Twenty-Second Air Force

Twenty-Second Air Force
Shield of the Twenty-Second Air Force
Active	1 July 1993 - present 8 January 1966 - 1 July 1993 (as Twenty-Second Air Force) 1 July 1958 - 8 January 1966 (as Western Transport Air Force) 1 July 1948 - 1 July 1958 (as Continental Division, Military Air Transport Service) 1 March 1946 - 31 October 1946 (as Continental Division, Air Transport Command) 20 June 1942 - 1 March 1946 (as Ferrying Division, Air Transport Command) 9 March 1942 - 20 June 1942 (as Domestic Wing, Army Air Forces Ferrying Command) 18 February 1942 - 9 March 1942 (as Domestic Wing, Air Corps Ferrying Command) (79 years, 10 months)[1]
Country	United States of America
Branch	United States Air Force (18 September 1947 – present) United States Army ( Army Air Forces, 18 February 1942 – 18 September 1947)
Type	Numbered Air Force
Role	Provide combat-ready reserve air forces[2]
Part of	Air Force Reserve Command
Headquarters	Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia, U.S.
Engagements	World War II - American Theater[1]
Decorations	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Commanders
Current commander	Major General Bret Larson

Twenty-Second Air Force (22 AF) is a Numbered Air Force component of Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). It was activated on 1 July 1993 and is headquartered at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia.

In the event of mobilization, some of the Twenty-Second Air Force's subordinate units would come under the operational control (OPCON) of the Air Mobility Command's (AMC) 21st Expeditionary Mobility Task Force, headquartered at McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey, while others would come under OPCON of Air Education and Training Command's 19th Air Force at Randolph AFB, Texas.

Mission[]

22 AF is responsible for recruiting and training reservists and for maintaining subordinate units at the highest level of combat readiness. A by-product of training is to coordinate daily support of the active duty air force.

22 AF's wartime mission is to provide combat-ready airlift and support units and augments personnel requirements to Air Mobility Command in the United States.

Twenty-Second Air Force manages more than 25,000 Reservists and has 149 unit-equipped aircraft. Reserve crews in 22 AF fly the C-130 Hercules, including the WC-130 "Hurricane Hunter" aircraft, which are located at nine different Air Force Reserve wings. The wings, flying squadrons and support units are spread throughout nine states – from New York to Mississippi, Ohio and Minnesota, with its westernmost wing in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Units[]

History[]

Established as the Domestic Division, Air Corps Ferrying Command in the early days of World War II, the organization's mission was the transport of newly produced aircraft from points within the United States to Ports of Embarkation for shipment to Britain and other overseas Allies. In 1946, the organization was transferred to Air Transport Command and became, in essence, a military airline its Continental Division, managing transport routes within the United States.

When the USAF was created as a separate service in 1947, Military Air Transport Service was established to support the new Department of Defense, with responsibility for its support falling to the Department of the Air Force. Redesignated Western Transport Air Force (WESTAF), the organization managed all MATS operations from the Mississippi River west to the east coast of Africa until MATS was replaced by the Military Airlift Command in 1966. When MATS became MAC, WESTAF was redesignated 22d AF, with headquarters at Travis AFB, CA.

During the 1960s, Twenty-Second Air Force transports flew missions worldwide, supporting the efforts of the United States in Southeast Asia, Europe and other places around the world. In December 1974, the Twenty-Second Air Force absorbed Tactical Air Command's Twelfth Air Force C-130 Hercules tactical airlift operations.

On 29 March 1979, the Twenty-Second Air Force assumed responsibility for managing Military Airlift Command resources in the Pacific. For this mission, the unit provided a single commander for MAC airlift units in the Pacific theater; command and control of theater-assigned airlift forces for Pacific Air Forces; theater tactical airlift war planning and Pacific exercise planning; and aerial ports in the Pacific area to support the air movement of personnel, cargo, equipment, patients, and mail. The division participated in tactical exercises such as Team Spirit, Ulchi Focus Lens, and Capstan Dragon.

The unit was relieved from assignment to Military Airlift Command and assigned to Air Mobility Command on 1 June 1992. Activated the same day at Dobbins ARB, GA, with a change in assignment to the Air Force Reserve. It is under the peacetime command of Headquarters Air Force Reserve Command at Robins Air Force Base, GA.

Lineage[]

Route map of the Western Transport Air Force, 1964

• Established as Domestic Division, ACFC, and activated, on 28 December 1941

Redesignated: Domestic Wing, ACFC, on 26 February 1942

Redesignated: Ferrying Division, ATC, 20 June 1942

Redesignated: Continental Division, ATC, 28 February 1946

Discontinued on 31 October 1946

• Established as Continental Division, MATS, 1 July 1948

Redesignated: Western Transport Air Force, 1 July 1958

Redesignated: Twenty-Second Air Force, 8 January 1966

Inactivated 1 July 1993

Activated 1 July 1993

Assignments[]

• Air Corps Ferrying Command, 28 December 1941
• Army Air Forces Ferry Command, 9 March 1942
• Army Air Forces Ferrying Command, 31 March 1942
• Air Transport Command, 20 June 1942
• Military Air Transport Service, 1 July 1948
• Military Airlift Command, 1 January 1966
• Air Mobility Command, 1 June 1992
• Air Force Reserve, 1 July 1993
• Air Force Reserve Command, 17 February 1997

Components[]

World War II[]

Sectors

Wings

Groups/Base Units

United States Air Force[]

Divisions

• 323d Air Division, 1 Jul 1958 – 8 May 1960
• 834th Air (later Airlift) Division, 1 – 31 Dec 1974, 1 Oct 1978 – 1 Apr 1992

Wings

Groups

Squadrons

• 16th Air Transport (later 1254 Air Transport) Squadron, 1 Sep 1948 – 12 Mar 1951
• 1726th Air Transport Squadron (Special), 1 Oct 1948 – 23 Apr 1949
• 1737th Ferrying Squadron, 24 Sep 1950 – 16 Jul 1951
• Air Transport Squadron (VR-3), USN, 1 Oct 1948-c. Dec 1948, 1 Dec 1949 – 1 Jul 1957.

Stations[]

• Bolling Airfield, Washington D.C., 28 December 1941
• Lunken Airport, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1 February 1943
• Kelly Air Force Base, Texas, 1 July 1948
• Travis Air Force Base, California, 25 June 1958
• Dobbins ARB, Georgia, 1 July 1993

List of commanders[]

• Maj Gen Robert A. McIntosh, 1 July 1993
• Maj Gen James E. Sherrard III, 1 November 1994
• Brig Gen Joseph McNeil, 17 January 1995
• Brig Gen , 6 August 1995
• Maj Gen James E. Sherrard III, 11 January 1998
• Maj Gen John J. Batbie Jr., 25 September 1998
• Maj Gen , 7 May 2000
• Maj Gen , 11 March 2006
• Maj Gen , 4 April 2009
• Maj Gen , 16 September 2011

No.	Commander		Term
	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Term length
-		Major General	October 2013	July 2014	~273 days
-		Major General Stayce Harris	July 2014	November 2017	~2 years, 38 days
-		Major General	8 August 2016[3]	November 2017	~1 year, 85 days
-		Major General	November 2017	10 July 2021	~1 year, 267 days
-		Major General	26 July 2019[4]	10 July 2021	1 year, 349 days
-		Major General	10 July 2021[5]	Incumbent	166 days

References[]

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.