Post by Admin on May 31, 2021 11:24:01 GMT -7
www.sandboxx.us/blog/the-complete-list-of-us-military-ranks-in-order/
Enlisted Personnel
E-1 Airman Basic
E-2 Airman
E-3 Airman First Class
E-4 Senior Airman
Non-Commissioned Officers
E-5 Staff Sergeant
E-6 Technical Sergeant
E-7 First Sergeant (Master Sergeant)
Master Sergeant
E-8 First Sergeant (Senior Master Sergeant)
Senior Master Sergeant
E-9 First Sergeant (Chief Master Sergeant)
Chief Master Sergeant
Special Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force
Commissioned Officers
O-1 2nd Lieutenant
O-2 1st Lieutenant
O-3 Captain
O-4 Major
O-5 Lieutenant Colonel
O-6 Colonel
O-7 Brigadier General
O-8 Major General
O-9 Lieutenant General
O-10 Air Force Chief of Staff General
** General of the Air Force
Air Force Ranks in order
Enlisted Personnel
E-1 Airman Basic
E-2 Airman
E-3 Airman First Class
E-4 Senior Airman
Non-Commissioned Officers
E-5 Staff Sergeant
E-6 Technical Sergeant
E-7 First Sergeant (Master Sergeant)
Master Sergeant
E-8 First Sergeant (Senior Master Sergeant)
Senior Master Sergeant
E-9 First Sergeant (Chief Master Sergeant)
Chief Master Sergeant
Special Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force
Warrant Officers
W-1 N/A
W-2 N/A
W-3 N/A
W-4 N/A
W-5 N/A
W-1 N/A
W-2 N/A
W-3 N/A
W-4 N/A
W-5 N/A
Commissioned Officers
O-1 2nd Lieutenant
O-2 1st Lieutenant
O-3 Captain
O-4 Major
O-5 Lieutenant Colonel
O-6 Colonel
O-7 Brigadier General
O-8 Major General
O-9 Lieutenant General
O-10 Air Force Chief of Staff General
** General of the Air Force
media.defense.gov/2010/Sep/21/2001330256/-1/-1/0/AFD-100921-044.pdf
In an Army reorganization on 9 March 1942 Harry H. (Hap) Arnold was made Commanding General of Army Air Forces.
During the war most of the AAF’s combat groups and wings were assigned to numbered air forces.
The first four of these air forces had their origins late in 1940 when GHQAF was becoming so large that its headquarters could not exercise adequate control over the training and operations of the various GHQAF organizations.
General Headquarters Air Force was subdivided, therefore, into four air districts (Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, and Southwest), which were redesignated First, Second, Third, and Fourth Air Forces early in 1941.
These four air forces remained in the United States throughout the war, . . .
but others were established for service overseas :
the Fifth, Seventh, Tenth, Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Twentieth served in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater ;
the Eighth, Ninth, Twelfth, and Fifteenth operated in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater,
the Eighth being redeployed to the Pacific after the war ended in Europe; the Sixth was in the Panama Canal Zone and the Eleventh in Alaska.
During the war most of the AAF’s combat groups and wings were assigned to numbered air forces.
The first four of these air forces had their origins late in 1940 when GHQAF was becoming so large that its headquarters could not exercise adequate control over the training and operations of the various GHQAF organizations.
General Headquarters Air Force was subdivided, therefore, into four air districts (Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, and Southwest), which were redesignated First, Second, Third, and Fourth Air Forces early in 1941.
These four air forces remained in the United States throughout the war, . . .
but others were established for service overseas :
the Fifth, Seventh, Tenth, Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Twentieth served in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater ;
the Eighth, Ninth, Twelfth, and Fifteenth operated in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater,
the Eighth being redeployed to the Pacific after the war ended in Europe; the Sixth was in the Panama Canal Zone and the Eleventh in Alaska.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structure_of_the_United_States_Air_Force
Numbered Air force (NAF)
See also: Numbered air force
The numbered air force (NAF) is a tactical echelon directly under an operational MAJCOM that provide operational leadership and supervision. NAFs are structured to perform an operational or warfighting mission, often oriented to a specific geographic region.
A NAF is directly assigned operational units, such as wings, groups, and squadrons.
NAFs are commanded by either a major general (O-8) or lieutenant general (O-9).
Wing
See also: List of Wings of the United States Air Force
Wings have a distinct mission with a specific scope, reporting to the NAF or HQ USAF. Wings are made up of one or more groups, consisting of several squadrons, and usually commanded by a colonel (O-6), but high visibility wings can have a brigadier general (O-7) in command. Second in command to the Wing Commander is the Deputy Wing Commander who is and only can be a colonel. The senior enlisted personnel of a wing can be known as the Command Chief who holds the rank of command chief master sergeant (E-9). Wings now encompass both operations and support activities (maintenance groups, mission support groups), and are usually one of three major types: operational wing, air base wing, and specialized mission wing. As of 30 September 2006 USAF had 120 wings, including 57 flying (manned aircraft) wings.[citation needed]
Group
See also: List of United States Air Force Groups
Made up of several squadrons and commanded by a colonel (O-6). Second in command to the Group Commander is the Vice Group Commander who is also a colonel. The senior enlisted personnel of a group is known as the Group Chief. This position can only be held by a chief master sergeant (E-9). The group was of less visibility for some decades but came back to prominence during a transition to the "objective wing" organization in the 1990s. This reorganization changed the base command structure from the "wing commander/base commander" scheme to a single wing commander ("one base-one boss") with multiple groups under his command. There are two general types of groups: dependent (operations, logistics, support, medical, or large functional unit); and independent (a group with wing-like functions and responsibilities whose scope and size does not warrant wing-level designation). As of 30 September 2006, USAF had 17 independent groups, nine of them flying establishments.
Squadron
See also: List of United States Air Force squadrons
A squadron is considered to be the basic unit in the USAF. Squadrons are usually made up of two flights, a few hundred people, and eight to 24 aircraft. A squadron is commanded by a major (O-4) or lieutenant colonel (O-5), however a lieutenant colonel is most common. Second in command to the squadron commander is the superintendent who is a SNCO. The superintendent can be a master sergeant (E-7), senior master sergeant (E-8), or a chief master sergeant (E-9). However, the position of superintendent is usually held by a senior master sergeant.
Flight
A flight is the smallest official capacity in the Air Force and usually ranges from a dozen people to over a hundred, or typically four aircraft. The flight commander or OIC is a company-grade officer which can be described as a 2nd lieutenant (O-1), 1st lieutenant (O-2), or captain (O-3). Second in command to the flight commander is a SNCO typically being a master sergeant (E-7). Phonetic letter designations can be used to distinguish each flight, such as alpha flight, bravo flight, charlie flight, delta flight, echo flight, foxtrot flight, etc.
Element/squad
Although not officially recognized, an element is generally understood to be the smallest unit in the Air Force. Typically, a flight is broken up into 3–4 evenly distributed elements. The element leader is an NCO
which can be described as a staff sergeant (E-5) or technical sergeant (E-6).
