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AIR FORCE RESERVE COMMAND
Air Force Reserve Command
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The Air Force Reserve Command, with headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Ga., became the ninth major command of the Air Force on Feb. 17, 1997, as a result of Title XII - Reserve Forces Revitalization - in Public Law 104-201, the National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 1997. Before this act, the Air Force Reserve was a field operating agency of the Air Force established on April 14, 1948.

Mission

The Air Force Reserve Command supports the Air Force mission to defend the United States through control and exploitation of air and space by supporting Global Engagement. The AFRC plays an integral role in the day-to-day Air Force mission and is not a force held in reserve for possible war or contingency operations.

Resources

AFRC has 35 flying wings equipped with their own aircraft and nine associate units that share aircraft with an active-duty unit. Four space operations squadrons share satellite control mission with the active force. There also are more than 620 mission support units in the AFRC, equipped and trained to provide a wide range of services, including medical and aeromedical evacuation, aerial port, civil engineer, security force, intelligence, communications, mobility support, logistics and transportation operations among others.

The AFRC has 447 aircraft assigned to it. The inventory includes the latest, most capable models of the F-16 Fighting Falcon, O/A-10 Thunderbolt II, C-5 Galaxy, C-141 Starlifter, C-130 Hercules, MC-130 Combat Talon I, HC-130, WC-130, KC-135 Stratotanker, B-52 Stratofortress and HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter. On any given day, 99 percent of these aircraft are mission ready and able to deploy within 72 hours. These aircraft and support personnel are gained by Air Combat Command, Air Mobility Command and Air Force Special Operations Command if mobilized. The aircraft and their crews are immediately deployable without need for additional training.

Organization

Office of the Air Force Reserve
The Office of Air Force Reserve, located in the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., is headed by the chief of Air Force Reserve, a Reserve lieutenant general, who is the principal adviser to the chief of staff of the Air Force for all Reserve matters. Consistent with Air Force policy, the chief of Air Force Reserve establishes Reserve policy and initiates plans and programs. In addition to being a senior member of the Air Staff, he is also commander of the Air Force Reserve Command.

Headquarters Air Force Reserve Command 
Headquarters AFRC supervises the unit training program, provides logistics support, reviews unit training and ensures combat readiness. Within the headquarters element are directorates for operations, logistics, comptroller, administration and personnel support.

Fourth Air Force at March Air Reserve Base, Calif.; 10th Air Force at Carswell Air Reserve Station, Texas and 22nd Air Force at Dobbins ARB, Ga., report to Headquarters AFRC. They act as operational headquarters for their subordinate units, providing training, operational, logistical and safety support, and regional support for geographically separated units.

Air Reserve Personnel Center 
Air Reserve Personnel Center, a direct reporting unit located in Denver, Colo., provides personnel services to all members of the AFRC and Air National Guard. Services include assignments, promotions, career counseling and development, and separation actions. Air Reserve Personnel Center also manages the individual mobilization augmentee (IMA) program for the Ready Reserve, and maintains master personnel records for all Guard and Reserve members not on extended active duty. In times of national need, the center would mobilize IMAs and certain categories of Air Force retirees.

Reserve Categories

Reservists are categorized by several criteria in the Ready Reserve, Standby Reserve or Retired Reserve. Numbers shown reflect actual numbers, not authorizations.

Ready Reserve

(Note: Counted Unit Program, Individual Ready Reserve, IMA and Selected Reserve)

The Ready Reserve is made up of 193,042 trained reservists who may be recalled to active duty to augment active forces in time of war or national emergency. Of this number, 72,195 reservists are members of the Selected Reserve who train regularly and are paid for their participation in unit or individual programs.

These reservists are combat ready and can deploy to anywhere in the world in 72 hours. Additionally, 48,981 are part of the Individual Ready Reserve. Members of the IRR continue to have a service obligation, but do not train and are not paid. They are subject to recall if needed. The president may recall Ready Reserve personnel from all Department of Defense components for up to 270 days if necessary. Some 24,000 Air Force reservists from 220 units were called to active duty during the Persian Gulf War to work side-by-side with their active-duty counterparts.

Standby Reserve

The Standby Reserve includes reservists whose civilian jobs are considered key to national defense, or who have temporary disability or personal hardship. Most standby reservists do not train and are not assigned to units. There are 16,858 reservists in this category.

Retired Reserve

The Retired Reserve is made up of officers and enlisted personnel who receive pay after retiring from active duty or from the Reserve, or are reservists awaiting retirement pay at age 60.

Training

Selected reservists train to active-duty standards through the unit training or IMA training programs. Mission readiness is verified periodically, using active-force inspection criteria. Reserve training often is scheduled to coincide with Air Force mission support needs. Since most AFRC skills are the same needed in peace or war, training often results in the accomplishment of real-world mission requirements. This mission support is referred to as a by-product of training and benefits both the AFRC and the active force.

Unit Training Program

More than 60,100 reservists are assigned to specific Reserve units. These are the people who are obligated to report for duty one weekend each month and two weeks of annual training a year. Most work many additional days. Reserve aircrews, for example, average more than 100 duty days a year, often flying in support of national objectives at home and around the world.

Air reserve technicians (ART) are a special group of reservists who work as civil service employees during the week in the same jobs they hold as reservists on drill weekends. ARTs are the full-time backbone of the unit training program, providing day-to-day leadership, administrative and logistical support, and operational continuity for their units. More than 9,500 reservists, more than 15 percent of the force, are ARTs.

IMA Training Program

The IMA training program is made up of approximately 13,144 individual mobilization augmentees. IMAs are assigned to active-duty units in specific wartime positions and train on an individual basis. Their mission is to augment active-duty manning by filling wartime surge requirements. IMAs were used extensively during operations Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom and can be found in nearly every career field.

Reserve Associate Program

The AFRC Associate Program provides trained crews and maintenance personnel for active-duty owned aircraft and space operations. This unique program pairs a Reserve unit with an active-duty unit to share a single set of aircraft. The result is a more cost-effective way to meet increasing mission requirements. Associate aircrews fly C-5 Galaxies, C-141 Starlifters, C-17 Globemaster IIIs, KC-10 Extenders, KC-135 Stratotanker, T-1 Jayhawks, T-37 Tweets, T-38 Talons, F-16 Fighting Falcons, MC-130P Combat Shadows and MC-130 Talon I (Reserve Associate Unit), and E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft. Space Operations associate units operate Defense Meteorological, Defense Support Program and Global Positioning System satellites.

Real-World Missions

Air Force reservists are on duty today around the world carrying out the Air Force vision of global vigilance, reach and power. A proven and respected combat force, AFRC also is quick to lend a helping hand. Humanitarian relief missions may involve anything from repairing roads and schools in a small village in Central America, to airlifting badly needed supplies into a devastated area to rescuing the victims of nature's worst disasters.

At the request of local, state or federal agencies, AFRC conducts aerial spray missions using specially equipped C-130s. With the only fixed-wing capability in the Department of Defense, these missions range from spraying pesticides to control insects to spraying compounds used in the control of oil spills. Other specially equipped C-130s check the spread of forest fires by dropping fire retardant chemicals. Real-world missions also include weather reconnaissance, rescue, international missions in support of U.S. Southern Command and aeromedical evacuation.

The AFRC also takes an active role in the nation's counternarcotics effort. Reservists offer a cost-effective way to provide specialized training, airlift, analysis and other unique capabilities to local, state and federal law enforcement officials.


Point of Contact
Air Force Reserve Command, Office of Public Affairs, 255 Richard Ray Blvd., Robins AFB, GA 31098-1637; DSN 497-1751 or (478) 327-1751.


October 2005



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