomber Command, Provisional: 8 July 1950 – 18 June 1954
 * Far East Air Forces Combat Cargo Command, Provisional: 20 August 1950 – 25 January 1951
 * Far East Air Forces Materiel Command (later, Far East Air Logistics Force): 18 August 1944 – 1 October 1955

Force
 * Japan Air Defense: 1 March 1952 – 1 September 1954

Air Forces
 * Fifth Air Force: 3 August 1944 – present
 * Seventh Air Force
 * 14 July 1945 – 1 January 1947; 5 January 1955 – 1 July 1957; 1 April 1966 – 30 June 1975; 8 September 1986 – present


 * Eighth Air Force: 6 December 1945 – 7 June 1946
 * Eleventh Air Force: 9 August 1990 – present
 * Thirteenth Air Force: 3 August 1944 – 1 June 1955; 1 July 1957 – present
 * Twentieth Air Force: 6 December 1945 – 1 March 1955

Air Divisions
 * 1st Bombardment Division (later: 1st Air Division): 7 June 1946 – 1 December 1948
 * 2d Air Division: 10 September – 10 October 1962; 8 July 1965 – 1 April 1966
 * 17th Air Division. 17 1 July, 1975 – 1 January 1976
 * 85th Air Division: 11 May 1945 – 1 September 1945
 * 91st Air Division: 8 August 1944 – 27 January 1946
 * 314th Air Division: 18 May 1951 – 1 March 1952
 * 315th Air Division: 25 January 1951 – 15 April 1969
 * 326th Air Division: 1 July 1957 – 15 February 1989
 * 327th Air Division: 26 January – 8 February 1966

Wings
 * 8 Tactical Fighter: 18 June – 8 July 1964
 * 18 Fighter: 1 December 1948 – 16 May 1949
 * 19 Bombardment: 16 May – 17 October 1949
 * 27 Fighter-Escort: attached, 19–29 November 1950 and  6–13 October 1952
 * 35 Tactical Fighter: 14 March – 8 April 1966.
 * 322nd Troop Carrier Wing: 15 February 1946

Stations

 * Brisbane, Australia, 3 August 1944
 * Hollandia, New Guinea, 16 September 1944
 * Leyte, Philippines, 7 February 1945
 * Tolosa, Leyte, Philippines, 17 February 1945
 * Fort William McKinley, Leyte, Philippines, 20 March 1945
 * Tokyo, Japan, 17 May 1946
 * Fuchu AS, Japan, 13 May 1956
 * Hickam AFB, Hawaii, 30 June 1957 – present

Current Operating Units
The command controls four Numbered Air Forces, which function as the senior war-fighting components of PACAF. These are:


 * Fifth Air Force – Yokota Air Base, Tokyo, Japan
 * 18th Wing – Kadena Air Base, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan
 * (HH-60G, F-15C/D, KC-135R, E-3 Sentry)
 * 35th Fighter Wing – Misawa Air Base, Aomori Prefecture, Japan
 * (F-16CJ/DJ)
 * 374th Airlift Wing – Yokota Air Base
 * (C-130E, C-12J, UH-1N)
 * 605th Air and Space Operations Center – Yokota Air Base


 * Seventh Air Force (AFKOR) – Osan Air Base, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
 * 8th Fighter Wing – Kunsan Air Base, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea
 * (F-16C/D)
 * 51st Fighter Wing – Osan Air Base
 * (A-10/OA-10, F-16CG/DG, C-12)
 * 607th Air and Space Operations Center – Osan Air Base
 * 607th Air Support Group – Osan Air Base
 * 607th Air Support Operations Group – Osan Air Base
 * 607th Support Group – Osan Air Base


 * Eleventh Air Force – Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska
 * 3d Wing – Elmendorf Air Force Base
 * (F-22 Raptor, C-130H, C-12, E-3B, C-17 Globemaster III)
 * 354th Fighter Wing – Eielson AFB, Alaska
 * (F-16C)
 * 611th Air and Space Operations Center – Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson
 * 611th Air Support Group – Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson


 * Thirteenth Air Force (AFPAC) – Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii
 * 15th Wing – Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam
 * (F-22 Raptor, C-17, C-37, C-40)
 * 13th Air Expeditionary Group – Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii (Seasonal)
 * 36th Wing – Andersen AFB, Guam
 * (No aircraft assigned)
 * 613th Air and Space Operations Center – Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam
 * 613th Support Group – Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam