Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force

Chief of Staff of the Air Force CSAF or CC/AF
Seal of the Chief of Staff
Flag of the Chief of Staff
Incumbent General David L. Goldfein since July 1, 2016
Department of the Air Force The Air Staff
Member of	Joint Chiefs of Staff
Reports to	Secretary of Defense Secretary of the Air Force
Appointer	The President with Senate advice and consent
Term length	4 years Renewable
Constituting instrument	10 U.S.C. § 8033
Precursor	Commanding General, United States Army Air Forces
Formation	September 18, 1947
First holder	Carl A. Spaatz
Deputy	Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force
Website	Official Website

The Chief of Staff of the Air Force (acronym: CSAF, or AF/CC) is a statutory office (10 U.S.C. § 8033) held by a four-star general in the United States Air Force, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Air Force, and as such is the principal military advisor and a deputy to the Secretary of the Air Force; and is in a separate capacity a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and thereby a military adviser to the National Security Council, the Secretary of Defense, and the President. The Chief of Staff is typically the highest-ranking officer on active-duty in the U.S. Air Force unless the Chairman and/or the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are Air Force officers.

The Chief of Staff of the Air Force is an administrative position based in the Pentagon, and while the Chief of Staff does not have operational command authority over Air Force forces (that is within the purview of the Combatant Commanders who report to the Secretary of Defense), the Chief of Staff does exercise supervision of Air Force units and organizations as the designee of the Secretary of the Air Force.

The current Chief of Staff of the Air Force is General David L. Goldfein.

Responsibilities

Department of the Air Force

Under the authority, direction and control of the Secretary of the Air Force, the Chief of Staff presides over the Air Staff, acts as the Secretary's executive agent in carrying out approved plans, and exercises supervision, consistent with authority assigned to Commanders of the Combatant Commands, over organizations and members of the Air Force as determined by the Secretary. The Chief of Staff may also perform other duties as assigned by either the President, the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of the Air Force.^[1]

The Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force, also a four-star general, is the Chief of Staff's principal deputy.^[2]

Member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

The Chief of Staff of the Air Force is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as prescribed by 10 U.S.C. § 151. When performing his JCS duties the Chief of Staff is responsible directly to the Secretary of Defense. Like the other members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the CSAF is an administrative position, with no operational command authority over the United States Air Force.

Appointment and rank

The CSAF is nominated for appointment by the President and must be confirmed via majority vote by the Senate.^[1] By statute, the CSAF is appointed as a four-star general.^[1]

Special uniform cap

The Chief of Staff is also authorized to wear a special service cap with clouds and lightning bolts around the band of the hat. This cap is different from those worn by other general officers of the Air Force and it is for use by the Chief of Staff and Air Force officers serving as Chairman or Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

List of Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Air Force (1947–present)

Prior to the creation of this position, General Henry H. Arnold was designated first Chief of the Army Air Forces and Commanding General of the Army Air Forces during World War II.

No.	Image	Name	Term of Office			Primary Background	Secretaries served under:
No.	Image	Name	Began	Ended	Days of Service	Primary Background	Air Force	Defense
1		Carl A. Spaatz	September 26, 1947	April 29, 1948	216	Fighters	Stuart Symington	James Forrestal
2		Hoyt S. Vandenberg	April 30, 1948	June 29, 1953	1887	Attack and Fighters	Stuart Symington Thomas K. Finletter Harold E. Talbott	James Forrestal Louis A. Johnson George C. Marshall Robert A. Lovett Charles E. Wilson
3		Nathan F. Twining*	June 30, 1953	June 30, 1957	1461	Fighters and Bombers	Harold E. Talbott Donald A. Quarles James H. Douglas, Jr.	Charles E. Wilson
4		Thomas D. White	July 1, 1957	June 30, 1961	1460	Observation aircraft and Staff	James H. Douglas, Jr. Dudley C. Sharp Eugene M. Zuckert	Charles E. Wilson Neil H. McElroy Thomas S. Gates Robert S. McNamara
5		Curtis E. LeMay	June 30, 1961	January 31, 1965	1311	Bombers	Eugene M. Zuckert	Robert S. McNamara
6		John P. McConnell	February 1, 1965	July 31, 1969	1641	Fighters	Eugene M. Zuckert Harold Brown Robert C. Seamans, Jr.	Robert S. McNamara Clark M. Clifford Melvin R. Laird
7		John D. Ryan	August 1, 1969	July 31, 1973	1460	Bombers	Robert C. Seamans, Jr. John L. McLucas	Melvin R. Laird Elliot Richardson James R. Schlesinger
8		George S. Brown*	August 1, 1973	June 30, 1974	333	Bombers	John L. McLucas	James R. Schlesinger
9		David C. Jones*	July 1, 1974	June 20, 1978	1450	Bombers	John L. McLucas Thomas C. Reed John C. Stetson	James R. Schlesinger Donald H. Rumsfeld Harold Brown
10		Lew Allen Jr.	July 1, 1978	June 30, 1982	1460	Bombers	John C. Stetson Hans Mark Verne Orr	Harold Brown Caspar Weinberger
11		Charles A. Gabriel	July 1, 1982	June 30, 1986	1460	Fighters	Verne Orr Russell A. Rourke Edward C. Aldridge Jr.	Caspar Weinberger
12		Larry D. Welch	July 1, 1986	June 30, 1990	1460	Fighters	Edward C. Aldridge Jr. Donald B. Rice	Caspar Weinberger Frank Carlucci Dick Cheney
13		Michael J. Dugan	July 1, 1990	September 17, 1990	78	Fighters	Donald B. Rice	Dick Cheney
(Acting)		John M. Loh	September 18, 1990	October 29, 1990	41	Fighters	Donald B. Rice	Dick Cheney
14		Merrill A. McPeak	October 30, 1990	October 25, 1994	1456	Fighters	Donald B. Rice Sheila E. Widnall	Dick Cheney Les Aspin William J. Perry
15		Ronald R. Fogleman	October 26, 1994	September 1, 1997	1041	Fighters	Sheila E. Widnall	William J. Perry William S. Cohen
(Acting)		Ralph E. Eberhart	September 2, 1997	October 5, 1997^[3]	33	Fighters	Sheila E. Widnall	William S. Cohen
16		Michael E. Ryan	October 6, 1997	September 5, 2001	1430	Fighters	Sheila E. Widnall F. Whitten Peters James G. Roche	William S. Cohen Donald H. Rumsfeld
17		John P. Jumper	September 6, 2001	September 2, 2005	1457	Fighters	James G. Roche	Donald H. Rumsfeld
18		T. Michael Moseley	September 2, 2005	July 12, 2008 ^[4]^[5]	1044	Fighters	Michael Wynne	Donald H. Rumsfeld Robert M. Gates
(Acting)		Duncan J. McNabb	July 12, 2008	August 12, 2008^[5]	31	Airlift	Michael B. Donley	Robert M. Gates
19		Norton A. Schwartz	August 12, 2008	August 10, 2012	1459	Airlift and Special Operations aircraft	Michael B. Donley	Robert M. Gates Leon Panetta
20		Mark A. Welsh III	August 10, 2012	June 24, 2016	1414	Attack and Fighters	Michael B. Donley Deborah Lee James	Leon Panetta Chuck Hagel Ashton Carter
21		David L. Goldfein	July 1, 2016		160	Fighters	Deborah Lee James	Ashton Carter

*Three former chiefs of staff would later serve as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff:

Twining served as the Chairman from August 1957 to September 1960.
Brown served as the Chairman from July 1974 to June 1978.
Jones served as the Chairman from June 1978 to June 1982.
The fourth Air Force officer to have served as the Chairman, General Richard B. Myers, did not serve as Chief of Staff of the Air Force.

McPeak is the only Chief of Staff of the Air Force to date who has served as Acting Secretary of the Air Force (from July 14, 1993 to August 5, 1993 before Sheila Widnall took office as Secretary), thus being the only uniformed Air Force officer to have truly been the "head of the Air Force".

References

Department of Defense Key Officials 1947–2015 (PDF). Washington DC: Office of the Secretary of Defense, Historical Office. 2015.
HAF MISSION DIRECTIVE 1-4 - CHIEF OF STAFF OF THE AIR FORCE (PDF). Washington DC: Secretary of the Air Force. 7 March 2012.
Headquarters United States Air Force Key Personnel (PDF). Washington DC: Air Force Historical Studies Office. January 2013.

Notes

1 2 3 10 USC 8033. Chief of Staff
↑ 10 USC 8034. Vice Chief of Staff
↑ , Accessed on 2011-09-12
↑
1 2

External links

Air Force History Support Office: Air Force Chiefs of Staff

Chiefs of Staff of the Air Force

	Spaatz Vandenberg Twining White LeMay McConnell J. D. Ryan Brown Jones Allen Gabriel Welch Dugan Loh (acting) McPeak Fogleman Eberhart (acting) M. E. Ryan Jumper Moseley McNabb (acting) Schwartz Welsh Goldfein

Senior officials in the United States Department of Defense

Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work Secretaries of the Military Departments Secretary of the Army: Eric Fanning Secretary of the Navy: Ray Mabus Secretary of the Air Force: Deborah James Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford, USMC Under Secretaries of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics: Frank Kendall Policy: James Miller Comptroller/Chief Financial Officer: Robert Hale Personnel and Readiness: Jessica Wright (Acting) Intelligence: Michael Vickers Deputy Chief Management Officer Elizabeth McGrath Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Paul Selva, USAF Chiefs of the Military Services Chief of Staff of the Army: Mark Milley Commandant of the Marine Corps: Robert Neller Chief of Naval Operations: John Richardson Chief of Staff of the Air Force: David Goldfein Chief of the National Guard Bureau Frank Grass, USA

United States Joint Chiefs of Staff

Dunford (Chairman) Selva (Vice Chairman) Milley (Army) Richardson (Navy) Neller (Marine Corps) Goldfein (Air Force) Lengyel (National Guard)

United States Air Force

Leadership

Structure

Commands	Reserve Air National Guard Field Operating Agencies Installations

Direct Reporting Units	District of Washington Operational Test and Evaluation Center USAF Academy

Major Commands	Air Combat Air Education and Training Air Mobility Global Strike Materiel Reserve Space Special Operations Europe & Africa Pacific

Numbered Air Forces	First Second Third Fourth Fifth Seventh Eighth Ninth Tenth Eleventh Twelfth Fourteenth Seventeenth Eighteenth Nineteenth Twentieth Twenty-Second Twenty-Third Twenty-Fourth Twenty-Fifth

Wings ANG Groups ANG Squadrons ANG Security forces Civilian auxiliary: Civil Air Patrol

Personnel and
training

Uniforms and
equipment

History and
traditions

Category
Portal

United States Armed Forces

Book
Portal
- A
- MC
- N
- AF
- CG
Category
- A
- MC
- N
- AF
- CG
- PHS
- NOAA
Navbox
- A
- MC
- N
- AF
- CG

Leadership

Commander-in-chief: President of the United States
Secretary of Defense
Deputy Secretary of Defense
Joint Chiefs of Staff:
- Chairman
- Vice Chairman
United States Congress: Committees on Armed Services:
- Senate
- House
Active duty four-star officers
Highest ranking officers in history
National Security Act of 1947
Goldwater–Nichols Act

Organization

Service departments	Department of Defense (Secretary): Army (Secretary) Navy (Secretary) Air Force (Secretary) Department of Homeland Security (Secretary): Coast Guard

Branches	Army (Chief of Staff) Marine Corps (Commandant) Navy (Chief of Naval Operations) Air Force (Chief of Staff) Coast Guard (Commandant)

Other uniformed services	Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (Surgeon General) NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps (Director)

Reserve components	Reserves: A MC N AF CG National Guard: A AF Naval militias State defense forces

Civilian auxiliaries	Military Auxiliary Radio System Merchant Marine Civil Air Patrol Coast Guard Auxiliary

Unified Combatant Command	Northern Central European Pacific Southern Africa Special Operations Strategic Transportation

Structure

United States Code
- Title 10
- Title 14
- Title 32
- Title 50
The Pentagon
Installations
Units:
- A
- MC
- N
- AF
- CG
Logistics
Media

Operations and history

Personnel

Training	MEPS ASVAB Recruit training: A MC N AF CG Officer candidate school: A MC N AF Warrant: A MC Service academies: A (prep) N (prep) AF (prep) CG Merchant Marine PHS Junior/Reserve Officers' Training Corps: A: MJC/SMC MC/N AF Medical Other education

Uniforms	Uniforms: A MC N AF CG Awards & decorations: Inter-service A MC/N AF CG PHS NOAA Foreign International Devices Badges: Identification A MC N AF CG

Ranks	Enlisted: A MC N AF CG Warrant officers Officer: A MC N AF CG PHS NOAA

Other	Oath: Enlistment Office Creeds & Codes: Code of Conduct NCO A MC N AF CG Service numbers: A MC N AF CG Military Occupational Specialty/Rating/Air Force Specialty Code Pay Uniform Code of Military Justice Judge Advocate General's Corps Military Health System/TRICARE Separation Veterans Affairs Conscription Chiefs of Chaplains: A MC N AF CG

Equipment

Land	Individual weapons Crew-served weapons Vehicles (active)

Sea	All watercraft Ships: A N (active) AF CG MSC NOAA Weapons: N CG Aircraft: N CG NOAA Reactors

Air	Aircraft World War I active Aircraft designation Missiles Helicopter arms

Other	Nuclear football Electronics (designations) Flags: A MC N AF CG Ensign Jack Guidons Food WMDs: Nuclear Biological Chemical

Legend: A = Army; MC = Marine Corps; N = Navy; AF = Air Force; CG = Coast Guard; PHS = Public Health Service; NOAA = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; MSC = Military Sealift Command

Highest military ranks

General officer Flag officer Air officer

Imperator Marshal of Italy Generalissimo Generalissimus of the Soviet Union Supreme Allied Commander Admiral of the Navy General of the Armies General of the Air Force Generalfeldmarschall Mareşal Marshal of the air force Marshal of the Russian Federation Marshal of the Soviet Union Mushir Magister militum Spahbed Ispahsalar Beylerbey Chom Thap Thai Constable of France Domestic of the Schools Grand Domestic Shogun Dux bellorum Grand marshal Hetman Jenderal besar Polemarch Reichsmarschall Sardar Serasker Autokrator First marshal of the empire Da yuan shuaiproposed Dai-gensui Taewonsu Yuan shuai Wonsu Marshal of Yugoslavia

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