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.

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.

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 have 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."

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