Thirteenth Air Force has never been stationed in the continental United States; it is also one of the oldest, continuously active, numbered air forces. It engaged in combat in the
Pacific Theater during World War II. Since World War II, it has provided air defense in the Far East, primarily the Philippines, until the 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo forced the closure of Clark AB. Numerous Thirteenth Air Force organizations participated in Southeast Asia combat operations in the 1960s and 1970s.
Lineage • Established as
Thirteenth Air Force on 14 December 1942 : Activated on 13 January 1943 : Inactivated on 8 February 1952 • Activated on 1 February 1953 : Redesignated as
Thirteenth Air Force (Air Forces Pacific) on 16 January 2007 : Inactivated on 28 September 2012 • Redesignated as
Thirteenth Expeditionary Air Force, and converted to provisional status, on 29 September 2012 : Activated on 29 September 2012
Assignments •
United States Army Forces in the Far East, 14 December 1942 •
Far East Air Forces, 15 June 1944 – 8 February 1952, 1 February 1953 – 17 May 1955 • Pacific Air Forces|Pacific Air Force (later, Pacific Air Force/FEAF [Rear]), 17 May 1955 – 1 July 1957 •
Pacific Air Forces, 1 July 1957 – 28 September 2012 •
Pacific Air Forces, to activate or inactivate at any time, 29 September 2012 – present • 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing/Group (F-80) • 21st Troop Carrier Squadron (C-54) • 6204th Photo Mapping Flight (RB-17)) The 6204th Photo Mapping Flight, located at Clark AB, Philippines, deployed the Flight's two RB-17 aircraft complete with combat crews and maintenance personnel to Johnson AB, Japan in mid-June 1950. The FEAF deployment order specified that the two RB-17 aircraft be equipped with normal armament insofar as practicable, not to interfere with the photographic capability of the aircraft. This posed a problem for the Flight, since the RB-17s had been flying peacetime missions and were not equipped for combat. However, the 6204th found the necessary gunners and equipment, made the modifications to the aircraft, and by late August 1950 the detachment began flying photo-mapping missions over Korea. By the end of November 1950, it had photographed the entire North Korean area at least once and re-photographed some areas as far north as weather conditions permitted. By early December the detachment returned to Clark AB and resumed the flight's mapping program in the Philippine area. During the
Korean War, 13AF units provided staging areas for people and equipment destined for the war zone. During the decade of peace that followed the war, the command concentrated on training and surveillance activities to maintain a high state of readiness for contingencies.
Vietnam War From the time of signing of U.S./Taiwan defense arrangements, the
327th Air Division of 13th Air Force maintained units in Taiwan, up until 1979. 327th Air Division reported in this capacity to
United States Taiwan Defense Command. As the
Vietnam War escalated during the late 1960s and early 1970s, 13AF again served as a staging base and logistics manager for units fighting in Southeast Asia. As more American aircraft and people were poured into the war effort, combat units and facilities under 13AF in Thailand increased. At its peak, 13AF was composed of seven combat wings, nine major bases, 11 smaller installations and more than 31,000 military members. With the buildup and execution of
Operations Desert Shield and
Storm, 13AF provided aircraft and support staff vital to the
Gulf war coalition victory in Southwest Asia.
Post Cold War In June 1991,
Mount Pinatubo buried Clark in volcanic ash, forcing the base to close on 26 November and leading to the evacuation of assigned military members and their families in
Operation Fiery Vigil. The Thirteenth Air Force relocated and officially established its headquarters at
Andersen Air Force Base on 2 December 1991. In 2005, the Jungle Air Force stood down as a traditional Numbered Air Force and moved to
Hickam Air Force Base to assume the role of the new Kenney Warfighting Headquarters for PACAF, which was activated in provisional status in June 2005. On 6 October 2006, after a one-year transformation of command and control of air, space and information operations in the Pacific, Thirteenth Air Force officially began operations as a component numbered air force headquarters and welcomed a new commander. Former Pacific Air Forces Deputy Commander, Lt. Gen. Loyd S. "Chip" Utterback, assumed command of the unit 6 October, replacing Maj. Gen.
Edward A. Rice Jr., who had commanded Thirteenth Air Force from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, and Hickam since January 2005. Previously designated as a management headquarters, Thirteenth Air Force became one of 10 organizations designed to enhance the operational level support, planning, command, control and execution of air, space and information operations capabilities across the full range of military operations throughout the U.S. Pacific Command's area of responsibility (minus the Korea theater of operations). On 28 September 2012, 13 AF was inactivated and its functions merged into PACAF. Prior to its inactivation, units assigned to 13 AF included: •
15th Wing,
Hickam AFB Hawaii, providing airlift with C-17s, one specially configured C-40 and one C-37. It also includes a squadron of
Lockheed F-22s. •
36th Wing,
Andersen AFB,
Guam, maintaining a strategically located base; • Detachment 1, 13 AF was activated at
Yokota AB, Japan. Det 1 was responsible for planning, coordinating, and executing air operations around Japan in coordination with the
Japan Air Self Defense Force; • 613th Support Group The
13th Air Expeditionary Group, and formerly the 500th Air Expeditionary Group, was activated seasonally to support
Operation Deep Freeze in the Antarctic. On 29 September 2012, the Thirteenth Air Force was converted to provisional status and reactivated as the Thirteenth Expeditionary Air Force. == List of commanders ==