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618th Air Operations Center

The 618th Air Operations Center (Tanker Airlift Control Center), located at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., is Air Mobility Command's execution arm for providing America's Global Reach. The 618th AOC (TACC) plans, schedules, and directs a fleet of nearly 1,100 mobility aircraft in support of combat delivery and strategic airlift, air refueling and aeromedical evacuation operations around the world. The 618th AOC stands ready 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year to provide unrivaled rapid global mobility. The 618th AOC commands 100 to 150 missions a day on average.  
 
Mission
Command and Control Rapid Global Mobility by transforming requirements into effective missions--plan, task, execute, and assess global air mobility operations. 

Vision
Provide Multi-Domain Command and Control of Mobility Forces in Any Environment. 

Personnel  
About 800 personnel are assigned to the 618th AOC (TACC). The unit is a total force team consisting of active duty, Reserve, Air National Guard, contractor and civil service personnel. 
 
Resources 
The 618th AOC (TACC) employs a wide range of military aircraft to achieve AMC's Global Reach mission. The military aircraft typically employed to accomplish 618th AOC (TACC) missions include the C-5 Galaxy, KC-10 Extender, C-17 Globemaster III, C-130 Hercules and KC-135 Stratotanker. The 618th AOC (TACC) also works with commercial contractors to fulfill airlift requirements on an as-needed basis. 

 
Organization 
The 618th AOC (TACC) is the only Global AOC, supporting all 11 Combatant Commands, in every time zone, and in every continent. The 618th AOC (TACC) reports to 18th Air Force, also located at Scott Air Force Base. The organization consists of ten directorates with the resources and technical expertise to plan, task, execute and assess all 618th AOC (TACC) missions.  

 

Airlift Allocation Directorate (AAD) 
AAD allocates units to support strategic/theater airlift and aeromedical requirements.  Coordinates with AFRC and ANG on their availability to support worldwide mobility taskings.  Also, manages the Joint Airborne/Air Transportability Training (JA/ATT), Airlift Long Range Schedule and Military Personnel Appropriations (MPA) processes.  Maximizes throughput at AOR airfields by coordination in the planning stages. 

Air Communications Squadron (ACOMS) 
ACOMS delivers operationally focused, state-of-the-art cyberspace capabilities to the 618 Air Operations Center. Providing excellent customer service, they ensure 24x7 access to key systems and tools (cyber availability) such that the AOC can operate anywhere at any time.  

Airlift Directorate (ALD) 
ALD plans and executes airlift missions to support USTRANSCOM and Air Mobility Command's goal of Rapid Global Mobility. It coordinates missions across various scenarios, handles diplomatic clearances, and ensures mission execution 24/7. Responsible for missions involving senior government and military officials, it serves as AMC’s main point of contact for various critical missions, aligning air mobility assets with national security objectives. Additionally, it plans and executes missions for sensitive national objectives, including support for Special Operations Forces and compartmented users. 

Air Refueling Directorate (ARD) 
ARD plans, tasks, coordinates, and executes global air refueling requirements in accordance with the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) priority system, as validated by US Transportation Command.  It oversees the deployment and coordination of Air Mobility Command (AMC) and AMC-acquired air refueling assets, and when necessary, integrates them with theater-assigned forces. These operations support a wide range of objectives, including homeland defense, contingency responses, exercises, global strike missions, the movement of fighter aircraft (Coronet), support to ISR activities, as well as facilitating Distinguished Visitor (DV) travel and business endeavors. 

Chief Of Staff (CoS) 
CoS serves to organize and prioritize critical issues and required information to facilitate decision making.  Integrates organizational strategy, resources, processes, and requirements to better enable and provide continuous improvement. The CS is responsible for 4 major aspects of organizational excellence: 1) design and maintain the 618 AOC’s organizational strategy; 2) build and sustain a foundational change management program using continuous process improvement; 3) gather, coordinate, and prioritize weapon system requirements; and 4) manage organizational resources. 

Global Air Mobility Support System-Aeromedical Evacuation Directorate (GAMSS-AE) 
GAMSS-AE, coordinates and executes global air mobility support for AFTRANS. With Command and Control (C2) authority, it oversees critical functions like aeromedical evacuation, contingency response (CR), and aerial port operations. GAMSS-AE also manages spectrum and frequency for deployable MAF forces and directs AE missions for AMC. It provides logistical expertise for the GAMSS enterprise, ensuring efficient execution of missions and expedites logistics support and aircraft recovery for AMC missions away from home stations. 

Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Directorate (IRD) 
IRD provides decisionable intelligence, situational awareness, and threat warning in support of planning, execution, and command and control of Rapid Global Mobility operations. 

Mobility Operations Directorate (MOD) 
The MOD directorate, the largest directorate in the AOC, is a highly skilled command and control team exercising the AMC commander's authority and direction over AMC assigned and gained missions. It operates 24-hours-a-day, every day, providing first-class flight planning, diplomatic clearance, and integrated flight management services to aircrews from the moment a mission enters execution through mission completion. 

Strategy Directorate (SRD) 
SRD serves as the AOC/CC’s integrating agency between TRANSCOM, AMC/AFFOR and peer AOCs and JOCs. Enabling effective and timely situational awareness and understanding of supported commanders' intents, objectives, and desired effects, in order to effectively inform AOC planning, tasking, execution and assessment of the AFTRANS mission. Also serves as the single integrating agency for all non-kinetic effects.  The primary timeframe of concern for SRD is 45 days until 2 years in the future, with a focus on the AOC’s equity in the strategic to operational levels of war. 

Global Weather Operations Directorate (WXD) 
WXD ensures success and safety of rapid global mobility operations by integrating timely and relevant environmental intelligence into mission planning and execution for the Mobility Air Force. They advise leadership on potential environmental impacts, integrate weather forecasts into operational rhythms, and coordinate with external organizations for mission planning and guiding risk management decisions.  

History 
The 618th AOC (TACC), initially known as TACC, became operational April 1, 1992. Air mobility leadership sought to simplify the execution of the worldwide mobility mission. They created a highly efficient organization to centralize command and control operations previously located within numbered air forces and airlift divisions. TACC was redesignated as the 618th TACC on April 1, 2007, and remained under that designation until being renamed the 618th AOC (TACC) Aug. 30, 2010. 
 
Air Mobility leverages a tightly integrated AMC team that includes the 618th AOC, commanders across the spectrum, crews, support personnel and customers. The 618th AOC (TACC) optimizes the Global Air Mobility System while providing aircrews with mission details, support, training and authority necessary to successfully execute their missions. As an air operation center, commanding combat forces around the globe, the 618th AOC (TACC) is a committed partner for today and tomorrow's expeditionary Air Force. 
 
(Current as of April 2024)