Twelfth Air Force, also known as Air Forces Southern, transitioned from a traditional numbered air force to the service’s new organizational structure during a ceremony Feb. 29 at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz. The reorganization creates a new component headquarters “responsible to organize, train, equip, and sustain our forces for in-theater missions,” along with the 612th Air and Space Operations Center that is “responsible to the combatant commander for the operational level command and control of air, space, and cyberspace assets,” said Lt. Gen. Norman Seip, 12th Air Force commander. As part of the transition, AFSOUTH, the air component for US military activities in Central and South America and the Caribbean, deactivated seven organizations and concurrently activated two new units. The changes represent the implementation of a Chief of Staff directive to establish component organizations that operate and train every day in their wartime configuration. Central Command Air Forces went through a similar transition March 1. In the process it changed its name to Air Forces Central, or AFCENT. (Davis-Monthan report by Nathan Broshear)
Billy Mitchell: Lessons a Hundred Years Hence
Dec. 16, 2025
Exactly 100 years ago, on Dec. 17, 1925, Brig. Gen. Billy Mitchell was convicted by court-martial for violating an order that required approval before he could engage with the media. Mitchell’s provocative thoughts and unorthodox methods sought attention for a cause that he saw as uniquely American
