Air Mobility Command. (Government).

United States forces must be able to provide a rapid, tailored response with a capability to intervene against a well-equipped foe, hit hard and terminate quickly. Rapid global mobility lies at the heart of US strategy in this environment; without the capability to project forces, there is no conventional deterrent. As US forces stationed overseas continue to decline, global interests remain, generating an increasing demand on the Air Mobility Command.

Primary Mission

AMC's primary mission is rapid, global mobility and sustainment for America's armed forces. The command also plays a crucial role in providing humanitarian support at home and around the world. AMC men and women provide airlift and aerial refueling for all of America's armed forces. Many special duty and operational support aircraft and stateside aeromedical evacuation missions are also assigned to AMC.

As the air component of USTRANSCOM, AMC serves many customers and, as the single manager for air mobility, AMC's customers have only one number to call for global reach.

Airlift aircraft provide the capability to deploy our armed forces anywhere in the world and help sustain them in a conflict. Air refueling aircraft increase range, payloads and flexibility. Because Air Force tankers can also refuel Navy Marine and many allied aircraft, they leverage all service capabilities on land, sea and in the air. Refuelers also have an inherent cargocarrying capability -- maximizing AMC's airlift options.

Since its inception, AMC has been called upon by the National Command Authorities to support major contingencies and humanitarian operations around the world, including Operation Allied Force in Kosovo, Operations Joint Endeavor and Provide Promise in Bosnia-Herzegovina; Support Hope in Rwanda; Maintain Democracy in Haiti; Restore Hope in Somalia; and Phoenix Scorpion I, II, Ill and IV in Southwest Asia. At home, the command has provided aid to disaster victims from New York to California.

In 2002, the command's total force team continues to demonstrate excellence as the nation's arm for global reach: delivering strength and stability at home and abroad.

The Air Force is becoming more of a continental United States-based fighting force. As the Air Force transitions to an expeditionary mindset, the need for mobility forces to accomplish national defense objectives becomes more prominent than ever before in the nation's history. AMC will continue to play a crucial role under the Expeditionary Aerospace Force as both a force enabler and force provider.

As a force enabler, AMC will bring the warriors to the fight, sustain the warfighters with supplies and equipment and then take the forces home when the contingency or crisis is over. As a force provider, AMC will continue to be responsible for delivering a wide range of support to theater commanders, from aircraft to cargo loaders to fuels specialists and chaplains.

Accomplishing Mission Under EAF 

Strategic airlift forces with broader mission and national asset roles, such as presidential movements, State Department taskings, embassy re-supply, Army, Navy and Marine Corps movements and other missions, will be designated as part of an AEF. Whether deploying combat forces or providing humanitarian assistance, strategic airlift continues to project US resolve around the world through flexible and responsive airlift.

Because of AMC's unique airlift capabilities, its people and assets are the first tasked in the nation's quest for global stability or in national humanitarian efforts to relieve suffering when disaster strikes members of our world community. AMC continues to deliver the equipment and supplies necessary to sustain our warfighters and those people in need of humanitarian assistance.

Many missions encompass the delivery of supplies and equipment that cannot wait for surface transportation, including hazardous materiel, equipment too large for civilian aircraft, and time-critical equipment and supplies that must be available to warfighters before other lines of supply can be established.

AMC's airlift mission also encompasses movement of combat troops, support personnel, DoD civilians and senior government officials to and from points around the globe. One unique capability of AMC passenger airlift provides passenger and cargo airdrop operations, allowing disembarkation of personnel or materiel from aircraft in flight.

Our airdrop capability directly supports the Joint Chiefs of Staff requirement for an immediate response capability to deploy airborne forces throughout the world. Airlift provides specialized strategic airland airdrop support to special operations forces for joint/combined training, contingencies, operations other than war, and other missions as directed by the National Command Authorities.

Air Refueling Aircraft

Air refueling aircraft are the lifeline of global reach. By increasing range, payloads and flexibility, in-flight refueling enables American and allied forces to rapidly deploy people and equipment to hotspots around the globe.

Air refueling strengthens America's total force capability by acting as a force multiplier that enables America's forces to rapidly respond to a wide spectrum of global crisis situations. With continuing closure of overseas bases, air refueling levels the global playing field by extending the range and presence of America's global reach and global power while decreasing the need for dependence of bases overseas.

AMC also uses its tanker fleet to provide airlift support, taking maximum advantage of its dual-role airframes and conserving precious resources in the process. From air refueling tasks for deployment and redeployment of fighters and bombers, and force extension of tankers and airlifters to movement of troops and equipment, AMC supports our national security strategy of strategic and conventional deterrence by building air bridges throughout the world.

Aeromedical Evacuation System 

The Aeromedical Evacuation System is a significant part of the nation's mobility resources and an integral part of the total Department of Defense health-care system. With more than 90 percent of the AE force structure incorporated in the Air Reserve Component, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard members provide the majority of support to AMC's Total Force AE team.

During peacetime, AMC's AE team airlifts seriously ill or injured military members and other Department of Defense beneficiaries to medical treatment centers located throughout the continental United States, Europe and the Pacific region. During wartime, AE enables commanders to keep patients medically stabilized as they quickly move them from forward airfields in combat zones to capable medical facilities anywhere in the world. In fiscal year 2000, the AE team moved 19,859 patients within CONUS, nearly 6,000 patients intertheater and more than 16,500 patients in the European and Pacific regions.

Aeromedical Evacuation is one of AMC's seven core airlift missions and is a core competency of the Air Force Medical Service. As such, AMC remains the central focus for issues affecting the DoD's worldwide AE system.

With the transition of the Air Force to the Aerospace Expeditionary Force operating concept, the AE mission will become even more critical as America's Air Force operates in more locations than ever before.

Major Commanders

Major General John Becker Commander

15th Air Force

[phone]

Maj. Gen. George N. Williams, Commander

21st Air Force

[phone]

Maj. Gen. Robert J. Boots, Commander

Air Mobility Warface Center, Ft. Dix, NJ

[phone]

Brig Gen. Michael W. Wooley, Commander

Tanker Airlift Control Center 

[phone]

Gen John W. Handy, USAF

Commander, Air Mobility Command

[phone]

Lt. Gen. John R. Baker

Vice Commander

[phone]

Maj. Gen. Roger A. Brady

Director of Operations

[phone]