The Air Staff is one of the Department of the Air Force's two statutorily designated headquarters staffs: the other staff is the ''

Office of the Secretary of the Air Force The secretary of the Air Force, sometimes referred to as the secretary of the Department of the Air Force, (SecAF, or SAF/OS) is the head of the Department of the Air Force and the service secretary for the United States Air Force and United S ...

'', also known as the ''Secretariat''. The Air Staff is headed by the Chief of Staff of the Air Force (currently General

Charles Q. Brown Jr. Charles Quinton Brown Jr. (born 1962) is a United States Air Force four-star general who serves as the 22nd chief of staff of the Air Force. He is the first African American to be appointed as chief of staff and the first African American to le ...

). The Air Staff is primarily composed of uniformed U.S. Air Force officials who assist the Chief of Staff in carrying out his dual-hatted role: as the principal military advisor to the Secretary of the Air Force, and as a member of the ''

Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...

''. The Air Staff was reorganized in 2006 to be numbered in accordance with the

Joint Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...

system. For the most part, the Joint Staff numbering system applies to the air staff. The Air Force separated Analysis and Assessments from A8 to create a separate directorate, A9, then in 2008, followed up with the creation of a separate directorate, A10, for the Air Force's nuclear mission.

Joint Staff organization

For reference, the organization of the Joint Staff follows. See full

article Article often refers to: * Article (grammar), a grammatical element used to indicate definiteness or indefiniteness * Article (publishing), a piece of nonfictional prose that is an independent part of a publication Article may also refer to: ...

. The Joint Chiefs of Staff organization includes the following departments where all the

's planning,

policies Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an orga ...

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can ...

manpower Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms includ ...

, communications and logistics functions are translated into action.jcs.mil
National Level Command Structure * DOM – Directorate of Management * J1 – Manpower and Personnel * J2 – Joint Staff Intelligence * J3 – Operations (J3) * J4 – Logistics * J5 –

Strategic Plans and Policy Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "art of troop leader; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the "art ...

* J6 – Command, Control, Communications and Computer Systems (C4) * J7 – Joint Force Development * J8 –

Force Structure, Resources, and Assessment In physics, a force is an influence that can change the motion of an object. A force can cause an object with mass to change its velocity (e.g. moving from a state of rest), i.e., to accelerate. Force can also be described intuitively as ...

Air Staff * A1 – Manpower and Personnel * A2 – Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance and Cyber Effects Operations * A3 – Operations * A4 – Logistics * A5 – Plans and Requirements * A6 – Communications * A7 – Installations and Mission Support * A8 – Strategic Plans and Programs * A9 – Studies, Analyses, and Assessments * A10 – Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration Office Multiple Air Force military commands follow this structure, but for the HQ Air Force at the Pentagon, they combine several into one office (A5/8 and A4/7). In addition, unlike the other branches of the U.S. armed forces that place "force development and training" in J7 like elements (i.e., G7, N7, etc.), the Air Force has no A7 "training" organization at the HAF level, retaining that function within its A3 organization.

Members of the Air Staff

Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force The chief of staff of the Air Force (acronym: CSAF, or AF/CC) is a statutory office () held by a general in the United States Air Force, and as such is the principal military advisor to the secretary of the Air Force on matter pertaining to t ...

(O-10) * Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force (O-10) *

Director of Staff of the United States Air Force The Assistant Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force was a position in the United States Air Force held by a lieutenant general who also served as the director of the Air Staff.https://media.defense.gov/2013/Apr/10/2001329974/-1/-1/0 ...

(O-9) * Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force (E-9) *Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel (A1) (O-9) *Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, and Cyber Effects Operations (A2/6) (O-9) *

Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Sp ...

(A3) (O-9) *Deputy Chief of Staff for Installations, Logistics & Force Protection (A4/7) (O-9) *Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans & Requirements (A5/8) (O-9) *Chief Information Officer (SAF/CN) (

Senior Executive Service The Senior Executive Service (SES) is a position classification in the civil service of the United States federal government equivalent to general officer or flag officer rank in the U.S. Armed Forces. It was created in 1979 when the Civil Service ...

) *Director for Studies & Analyses, Assessments and Lessons Learned (A9) (Senior Executive Service) *Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration (A10) (O-9) * Judge Advocate General (O-9) * Surgeon General (O-9) *Director, Air Force History and Museums Policies and Programs (Senior Executive Service) *Chief of the

Air Force Reserve Command The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commis ...

(O-9) *Director of the

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...

(O-9) *Director of Tests and Evaluation (Senior Executive Service) * Chief of Chaplain Services (O-8) *Chief of Safety (O-8) *Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (O-8) *

Chief Scientist of the U.S. Air Force The Chief Scientist of the Air Force is the most senior science & technology representative in the United States Department of the Air Force. The current Chief Scientist of the United States Air Force is Victoria Coleman, sworn in on April 6, 202 ...

(Senior Executive Service)

Rapid Capabilities Office

The Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, located in Washington, D.C., reports directly to a board of directors chaired by the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics. Board members also include the Secretary of the Air Force, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition. The office responds to Combat Air Force and combatant command requirements. The RCO reports to a board of directors comprising the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics and the secretary and chief of staff of the Air Force. The office is staffed with a variety of functional specialists. The Secretary of the Air Force activated the office 28 April 2003. One of its first projects was to deploy significant upgrades to the Integrated Air Defense System, now operational around the

National Capital Region A capital region, also called a capital district or capital territory, is a region or district surrounding a capital city. It is not always the official term for the region, but may sometimes be used as an informal synonym. Capital regions can exis ...

. Currently, RCO is working on the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle to demonstrate a reliable, reusable, unmanned space test platform for the United States Air Force. Additionally, RCO, in conjunction with MIT Lincoln Lab and other partners, is developing a sensitive airborne receiver system. The system is scheduled for in-theater evaluation during the summer of 2009. The RCO Red Team assesses current and future threats to U.S. combat operations by providing independent technical assessments.

References

External links

Organization of the U.S. Air forceCountdown to A10 staffAir Force Staff Restructures to Improve Joint Ops, Communication
{{DOD agencies navbox Staff (military) United States Air Force

Joint Staff organization

Members of the Air Staff

Rapid Capabilities Office

See also

References

External links