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Nineteenth Air Force

Mission
Nineteenth Air Force, headquartered at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas, is responsible for the training of aircrews, remotely piloted aircraft crews, air battle managers, weapons directors, Air Force Academy Airmanship programs, and survival, escape, resistance, and evasion specialists to sustain the combat capability of the United States Air Force, other services and our nation's allies.

Mission Statement
Nineteenth Air Force executes operational-level command and control of all formal aircrew flying training missions within Air Education and Training Command and provides Airmen with a fifth-generation, cross-domain warrior mindset to the Combat Air Forces and Mobility Air Forces.

History
In 1955, Headquarters U.S. Air Force activated 19th Air Force at Foster Air Force Base, Texas, and assigned it to Tactical Air Command. It was formed as a result of concepts developed during the Korean War, where the need for a highly-mobile tactical force was first recognized. Planners foresaw the time when the Air Force would need a mixed force of fighter, reconnaissance, and airlift aircraft to help suppress "brushfire" flare-ups or become involved in general war. Out of this concept grew the Composite Air Strike Force.

With the pending closure of Foster AFB on Jan. 1, 1959, 19th Air Force moved to Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina, in 1958 and was first inactivated on July 2, 1973. During that period, 19th Air Force was the Air Force command and control element for several notable crises such as the Cuban Missile and Taiwan Straits crises. Almost 20 years later, on July 1, 1993, 19th Air Force was activated again at Randolph AFB, Texas, and was assigned to AETC where it executed Air Force initial qualification and follow-on combat crew flying programs.

Nineteenth Air Force was inactivated in 2012, in the hopes of gaining efficiencies. However, a review of mission oversight and execution, directed by the AETC commander, showed a need for realigning responsibilities to reinforce proper command relationships and training oversight.

Nineteenth Air Force re-activated on Oct. 1, 2014.

Personnel and Resources
Nineteenth Air Force includes 19 training locations, with 16 Total Force wings: 10 active duty, one Air Force Reserve, and five Air National Guard units. It commands more than 32,000 personnel and operates over 1,350 aircraft of 29 different models, flying more than 490,000 hours annually, which is 44 percent of the Air Force total flying hours.

Nineteenth Air Force Major Units:
HQ 12th Flying Training Wing, JBSA-Randolph
HQ 14th Flying Training Wing, Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi
HQ 33rd Fighter Wing, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida
HQ 47th Flying Training Wing, Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas
HQ 49th Wing, Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico
HQ 56th Fighter Wing, Luke Air Force Base, Arizona
HQ 58th Special Operations Wing, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico
HQ 71st Flying Training Wing, Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma
HQ 80th Flying Training Wing, Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas
HQ 97th Air Mobility Wing, Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma
HQ 314th Airlift Wing, Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas
HQ 336th Training Group, Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington

Point of Contact
Air Education and Training Command, Public Affairs Office: 100 H Street, Ste 4; Randolph AFB, TX 78150-4331; (210) 652-9339; email: AETC.PAInbox@us.af.mil