Nineteenth Air Force The Nineteenth Air Force is an inactive Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force . During the Cold War it was a component of Tactical Air Command , with a mission of command and control over deployed USAF forces in support of United States foreign policy initiatives . The command was reactivated in 1993 under Air Education and Training Command with a mission of conducting AETC ' s flying training . The command was inactivated on 9 July 2012 as a cost - cutting measure by the Secretary of the Air Force . History . Cold War . Origins . In the aftermath of the Korean War in 1953 , the United States Air Force began to institutionalize a quick response force to deploy personnel , aircraft and equipment to bases with minimal facilities and to develop an air refueling capacity for its fighter aircraft . From this initiatives , Tactical Air Command ( TAC ) developed the Composite Air Strike Force ( CASF ) , a small tactical air force composed of a command element and of fighter , reconnaissance , tanker , troop carrier , and communications support units . While it could fight , if necessary , the principal function of the CASF was to deter Communist aggression in such areas as the Middle East or Latin America , beyond the reach of American forces already stationed overseas . Its primary characteristic was fast reaction , and it would be as self - sufficient as possible . Each of its elements would prepare and store flyaway kits of spare parts and supplies , and each of its members would have specific deployment tasks assigned . Upon arrival in - theater , the unit would be able to sustain operations for 30 days on minimum logistics support , with the addition of required food , fuel , and munitions . Air - to - air refueling not only made rapid response possible , it enabled the various elements of the CASF to maintain themselves economically on their home bases until the need to deploy arose . Once the CASF concept was fully implemented and tested by the late 1950s , the first strike elements of a CASF could arrive in the Middle East within 16 hours of notification , with the total force in place and ready for operations in 48 hours . In the Far East the lead elements would arrive within 36 hours , with the full force in operational status within 72 hours . On 8 July 1955 , TAC activated the command element of the CASF , the Nineteenth Air Force . Organization . The headquarters of the Nineteenth Air Force was one of the most unusual air units ever created at that time . It had no permanently assigned aircraft or combat units . Nor did it have , since it was an operational headquarters only , any units or bases to supervise , train , or inspect . When not deployed , the Nineteenth had a close working relationship with the Ninth Air Force , which supported its administrative functions with many of its own people . These circumstances allowed the Nineteenth to limit its staff to approximately 85 military and 6 civilian personnel . The mission of Nineteenth Air Force was to prepare contingency plans for and to command short - notice deployments of the CASF anywhere in the world . It required each individual member to be ready for instant departure from the United States , and its staff sections maintained 30 - day flyaway kits prepared for shipment . The Nineteenth worked closely with U . S . Army contingency units , and at one point , one - third of its staff was jump - qualified , able to parachute in with U . S . Army airborne troops . In the event of a crisis , the Nineteenth ( working from a prepared plan which designated specific units , travel routes , en route support , and timing ) would take command of the deploying CASF and serve as part of a joint task force , as a senior air command , or as a component command . At first glance the Nineteenth had a normal headquarters organization with major sections for planning , operations , and logistics . However , these sections had an important secondary function : each served as the lead command element for various geographical contingencies . The plans section would lead Europe and Middle Eastern deployments ; the operations section would lead those to the Pacific ; and the logistics section would lead deployments to Latin America , the Caribbean , and Africa . This unique arrangement allowed for continuity of planning and expertise and helped overcome some of the disadvantages inherent in the U . S . armed forces policy of churning personnel through different assignments every three or so years . Within the service , the Nineteenth soon earned its nickname : The " Suitcase Air Force " . In keeping with its mission of deterrence , a CASF , in theory , consisted of three task forces , each of which could vary in size and composition , according to its assigned task . 1958 Lebanon Crisis . On 15 July 1958 , President Dwight Eisenhower , acting at the request of the Lebanese government , ordered the U . S . Marine Corps ( USMC ) into Beirut , Lebanon to help preserve that small country from a wave of popular discontent that was sweeping the Middle East , toppling monarchies in Syria and Iraq and replacing them with military regimes hostile to United States interests . To support the Marines , the National Command Authorities ( NCA ) alerted the CASF . Within three hours , B - 57 Canberra tactical bombers of the 345th Bombardment Wing , Langley AFB , left for the only friendly major operating airfield in the region , Adana Air Base , Turkey , fifteen minutes ’ flight time from Beirut . In another three hours , TAC KB – 50J Superfortress tankers from the 427th Air Refueling Squadron left Langley AFB to refuel F - 100 Super Sabre fighters from the 354th Tactical Fighter Wing departing Myrtle Beach Air Force Base , South Carolina , while RF - 101 Voodoo s and RB - 66 Destroyer s from the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing left Shaw AFB , South Carolina . Sixty C – 130 Hercules ferried support personnel , spare parts , and equipment . Thirteen hours and 6 , 700 miles after the initial alert , the F – 100s were taxiing to alert ramps at Adana . All deployed aircraft came from the Ninth Air Force . Within two days an underutilized Turkish Air Force gunnery base had become an American air center , with an operations center manned by Nineteenth Air Force personnel ( flown in on a single C – 130 ) and integrated with USN , USMC , and U . S . Army forces in the Middle East . 1958 Taiwan Straits Crisis . Because the entire Nineteenth Air Force headquarters had deployed to Lebanon , TAC ordered its Twelfth Air Force to form another command element similar to that of the Nineteenth , should another emergency arise . Given the upsurge in tension between the Communist Chinese government on the Asian mainland and the Nationalist Chinese regime on Taiwan , the new command element focused its planning on the Far East . The People ’ s Republic of China had announced its intention to reincorporate a series of small Nationalist - held islands within artillery range of the mainland , in particular the islands of Quemoy and Matsu . During the summer of 1958 , the magnitude and duration of the Communists ’ bombardments increased dramatically . The United States responded by supplying the Nationalists with tanks and new heavy and longer - ranged artillery as well as by beefing up its own forces in the region . TAC placed on alert a squadron of F – 100s ; transport aircraft loaded with supplies , parts , and equipment ; and a communications and control squadron . It also began to “ lean forward , ” sending tankers , weathermen , maintenance crews , and control units to islands on the air route between California and Thirteenth Air Force headquarters at Clark AB in the Philippine Islands . Late on August 29 , 1958 , the second CASF received the “ go ” order . F – 100s from the 31st Tactical Fighter Wing , George Air Force Base carrying AIM - 9 Sidewinder air - to - air missiles took off on August 30 and spent that night at Hickam AFB , Hawaii . The next night they were at Andersen AFB , Guam , where Typhoon Lola delayed their movement for 24 hours . On September 2 , they landed at Clark AB , after a flight of 9 , 500 miles and an elapsed time of 96 hours . RF – 101s from the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing Shaw AFB arrived soon after , and C – 130s formed an airlift bridge carrying support personnel , equipment , tools , and workstands to Clark . On September 5 and 6 , the CASF , with much assistance from the both the Thirteenth Air Force and the Fifth Air Force in Japan , flew to Chia - ti AB , a Nationalist air base on Taiwan where they came under the control of a joint operations center established the previous day by CASF personnel . Nine days later , a squadron of F - 104 Starfighter s of the 83d Fighter - Interceptor Squadron , Hamilton AFB , California , occupied another Nationalist air base ( Tao Yuan AB ) . Two more fighter squadrons at Kadena AB , and a B - 57 Canberra squadron at Naha AB , Okinaws backed up this force . The mission of all units was to defend the straits between Formosa and the mainland . 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis . In mid - October 1962 , the Nineteenth moved from its home base , Seymour Johnson AFB , North Carolina , to Homestead AFB , Florida . Once at Homestead , the Nineteenth spearheaded the deployment of TAC units at the beginning of the Cuban missile crisis . The Nineteenth ’ s commander headed the main air operations center , the Air Force Atlantic Advanced Operational Nucleus ( AFLANT ADVON ) , which activated shortly after President Kennedy ’ s speech declaring a quarantine of Soviet missile shipments into Cuba . Augmented by airmen and officers from other TAC air forces , AFLANT ADVON soon controlled nearly 1 , 000 aircraft and 7 , 000 men and women . The Nineteenth returned to North Carolina in December 1962 when the crisis ended . Other missions . In September 1962 , when racial tension over the integration of the state university in Oxford , Mississippi , caused the federal government to send in troops , personnel of the Nineteenth coordinated airlift activities . In 1963 Nineteenth Air Force conducted two show - the - flag exercises . The first went to Saudi Arabia in early May . There , the Nineteenth helped to train Saudi pilots and supervised a tactical demonstration at Jidda International Airport for 30 , 000 spectators that included Crown Prince Faisal , the Prime Minister , the Saudi Foreign Minister , and other royalty and officials . The second went to India in October . There , in Exercise Shiksha ( Sanskrit for training ) , the Nineteenth , in cooperation with the British and Australian Royal Air Forces , helped to improve Indian Air Force air defense capabilities and provide other tactical training . This effort was partially in response to the earlier division - sized Sino - Indian conflict . Throughout its existence , the Nineteenth also participated in numerous joint exercises within the United States as well as in practice alerts . For practical purposes , the Vietnam War ended the work of the Nineteenth Air Force , as that conflict absorbed a large proportion of the USAF ’ s assets not directly dedicated to the nuclear deterrent and consequently lessened the nation ’ s ability to intervene in other crisis areas . At the beginning of the Vietnam War , a CASF deployed in response to the Tonkin Gulf incidents , and in 1968 the last CASF deployment came in support of American forces in the Republic of Korea during the USS Pueblo incident . Legacy . The Nineteenth Air Force was inactivated in July 1973 , as part of the economies enacted after the end of the Vietnam War . On 4 August 1998 , the Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force ( CSAF ) , General Michael E . Ryan , and the Acting Secretary of the Air Force ( SECAF ) , F . Whitten Peters , announced their plans to implement a major change in the structure of the Air Force . They proposed to divide the USAF ’ s combat strength and the elements directly supporting it into ten Aerospace Expeditionary Force s ( AEFs ) . Although the EAF concept was a major step in recasting the operations , outlook , and culture of the USAF , it sprang from the performance of missions traditionally performed by the Air Force — the timely response of land - based air power to the needs of the nation . Air Education and Training Command . . As a part of the realignment and re - organization of the Air Force after the end of the Cold War , Nineteenth Air Force was re - activated on 1 July 1993 as part of the new Air Education and Training Command ( AETC ) . It was assigned to Randolph AFB , Texas with a mission of conducting AETC ' s flying training . Air Force pilot candidates began with introductory flight training ( IFT ) . In IFT , civilian instructors provided 50 hours of flight instruction to pilot candidates who completed requirements for a private pilot license . Upon graduation , pilot candidates then attended either Euro - NATO joint jet pilot training ( ENJJPT ) or joint specialized undergraduate pilot training ( JSUPT ) . Nineteenth Air Force also provided follow - on training for most Air Force pilots in their assigned aircraft . Pilots assigned to fighter aircraft complete the introduction to fighter fundamentals course at Randolph AFB or Sheppard AFB , Texas , or Moody AFB , Georgia , flying the AT - 38B Talon , and then move on to train in either the F - 15 Eagle at Tyndall AFB , Florida , or the F - 16 Fighting Falcon at Luke AFB , Arizona . Altus AFB , Oklahoma , hosts training for pilots assigned to C - 5 Galaxy , KC - 135 Stratotanker or C - 17 Globemaster III aircraft . Aircrews assigned to fly the C - 130 train at Little Rock AFB , AR Pilots assigned to fly MC - 130 Combat Talon , HC - 130 Hercules , UH - 1N , MH - 53 Pave Low or HH - 60 Pave Hawk helicopters receive their training at Kirtland AFB , New Mexico . Keesler AFB , Mississippi , provides training for pilots assigned to the C - 21 Learjet The Army at Fort Rucker , provides training in the C - 12 Huron . In addition to pilot training , Nineteenth Air Force provides joint specialized undergraduate navigator training . JSUNT is conducted at Randolph AFB and NAS Pensacola , Florida , and provides training for Air Force , Navy and Marine student navigators . Students at Randolph complete training in the T - 43 Bobcat and move to follow - on assignments in transport and tanker aircraft such as the C - 130 and KC - 135 . Students at NAS Pensacola , complete primary and intermediate training in the T - 34C and T - 1 aircraft , and then enter the one of two tracks in the next phase . Students in the strike track will serve as navigators in the B - 52 Stratofortress or as weapon systems officers in the B - 1B Lancer . Navigators assigned to the B - 1B attend a special training program at Randolph . Students in the strike / fighter track will receive follow - on assignments in the F - 15E Strike Eagle as weapon systems officers and attend special training in the IFF course . Nineteenth Air Force also provided enlisted aircrew training for a wide variety of aircrew specialties including flight engineers , air - to - air refueling boom operators , loadmasters , aerial gunners , airborne communications specialists and weapons directors . Flight engineers and boom operators train at Altus AFB , loadmasters train at Sheppard AFB , helicopter flight engineers and aerial gunners train at Kirtland AFB , airborne communications specialists train at Keesler AFB , and weapons directors train at Tyndall AFB . As a cost - cutting measure , Nineteenth Air Force was inactivated on 9 July 2012 . An inactivation ceremony was held for the 19th Air Force at Joint Base San Antonio , Texas .