Second Air Force
| 2d Air Force | |
|---|---|
.png) Emblem of 2d Air Force | |
| Active | 18 December 1940 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Part of | Air Education and Training Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Keesler Air Force Base |
| Motto(s) | Second to None |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Major General Mike Gould |
| Ceremonial chief | Command Chief Master Sergeant Jimmy Kelly |
Second Air Force is an intermediate echelon numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command. The command provides basic and technical training to United States Air Force personnel. It is headquartered at Keesler AFB, Mississippi.
Units under Second Air Force are:
- 37th Training Wing Lackland Air Force Base Texas
Provides Basic Military Training to Air Force recruits as well as technical training in logistics and security police/law enforcement career fields.
- 81st Training Wing Keesler Air Force Base Mississippi
Provides training in weather, basic electronics, communications electronic systems, communications computer systems, air traffic control, airfield management, command post, air weapons control, precision measurement, education and training, financial management and comptroller, information management, manpower and personnel.
- 17th Training Wing Goodfellow Air Force Base Texas
Provides training in intelligence and firefighting career fields. Also provides training to Army, Navy and Marine detachments.
- 82d Training Wing Sheppard Air Force Base Texas
Provides specialized technical training, medical, and field training for officers, Airmen, and civilians of all branches of the military, other DoD agencies, and foreign nationals.
- 381st Training Group Vandenberg AFB, California
Provides qualification training for intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), space surveillance, missile warning, spacelift, and satellite command and control operators. It also performs initial and advanced maintenance training on air launched missiles (ALM) and ICBM's. It conducts training in joint space fundamentals and associated computer maintenance. The group also conducts qualification and orientation training for Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) staff and senior-level personnel, as well as instructor enhancement in support of operational units.
In 2006 Second Air Force was assigned responsibility for coordinating training for "In Lieu Of" (ILO) forces, that is airmen assigned to perform traditional US Army duties in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa. An Expeditionary Mission Support Group was formed to provide command and control of ILO airmen as they are trained at 18 US Army installations across the United States prior to deploying to their assigned AOR.
In 2007, Second Air Force was given responsibility to provide curricula and advice to the Iraqi Air Force as it stands up its own technical training and branch specific basic training among others.
History
Second Air Force was constituted as Northwest Air District on 19 October 1940. It was activated on 18 December, then redesignated as Second Air Force on 5 August 1941.
During World War II, the command served as both an air defense and a training organization performing aircrew and replacement training for heavy and later, very heavy bomber units. Second Air Force bases were located along the northern border with Canada, from Washington to North Dakota, south to Kansas, west to Utah, Idaho and Oregon.
A football team made up of Second Air Force personnel defeated Hardin-Simmons University in the 1943 Sun Bowl.
Commands of Second Air Force during World War II were:
- II Air Support Command 1941-43
- II Fighter Command 1941-42
- IV Air Support Command 1942-43
- XX Bomber Command 1943-44
- XXI Bomber Command 1944
- XXII Bomber Command 1945
With the war's end, Second Air Force was inactivated on 30 March 1946.
The command was reactivated on 6 June 1946 under Air Defense Command, controlling primarily P-51 and P-47 air defense groups. It was again inactivated on 1 July 1948.
Strategic Air Command reactivated the command on 1 November 1949 at Barksdale AFB Louisiana as a intermediate echelon responsible for SAC units in the contiguous United States. It was inactivated on 1 January 1975. It was reactivated on 29 August 1991 at Beale AFB, California.
Second Air Force was reassigned to Air Combat Command on 1 June 1992 when SAC stood down. It was inactivated on 1 July 1993 and activated the same day at Keesler AFB, Mississippi, with a change in assignment to Air Education and Training Command.