Air Combat Command Air Combat Command ( ACC ) is one of ten major command s ( MAJCOM ' s ) of the United States Air Force , reporting to Headquarters , United States Air Force ( HAF ) . ACC is headquartered at Langley Field , Joint Base Langley – Eustis , Virginia . Its commander is General Gilmary M . Hostage III , with Lieutenant General William J . Rew as Vice - commander , and Chief Master Sgt . Richard A . Parsons as the Command Chief Master Sergeant . Mission . The mission of Air Combat Command is to be the primary force provider of non - nuclear combat airpower to America ' s warfighting commands . To support global implementation of national security strategy , ACC operates fighter , bomber , reconnaissance , battle - management and electronic - combat aircraft . Air Combat Command also provides command , control , computing , communications and intelligence ( C4I ) systems , and conducts global information operations . As a force provider , ACC organizes , trains , equips and maintains combat - ready forces for rapid deployment and employment while ensuring strategic air defense forces are ready to meet the challenges of peacetime air sovereignty and wartime air defense . ACC numbered air forces provide the air components to United States Central Command , United States Southern Command , United States Joint Forces Command , United States Northern Command and United States Strategic Command . In addition , ACC augments forces to United States European Command and United States Pacific Command . Air Combat Command consists of more than 109 , 000 active duty members and civilians ( approximately 98 , 000 active duty members and more than 11 , 000 civilians ) . When mobilized , more than 63 , 000 members of the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve , along with over 600 aircraft , are assigned to ACC . In total , ACC and ACC - gained units consist of more than 1 , 750 aircraft . In 2010 , responsibility for nuclear - capable assets was transferred to the Air Force Global Strike Command . Wings and Groups . Air Combat Command consisted of the following units : Note : On 6 October 2008 , it was announced that the Eighth Air Force would become part of the new Air Force Global Strike Command . In addition , units from Air Force Reserve Command Tenth Air Force and numerous state Air National Guard units are allocated to Air Combat Command when activated to federal service . History . Major components . Air Forces Centers Agencies Groups Operational history . Air Combat Command was created 1 June 1992 after the inactivation of the Tactical Air Command ( TAC ) , Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) and Military Airlift Command ( MAC ) . Upon activation , ACC assumed control of all fighter resources based in the continental United States , all bombers , reconnaissance platforms , battle management resources , and Intercontinental ballistic missile s ( ICBMs ) . Furthermore , ACC had some tankers and C - 130s in its composite , reconnaissance , and certain other combat wings . In 1993 control of the ICBM force was transferred to the Air Force Space Command . Following the inactivation of SAC at Offutt AFB , Nebraska , a new unified command , the United States Strategic Command , was activated at Offutt , created to manage the combined strategic nuclear forces belonging to the Air Force and the Navy . Historically , combat command was an earlier air unit designation . During 1941 and early 1942 , the tactical air units of the War Department , formerly known as the GHQ Air Force , formed the Air Force Combat Command . The AFCC was dissolved in the reorganization of the United States Army , effective 9 March 1942 , which created the United States Army Air Forces as a major and semi - independent component . Mission Realignments . Combat search and rescue . Not long after activation , ACC underwent organizational and mission changes . The first such major change was the transfer of the combat search and rescue mission ( CSAR ) from Air Mobility Command to ACC . With the realigning of search and rescue units , ACC gained additional resources , as well as a new mission . The formal transfer took place on 1 February 1993 , when the Air Rescue Service ( ARS ) was assigned to ACC . On 2 July of the same year , the ARS was redesignated the USAF Combat Rescue School and was assigned to the 57th Wing at Nellis AFB , Nevada . Flight training . One of the most significant changes for Air Combat Command resulted from an overhaul of flying training responsibilities . Following its activation , ACC was responsible for aircraft - specific aircrew training , including initial weapon system and continuation training . On 1 July 1993 , the 58th and 325th Fighter Wings — F - 16 and F - 15 training units transferred from ACC to Air Education and Training Command ( AETC ) . Concurrently , Luke AFB , Arizona , and Tyndall AFB , Florida , for which those respective wings were the host units , also moved from ACC to AETC ownership . However , on 1 October 2012 , both Tyndall AFB and the 325th Fighter Wing returned to the control of ACC . Tanker and airlift . The next major organizational change resulted from a fine - tuning of aerial refueling and airlift resources . From its activation , Air Combat Command had assumed ownership of some C - 130 Hercules theater airlift assets and KC - 10 Extender and KC - 135 Stratotanker s . Just as ownership of overseas C - 130 resources had already been transferred to USAFE and PACAF commanders , it was decided that all C - 130s based in the CONUS would be under the control of ACC , while at the same time , almost all KC - 135 tankers would be assigned to Air Mobility Command . There was historical precedent for the reassignment of C - 130s to Air Combat Command . During the earliest days of Tactical Air Command ( TAC ) , the command had carried out the " tactical " or combat airborne aspect of airlift operations , leaving the " strategic " or logistical mission to Military Air Transport Service ( a precursor of AMC ) . The tactical airlift mission included logistical airlift , airborne operations , aeromedical evacuation , and air support for special operations . This division of the airlift mission continued until 1 December 1974 , when TAC transferred its CONUS - based tactical airlift units , including ANG and Reserve units , to Military Airlift Command ( MAC ) . MAC gained the overseas units from theater commands on 31 March 1975 . On 1 October 1993 , all AMC C - 130s were transferred to ACC and all ACC KC - 135 tankers except those at Mountain Home AFB , Idaho , which supported the fighter and bomber aircraft of the composite wing stationed there , transferred to AMC . The command also kept two KC - 135s at Offutt AFB Nebraska and Grand Forks AFB , North Dakota , transferred to AMC on 1 October 1993 , with McConnell AFB , Kansas , and Fairchild AFB , Washington , transferring in January and July , respectively , 1994 . Operational deployments . In Southwest Asia , Air Combat Command provided active duty and reserve component forces for Operations Desert Storm and Southern Watch to deter Iraqi aggression . In October 1994 , ACC also demonstrated its ability to react quickly to the buildup of Iraqi troops near the border of Kuwait . In addition , ACC , from its inception , has provided indispensable support to counter - drug operations , including Airborne Warning and Control System ( AWACS ) , reconnaissance and fighter aircraft , as well as radar and connectivity assets . Participation in humanitarian operations has also been a recurring theme . Air Combat Command supported the humanitarian efforts of the United States Air Forces in Europe ( USAFE ) , deploying active duty and air reserve component forces to Provide Promise and Deny Flight in Eastern Europe and Operation Provide Comfort out of Incirlik AB , Turkey . Provide Promise offered humanitarian relief airlift support to the city of Sarajevo , while Deny Flight enforced the " no - fly " zone against Serb air attacks on Bosnian civilians . Operation Provide Comfort , another humanitarian operation , also provided relief to Kurdish inhabitants of northern Iraq who had undergone fierce repression by the Iraqi government . In addition , ACC supported United States Atlantic Command ' s humanitarian relief to Haiti an refugees associated with Operation GTMO at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base , Cuba . Similarly , the command supported Operation Safe Haven and the processing of Cuban refugees during the latter part of the summer of 1994 . Across the Atlantic , Air Combat Command units participated in Operation Restore Hope , largely an Air Mobility Command humanitarian operation intended to provide food for Somalia . Also , ACC regular and gained C - 130 Air National Guard units deployed to Uganda and Kenya to participate in Support Hope . This operation , conducted by the United States European Command , comprised part of the United Nations effort to provide humanitarian relief to victims of the civil war in Rwanda . In keeping with its global responsibilities , ACC initiated a series of " Global Power " missions in 1993 . ACC ' s bomber wings are required to perform out - of - CONUS training flights to demonstrate the capability to perform their " quick reaction " worldwide mission . On one of the global power missions , two B - 1 Lancer aircraft of the 28th Bomb Wing , Ellsworth AFB , South Dakota , set a B - 1 flying time record on the first leg of their round - the - world flight , 11 – 13 August 1993 . The following year , two B - 52 s from the 2d Bomb Wing , Barksdale AFB , Louisiana , circumnavigated the globe in 47 . 2 hours , the longest jet aircraft flight in history . Global war on terrorism . Air Combat Command units flew operational missions during the 2002 Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan ( OEF - A ) and the 2003 invasion of Iraq , Operation Iraqi Freedom . The task of developing a comprehensive listing of ACC units present in Iraq , Afghanistan and other combat areas is particularly difficult as the events of 11 September 2001 and the Global War on Terrorism has made such an effort significantly difficult . The USAF seeks to improve operational security ( OPSEC ) and to deceive potential enemies as to the extent of American operations , therefore a listing of which units deploying where and when is unavailable . However , it is certain that ACC units are actively flying combat missions currently over both Afghanistan and Iraq . Predecessor units merged into Air Combat Command 1992 . Current Air Combat Command Bases