U.S. Central Command Air Forces
| United States Air Forces Central Command | |
|---|---|
 B-1B Lancer of the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing  A-10C Thunderbolt II of the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing  F-16C Fighting Falcon of the 138th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron  AOR of United States Air Forces Central Command |
|
| Active | 1942–present |
| Country |
 United States of America
|
| Branch |
 United States Air Force
|
| Type | Named Air Force |
| Role | Air Component of United States Central Command |
| Size | AFCENT is currently the second biggest Air Force command |
| Headquarters | Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina |
| Nickname(s) | AFCENT |
| Engagements |
|
| Decorations |
|
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
Lt Gen Charles Q. Brown, Jr. As of 30 June 2015[update] |
| Notable commanders |
Lewis H. Brereton Hoyt Vandenberg Gary L. North |
| Insignia | |
| Emblem of the United States Air Forces Central Command |  |
| Emblem of the Ninth Air Force (1941–2009) | .png) |
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United States Air Forces Central Command (USAFCENT/AFCENT) is a Named Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint Department of Defense combatant command responsible for U.S. security interests in 27 nations that stretch from the Horn of Africa through the Persian Gulf region, into Central Asia.
Activated as 9th Air Force on 8 April 1942, the command fought in World War II both in the Western Desert Campaign in Egypt and Libya and as the tactical fighter component of the United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe (USSTAF), engaging enemy forces in France, the Low Countries and in Nazi Germany. During the Cold War, it was one of two Numbered Air Forces of Tactical Air Command.
Co-designated as United States Central Command Air Forces (CENTAF) on 1 January 1983, on 2009 as part of a complicated transfer of lineage, the lineage and history of the Ninth Air Force was bestowed on USAFCENT, and a new Ninth Air Force, which technically had no previous history, was activated. It has fought in the 1991 Gulf War, War in Afghanistan (OEF-A, 2001–present), the Iraq War (OIF, 2003–2010), as well as various engagements within USCENTCOM.
United States Air Forces Central is the direct descendant organization of Ninth Air Force, established in 1941. AFCENT was formed as the United States Central Command Air Forces (CENTAF) under Tactical Air Command (TAC). CENTAF initially consisted of designated United States Air Force elements of the Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force (RDJTF) which was inactivated and reformed as USCENTCOM in 1983.
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