Analyzing the United States Air Force Organizational Structure -- A Case for Reorganization

The United States Air Force (USAF) faces a fiscally constrained environment today and will likely become even more constrained in the near future. With a reduced budget and important programs and critical functions that require funding, the USAF must find opportunities to save and reallocate these limited resources. This monograph will analyze the top-level USAF organization to address specifically whether organization and personnel changes can provide needed savings, while at the same time improving the USAF organization to support the combatant commanders and become more geographically focused to handle the complex global environment and nature of conflict. While the size of force and force structure have shrunk to the lowest points in USAF history, organizational analysis finds the USAF structure overmanned with staff officers and civilians. Further examination finds an organization with significant depth and primarily organized in a functional manner. Given these issues, this monograph proposes eliminating a layer of the USAF organization by removing major commands and promoting numbered air forces subordinate to the Headquarters USAF. This type of organization can better support combatant commands, advance USAF regional expertise and focus through the numbered air forces, adapt quicker to global situations, and also ensure important USAF history and traditions endure.