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Thirteenth Expeditionary Air Force
Shield of the Thirteenth Air Force
Active
29 September 2012 – present (as Thirteenth Expeditionary Air Force) 16 January 2007 – 28 September 2012 (as Thirteenth Air Force (Air Forces Pacific)) 1 February 1953 – 16 January 2007 8 February 1952 – 1 February 1953 14 December 1942 – 8 February 1952 (as Thirteenth Air Force) (81 years, 5 months)[1]
Country
United States
Branch
United States Air Force (18 September 1947 – present) United States Army ( Army Air Forces, 14 December 1942 – 18 September 1947)
Type
Numbered Air Force
Role
Provide combat-ready air forces for U.S. Pacific Command[2]
Part of
Pacific Air Forces U.S. Pacific Command
Garrison/HQ
Hickam Air Force Base, Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, Hawaii
Nickname(s)
Jungle Air Force
Engagements
World War II – Asiatic-Pacific Theater
Bismarck Archipelago
Leyte
New Guinea
Southern Philippines
[1] Second Taiwan Strait Crisis
Decorations
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Philippine Presidential Unit Citation Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm[1]
Commanders
Current commander
Maj Gen Brandon D. Parker
Notable commanders
Nathan F. Twining Hubert R. Harmon Benjamin O. Davis Jr.
Military unit
The Thirteenth Expeditionary Air Force (13 EAF) is a provisional numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Hickam Air Force Base, Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. It has never been stationed in the continental United States.
The command plans, commands and controls, delivers, and assesses air, space, and information operations in the Asia-Pacific region—excluding the Korea theater of operations—across the security spectrum from peacetime engagement to major combat operations.
Established on 14 December 1942 at Plaine Des Gaiacs Airfield, on New Caledonia, 13 AF was a United States Army Air Forces combat air force deployed to the Pacific Theater of World War II. It engaged in operations primarily in the South Pacific, attacking enemy forces in the Solomon Islands, Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaigns; Mariana and Palau Islands campaigns and the Philippines campaign (1944–45).
During the Cold War, 13 AF remained in the Philippines, providing air defense of the nation and becoming one of the Numbered Air Forces of Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). During the Korean War, its units provided staging areas for people and equipment destined for the war zone. As the Vietnam War escalated during the late 1960s and early 1970s, 13th AF provided command and control for USAF units stationed in Thailand, its units conducting combat missions throughout Indochina until August 1973. 13 AF units last engaged in combat during the SS Mayaguez Incident in May 1975.
Returning to the Philippines after the Vietnam War ended in 1975, the command remained there until the 1991 evacuation of Clark Air Base after the Mount Pinatubo eruption and the United States withdrawal of military forces afterward.
It was inactivated on 28 September 2012 and its functions merged with PACAF. The next day, the organization was converted to provisional status and reactivated as the Thirteenth Expeditionary Air Force.
^ abcKane, Robert B. (5 November 2009). "Thirteenth Air Force (Air Forces Pacific) (PACAF)". Air Force Historical Research Agency.
^"Thirteenth Air Force". GlobalSecurity.org. 3 October 2012.
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Global Information
United States
United States Air Force (18 September 1947 – present)
United States Army (
Army Air Forces, 14 December 1942 – 18 September 1947)
Pacific Air Forces
U.S. Pacific Command
