United States Department of the Air Force


The United States Department of the Air Force is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. The Department of the Air Force was formed on September 18, 1947, per the National Security Act of 1947 and it includes all elements and units of the United States Air Force and the United States Space Force.
The Department of the Air Force is headed by the Secretary of the Air Force, a civilian, who has the authority to conduct all of its affairs, subject to the authority, direction and control of the Secretary of Defense. The Secretary of the Air Force's principal deputy is the Under Secretary of the Air Force. Their senior staff assistants in the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force are four Assistant Secretaries for Acquisition, Financial Management & Comptroller, Installations, Environment & Logistics, Manpower & Reserve Affairs and a General Counsel. The highest-ranking military officers in the Department, and senior military advisers to the secretary, are the Chief of Staff of the Air Force and Chief of Space Operations.
By direction of the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Air Force assigns Air Force units – apart from those units performing duties enumerated in unless otherwise directed – to the combatant commands. Only the Secretary of Defense and the President have the authority to approve transfer of forces between combatant commands.

Organizational structure

See Structure of the United States Armed Forces

Headquarters Air Forcehttp://www.af.mil/About-Us/Air-Force-Senior-Leaders "Air Force Senior Leaders". Retrieved on [14 December 2017]

Budget

According to the FY2019_Budget_Request_Overview_Book | 8-12, the Department of Defense claims the Department of the Air Force is as follows
Air Force Base + OCO + EmergencyFY 2018FY 2019 RequestDelta
FY19 - FY18
Military Personnel35,607,36638,954,308+3,346,942
Operation and Maintenance58,191,00561,407,391+3,216,386
Procurement45,654,16050,541,275+4,887,115
RDT&E28,198,42640,492,614+12,294,188
Military Construction2,191,4512,303,699+112,248
Family Housing333,500395,720+62,220
Revolving and Management Funds63,53377,644+14,111
Total170,239,441194,172,651+23,933,210

*$ in Millions
Numbers May Not Add Due to Rounding

United States Space Force

On March 1, 2019, the Department of Defense sent a proposal to Congress that would establish the United States Space Force as an independent military service within the Department of the Air Force. In addition, the proposal would create an Undersecretary of the Air Force for the Space Force to provide civilian oversight, as well as providing the Space Force with a distinct budget. The United States Space Force was established December 20, 2019.