Air National Guard - Chain of Command

Chain of Command

As state militia units, the units in the Air National Guard are not in the normal United States Air Force chain of command. They are under the jurisdiction of the United States National Guard Bureau unless they are federalized by order of the President of the United States.

The Air National Guard Readiness Center, a field operating center of the United States Air Force at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, performs operational and technical functions to ensure combat readiness of Air Force National Guard units and is a channel of communication between the Air Force and the National Guard Bureau regarding readiness and operations.

Air National Guard units are trained and equipped by the United States Air Force. The state ANG units, depending on their mission, are operationally gained by a Major Command of the USAF if federalized. In addition, personnel and equipment are routinely deployed by the USAF as part of Air and Space Expeditionary Forces, and are currently engaged in combat operations under United States Air Forces Central as part of the Global War on Terrorism.

Air National Guard personnel are expected to adhere to the same moral and physical standards as their "full-time" active duty and "part-time" Air Force Reserve federal counterparts. The same ranks and insignia of the Air Force are used by the Air National Guard, and Air National Guardsmen are eligible to receive all United States military awards. The Air National Guard also bestows a number of state awards for local services rendered in a service member's home state or equivalent.