American Usage
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The United States Air Force (USAF) has two types of flights. A numbered flight is a unit with a unique base, wing, group, or Numbered Air Force mission, such as training or finance, though not large enough to warrant designation as a squadron. Numbered flights are uncommon, and are usually only found in basic training facilities. An alphabetic flight is an operational component of a flying or ground squadron, not an independent unit; alphabetic flights within a squadron normally have identical or similar functions and are normally designated A, B, C and so on within the squadron. Flights in the USAF are generally authorized to have between 20 and 100 personnel, and are normally commanded by a company-grade officer (lieutenant or captain) and/or a flight chief, usually a senior noncommissioned officer with the rank of master sergeant or senior master sergeant.
In Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile units of the U.S. Air Force, a flight is composed of ten unmanned launch facilities remotely controlled by a manned launch control center, containing two personnel. Five of these flights make up one missile squadron. The Air Force has a total of 45 ICBM missile flights.
The aviation units of the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, United States Coast Guard, U.S. Army, and U.S. Army helicopter units also have flights.
Read more about this topic: Flight (military Unit)
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