US Central Command Air Forces, known in Pentagon parlance by its acronym CENTAF, formally changed its name March 1 to US Air Forces Central, or “AFCENT.” The redesignation is part of the command’s activities to implement a Chief of Staff directive to establish an Air Force component organization that is structured to operate and train every day in its wartime configuration. Lt. Gen. Gary North, head of AFCENT, hosted a ceremony Monday at Shaw AFB, S.C., the command’s headquarters, to mark the change and inactivate units under their old names and then reactivate them with new designations under the new structure. AFCENT, like its predecessor, is responsible for air operations in US Central Command’s 27-nation area of responsibility that includes Afghanistan and Iraq.
Aircraft readiness will suffer if Congress does not approve some $1.5 billion worth of spare parts the Air Force requested in its annual Unfunded Priorities List, sent to Capitol Hill last week, Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin said.