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12th AF welcomes back 552nd Air Control Wing

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Kinder Blacke
  • 552nd Air Control Wing Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  As of Oct. 1, the 552nd Air Control Wing receives administrative support from a different numbered Air Force. 12th Air Force, headquartered at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., accepts the responsibility of the wing from 8th Air Force, Barksdale AFB, La.

This is not the first time the 552nd ACW has been supported by 12th AF. The wing was actually a part of 12th AF prior to joining 8th AF in 2002. Now, seven years later, 12th AF welcomes back the Airmen of "America's Wing."

The transition was prompted because 8th AF left Air Combat Command to be a part of the Air Force's newest major command, Global Strike Command. This new MAJCOM will include nuclear-capable bombers and ICBMs. The wings under 8th AF that do not have these assets will remain in ACC and move to a new NAF, explained Col. Pat Hoffman, 552nd ACW commander.

Because the 552nd ACW is a command and control wing, it could not remain in 8th AF and instead made the transition to 12th AF, along with the 55th Wing, Offutt AFB, Neb., and the 9th Reconnaissance Wing, Beale AFB, Calif., two ISR wings. The 116th ACW, Robins AFB, Ga., also moved out of 8th AF, but went to 9th AF in order to balance out the C2 and ISR wings between 12th AF and 9th AF, said Colonel Hoffman.

As far as the 552nd ACW is concerned, they don't plan to see any major changes.

"We may see some staff process changes, as our wing staff will now coordinate with the 12th AF HQ staff instead of the 8th AF staff, but we're looking forward to working with the 12th AF team," said Colonel Hoffman.

As for day-to-day mission operations, the Airmen running the E-3s and Control and Reporting Centers won't miss a beat.

"Operationally, the move from 8th AF to 12th AF will be mostly transparent to the wing," said Colonel Hoffman. "Whatever NAF we belong to, we'll still operate in the same outstanding manner, deploy with the same warfighter focus, and still be tasked by JFCOM and ACC to meet Combatant Commander requirements around the world!"