Hobson Plan The Hobson Plan was an organizational structure established by the United States Air Force ( USAF ) in 1948 . Known as the " Wing - Base " plan , it replaced the " Base Plan " used by the United States Army Air Forces ( USAAF ) , the predecessor organization of the USAF . Background . United States Army Air Forces . As part of the United States Army , the USAAF operated from facilities known as Army Air Fields . They consisted of a ground station , which consisted of streets , buildings , barracks and the support facilities and organizations . The airfield consisted of the runways , taxiways , hangars , and other facilities used to support flight operations at the airfield . The Station Commander , commanded the station organizations and was responsible for the facilities . There was a Quartermaster Group ; Service Group ; Headquarters Group , and a Combat Group . There was no uniformity in unit designations . In an administrative reorganization by HQ Army Air Force , on 1 May 1944 the station units were re - organized into " Army Air Force Base Units " ( AAFBU ) , which gave organization to the units under the Station Commander . The Combat Group Commander commanded the flying squadrons , his staff and any other squadron associated with the flying activities . During World War II , it was common to have several Combat Groups stationed at the same Army Airfield , especially at training bases in the United States , where Combat Groups would be trained by Training Groups assigned to the station under the Station Commander . Creation of the United States Air Force . On September 16 , 1947 , the United States Air Force was established a separate and equal element of the United States armed forces . Rapid demobilization after September 1945 meant that a new Air Force had to be built with the remnants of the wartime Army Air Forces . Initially , the Army Air Fields retained as permanent bases were assumed by the USAF were renamed as " Air Force Bases " , and the Army ' s organizational structure was carried over into the new service with " Air Force Base Units " replacing the AAFBU . This resulted , however , into an awkward circumstance where the Combat Group commander was reporting to a Base Commander who may or may not had flying experience . Once the United States Air Force became operational as a separate department , Carl Andrew Spaatz , the first Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force established a policy where , " No tactical commander should be subordinate to the station commander . " Spaatz ' s policy meant that that a new solution would have to be found . Major General Charles Born proposed the creation of the Provisional Wing Plan , which basically reversed the USAAF organization and placed the wing commander over the base commander , although this idea was eventually discarded as it was viewed to be too complex . The Wing - Base plan . Under the " Wing - Base " plan , the operational combat squadrons were assigned to a Combat Group . The support squadrons on the station were assigned to a Maintenance and Supply Group , an Airdrome Support Group , and a Medical Group . The four Groups were assigned to a Wing , a new level of Command which unified all of the components , flying and support . The Group Commanders were subordinate to the Wing Commander who was an experienced combat flying leader . The Wing would assume the historical numerical designation of the assigned Combat Group . A Base Commander was established to handle the administrative duties of the Wing Commander and to coordinate with the various Group commanders . In this plan , known as the Hobson Plan the support Groups and the operational flying Combat Group and the wing became one unit . The Wing - Base organization was formalized in Air Force Regulation ( AFR ) 20 - 15 , " Organization Principles and Policies for the US Air Force " . Organizations known as " Wings " had existed in the Air Force since 1918 , and new wings were created in the 1920s and 1930s . During World War II numerous wings existed ; some provided training in the United States , others controlled combat groups and support organizations overseas . However , the USAF Wings established in 1947 were new organizations and shared no lineage or honors with the Wings formed under the Army . In 1948 and afterward , some AAF wings were re - designated as Air Division s , and placed immediately above the USAF Wings and below the Numbered Air Forces in the USAF organizational pyramid . Another major change implemented by the Hobson Plan was the standardization of designations . For example , the 1st Fighter Wing , Established at March Air Force Base would consist of the 1st Fighter Group ( it ' s Combat Group ) ; the 1st Maintenance and Supply Group , the 1st Combat Support Group ( to operate base facilities and services ) , and the 1st Medical Group . Subordinate to the groups were the 1st Field Maintenance Squadron , 1st Supply Squadron , 1st Engine Squadron , 1st Security Police Squadron , and so on . Operational flying Squadrons retained their historical designations and were assigned to the Combat Group . Units assigned to the base as tenant units , under the command of other Wings , would also retain their designations . 1947 Service Test . The service test of the Hobson Plan in 1947 - 1948 prompted an important change in the field structure and organization of the Air Force . The Army Air Force ( and previous Army Air Corps ) Wing organizations supervised a mixture of combat groups and support organizations . None of the subordinate organizations were permanently affiliated with the wings , or possessed similar numerical designations or standard functions . The USAF Wings organized for the service test of the Hobson Plan featured standard functions . Each wing had its support squadrons organized into the four prescribed Groups , all with identical numerical designations . Typical Service Test Organization The temporary service test Combat Wings were : Additional Combat Wings Organized Under the Permanent Plan . In the spring of 1948 , the Hobson Plan was judged to be successful , and additional Combat Wings were re - organized and established and the Hobson Plan was made permanent . Typical Permanent Organization The wings organized under the permanent wing - base plan were : Major subsequent changes . Over the years , the Hobson Plan has changed and evolved , but its basic concept has remained the same in terms of organization of USAF combat units . Dual Deputy Organization . During the Air Force ' s first decade , budgetary shortfalls led to the search for more cost - efficient Wing operations . In 1952 , many of the World War II Combat Groups began to be phased out and inactivated as more wings assumed direct control of the combat squadrons , particularly those assigned to the Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) and Air Defense Command ( ADC ) . The organization finally implemented by SAC in May 1952 for some newly activating wings and in June for its remaining wings was referred to as the Dual Deputy organization . The Commander of the combat group became the wing Deputy Commander for Operations ( DCO ) and the commander of the Maintenance & Supply Group became the wing Deputy Commander for Maintenance ( DCM ) . There were only two deputy commanders . In those cases in which an Air Base Group and Medical Group were maintained within the wing , the commanders remained group commanders ( although a large number of the air base groups and medical groups were inactivated and replaced by groups assigned directly to air divisions ) . The Dual Deputy organization was implemented by the other combat commands between 1956 and 1958 . Air Force Reserve units implemented it in 1959 and Air National Guard units in mid - 1974 ( except for the ANG Wings on active duty with SAC when they were federalized for Korean War duty in 1952 ) . This arrangement , however raised honors and lineage issues , as the Combat Groups , all veterans of World War II combat operations , held collectively many honors , while the postwar wings possessed few if any honors . Both SAC and ADC wanted the history and honors of the Combat Groups retained . In 1954 , after review by Headquarters USAF , it was decided to bestow the history and the campaign credits and decorations that had been earned by the group during World War II . In " bestowing " group history and honors on wings , USAF directives did not specify any conditions or limitations except to advise , in letters authorizing such bestowals , that these bestowals were temporary . After the Korean War , the operational squadron aircraft maintenance units were consolidated into an Organizational Maintenance Squadron ( OMS ) under the DCM . This was the first time that combat squadrons had no organic maintenance capability . Budget cuts in the 1950s and the resulting shortages of manpower and spare parts made consolidated maintenance very attractive . During the Vietnam War , Tactical Air Command transferred flightline maintenance personnel to the deploying squadrons to Southeast Asia . Squadrons transferred to Pacific Air Forces retained this arrangement , however in 1972 driven by budgetary considerations and the Vietnam drawdown , HQ USAF withdrew its approval for TAC ’ s structural deviation and forced TAC to revert to the consolidated maintenance concept . Tri - Deputy organization . In the mid - 1970s , the United States Air Forces in Europe ( USAFE ) tested a tri - deputy wing organization that added a Deputy Commander for Resources ( DCR — later , resource management or RM ) to the Dual - Deputy structure . The DCR was responsible for Supply , Transportation , Contracting , and Accounting and Finance squadrons . The DCM was responsible for the Maintenance Staff , Organizational Maintenance Squadron ( OMS ) ; Avionics Maintenance Squadron ( AMS ) and Field Maintenance Squadron ( FMS ) . Viewed as giving the Wing Commander more direct control over the mission as well as focusing more attention on resource management during a period of serious budget constraints , HQ USAF approved the Tri - Deputy system for all major commands in 1975 . While maintenance remained consolidated under the DCM in the official Tri - Deputy structure , Tactical Air Command ( TAC ) reorganized the DCM internally into the Production Oriented Maintenance Organization ( POMO ) in 1978 . Under POMO , an Aircraft Generation Squadron ( AGS ) under the DCM was responsible for all flightline maintenance , with a specific Aircraft Maintenance Unit ( AMU ) assigned to each fighter squadron . Each AMU trained and deployed with its fighter squadron but reported to the AGS commander . Intermediate level maintenance was divided between a Component Repair Squadron ( CRS ) and an Equipment Maintenance Squadron ( EMS ) , both of which also reported to the DCM . POMO was eventually renamed COMO ( Combat Oriented Maintenance Organization ) . This was the basic structure of the tactical air forces ( TAC , USAFE , and PACAF ) . SAC and Military Airlift Command ( MAC ) kept their aircraft maintenance in the previous structure with flightline maintenance consolidated in an Organizational Maintenance Squadron ( OMS ) . This was an efficient structure for them since they operated primarily from home station or relied on en route maintenance teams at established overseas locations when their aircraft were overseas . Squadron deployments were not routine , so the additional cost of separate AMUs was not worthwhile . Objective Organization . In the early 1990s with the declared end of the Cold War and the continued decline in military budgets , the Air Force restructured to meet changes in strategic requirements , decreasing personnel , and a smaller infrastructure . This major reorganization stressed elimination of unnecessary layers of authority , decentralization of decision - making , and consolidation of functions . The USAF restored a wing organizational structure , called the " objective wing , " similar to the original Hobson wing - base plan . The inactivated Combat Group was re - designated as the " Operations Group " ( OG ) and was re - activated . The support squadrons were realigned into a Maintenance Group ( MXG ) , Mission Support Group ( MSG ) , and Medical Group ( MDG ) . With their reactivation , the history and lineage of the Wing Combat Group inactivated in the 1950s was transferred from the Wing to the Operations Group . In addition to the realignment of support and operational squadrons , the " Tactical " , " Strategic " and other descriptors of unit designations were discontinued . For example , the 354th Tactical Fighter Wing became the 354th Fighter Wing ; the 24th Composite Wing became the 24th Wing ; 356th Tactical Fighter Squadron became the 356th Fighter Squadron , and so on . This returned the unit designations back to their 1947 names . In 2002 , the Objective Organization was modified to address the changes in the Air Force with the development of Air Expeditionary Units . The Combat Wing Organization is very similar to the POMO / COMO maintenance organization that was in place between 1978 and 1991 .