Numbered Air Force A Numbered Air Force ( NAF ) is a type of organization in the United States Air Force that is subordinate to a Major Command ( MAJCOM ) and has assigned to it operational units such as wings , squadrons , and groups . A Component Numbered Air Force ( C - NAF ) has the additional role as an Air Force Component Command exercising command and control over air and space forces supporting a Unified Combatant Command . Unlike MAJCOMs , which have a management role , a NAF is a tactical organization with an operational focus , and does not have the same functional staff as a MAJCOM . Numbered air forces are typically commanded by a major general or a lieutenant general . Numerical designations for Numbered Air Forces are written out ( e . g . , Eighth Air Force instead of 8th Air Force ) , but Arabic numerals are used in abbreviations ( e . g . , 8 AF ) . Units directly subordinate to a NAF are generally numbered 6XX ( where XX is the NAF number ) . For example , the 618th Air and Space Operations Center ( Tanker Airlift Control Center ) is a unit subordinate to the Eighteenth Air Force . History . Numbered air forces began as named organizations in the United States Army Air Corps before World War II . The first four NAFs were established as the Northeast , Northwest , Southeast , and Southwest Air Districts on 19 October 1940 to provide air defense for the United States . These Air Districts were redesignated as the 1st , 2nd , 3rd , and 4th Air Forces , respectively , on 26 March 1941 . The Arabic numerals were changed to the First , Second , Third , and Fourth Air Force s on 18 September 1942 . Other organizations established during this period and that became Numbered air forces include the Philippine Department Air Force ( became Fifth Air Force ) , the Panama Canal Air Force ( became Sixth Air Force ) , the Hawaiian Air Force ( became Seventh Air Force ) , and the Alaskan Air Force ( became Eleventh Air Force ) . After World War II , the US Air Force continued to use both named and numbered air forces . While named air forces were used in both tactical and support roles , numbered air forces were generally employed only in tactical roles . As part of a peacetime restructuring in March 1946 , the United States Army Air Forces were reorganized into three major operating commands : the Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) , the Tactical Air Command ( TAC ) , and the Air Defense Command ( ADC ) . These commands reflected the basic air combat missions that evolved during the war , and each reported directly to General Carl Spaatz , the Commanding General , Army Air Forces . Numbered air forces served as an intermediate headquarters between these commands and the operational wings and groups . Eleven of the sixteen wartime air forces remained . The Eighth and Fifteenth Air Forces were assigned to SAC ; the Third , Ninth , and Twelfth Air Forces were assigned to TAC ; and the First , Second , Fourth , Tenth , Eleventh , and Fourteenth Air Forces were assigned to ADC . Second Air Force would later be transferred to SAC in 1949 . The numbered air forces had both operational and administrative authority , and existed as a command level between major commands and air divisions . Although variations existed , and number air forces were often reassigned , this basic arrangement persisted throughout the Cold War . The role of numbered air forces changed in the 1990s during the Air Force reorganization initiated by Air Force Chief of Staff General Merrill McPeak . The goal of the reorganization was to " streamline , take layers out , flatten ( Air Force ) organizational charts , while at the same time clarifying the roles and responsibilities of essential supporting functions . " Numbered air forces were reorganized into tactical echelons focused on operations , and their administrative staff functions were eliminated . This reorganization also reduced the number of major commands , and eliminated the air divisions to place numbered air forces directly in command of operational wings . The role of numbered air forces was again changed in 2006 with the implementation of the Component Air Force ( C - NAF ) concept . Some numbered air forces have an additional mission as the Air Force Component Command exercising command and control over air and space forces supporting a Unified Combatant Command . C - NAFs have a second designation to identify their role . For example , First Air Force , a numbered air force assigned to Air Combat Command , is designated as Air Force Northern ( AFNORTH ) in its role as the air component of the United States Northern Command . Most C - NAFs have an Air and Space Operations Center ( AOC ) to provide command and control of air and space operations for the supported combatant commander . List of Numbered Air Forces . The table below lists current and historical numbered air forces of the US Air Force , their C - NAF designation ( if applicable ) , their current shield and station , and the major command ( MAJCOM ) to which they are currently assigned . Note that the lineage of some numbered air forces is continued by non - NAF organizations ( e . g . , the 15th Expeditionary Mobility Task Force continues the lineage of the Fifteenth Air Force ) . Named Air Forces . Named Air Forces operate at the same level as Numbered Air Forces . General Headquarters Air Force , the first named air force of the United States Army ' s air arm , began operations in 1935 . The GHQ Air Force became the Air Force Combat Command in 1941 . Several of the numbered air forces began as named air forces . Since World War II other named air forces have existed in both operational and support commands . Air Forces Iceland , and the Central , Eastern , Japan , and Western Air Defense Forces , have provided air defense capability . The USAF Special Operations Force controlled operational special forces . The Crew , Flying , and Technical Training Air Forces served Air Training Command both in the air and on the ground . Pacific Air Force / FEAF ( Rear ) controlled both operational and support forces of Far East Air Forces . Air Materiel Force , European Area , and Air Materiel Force , Pacific Area , on the other hand , served primarily as logistical support establishments . Currently , United States Air Forces Central provides airpower in support of the Global War on Terrorism . Source :