18th Air Force, Expeditionary Center units stand down, realign to increase efficiency, effectiveness

Published March 21, 2012
By Maj. Michael Meridith
18th Air Force Public Affairs

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Two 18th Air Force units stood down and several were realigned under the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center as the latest step in an ongoing restructuring process intended to enhance AMC's effectiveness and efficiency in global air mobility operations, expeditionary education, and enroute and installation support.

The restructuring included the March 19 inactivation of Headquarters, 21st Expeditionary Mobility Task Force at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., and the March 20 inactivation of Headquarters, 15th Expeditionary Mobility Task Force located at Travis Air Force Base, Calif. These inactivations administratively align the task forces' subordinate units, the 615th Contingency Response Wing at Travis, the 621st CRW at Joint Base MDL, the 515th Air Mobility Operations Wing at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, and the 521st AMOW at Ramstein Air Base, Germany under the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center at Joint Base MDL. Plans also call for the June inactivation of the 615th CRW, with the alignment of its subordinate units under the 621st CRW.

"These changes represent a more effective and efficient way of carrying out our global air mobility mission," said Lt. Gen. Mark Ramsay, 18th Air Force Commander. "The reduction of 18th Air Force's span of control allows us to put greater focus on AMC's operational mobility mission, especially the planning, exercising, execution, and assessment of airlift, air refueling, and aeromedical evacuation operations in support of combatant commanders across the globe. At the same time, these changes give the Expeditionary Center responsibility for a portfolio of missions which truly reflect their core competencies: contingency response, expeditionary combat support training, enroute and installation support, and building partnerships."

Ramsay added that the changes built upon the success of restructuring efforts in January 2011 that placed responsibility for air base wings support under the EC. He also noted that the latest efforts were expected to continue that success by placing contingency response and enroute forces under the same commander.
Even with the changes, the 18th Air Force still remains the Nation's largest Numbered Air Force.

AMC officials noted that the restructuring resulted from a deliberative process that brought together leaders at all levels. That process determined the course of action that best helped meet the command's obligation to be good stewards of taxpayer resources by operating and organizing in the most efficient and effective way possible.

The inactivations resulted in the loss of 37 active duty military and civilian positions: 31 at Travis and six at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. However, a few more staff members were added to the EC in recognition of its increased workload and expanded responsibilities. While these changes placed units under the EC for administrative purposes, the 18th Air Force will retain its operational responsibility of presenting all 18th Air Force and EC forces to United States Transportation Command for mission execution.

"We face increasing demands and challenges in the areas of contingency response, expeditionary combat support training, enroute and installation support, and building partner capacity. As a result, we have an obligation to structure our organizations in a way that provides a clear focus on how to address them," said Maj. Gen. Bill Bender, Expeditionary Center Commander. "Expanding the EC role to include the mission sets of enroute support and contingency response makes sense: it brings together the education and execution elements of expeditionary combat support under the same umbrella and allows us to operate in the most effective and efficient way possible."