[United States Government Manual]
[May 31, 1996]
[Pages 188-189]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



AIR STAFF

The mission of the Air Staff is to furnish professional assistance to 
the Secretary, Under Secretary, and Assistant Secretaries of the Air 
Force and to the Chief of Staff in executing their responsibilities.
Structure  The Air Staff is a management headquarters functional 
organization under the Chief of Staff, United States Air Force. Titles 
throughout all organizational levels reflect functions involved.
Functions and Activities  Air Staff functions are specialized into well-
defined areas to effect the management principles of functionality, 
integration, flexibility, simplicity, and decentralization. The Air 
Staff retains those management functions that legally cannot be 
delegated or decentralized, are needed by the Secretary and Chief of 
Staff, are essential to respond promptly to the Secretary of Defense, or 
are required to determine the design and structure of the Air Force in 
the future.
Chief of Staff  The Chief of Staff is directly responsible to the 
Secretary of the Air Force for the efficiency and operational readiness 
of the USAF. He is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) of the 
Department of Defense. The Chief of Staff is assisted by the Vice Chief 
of Staff in all areas of responsibility except JCS. The Assistant Vice 
Chief of Staff assists the Chief and Vice Chief in the discharge of 
their duties.
Special Staff  The Special Staff is an adjunct to the Chief of Staff, 
independent of the basic staff structure, and provides advisory and 
support services to both the

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Chief of Staff and the Air Staff. The Special Staff consists of: the 
Assistant Chief of Staff, Intelligence; the Civil Engineer; the Chief of 
Safety; the Chief of Security Police; the Air Force Historian; the USAF 
Scientist; the Chief of Air Force Reserve; the National Guard Bureau; 
the Scientific Advisory Board; the Judge Advocate General; the Director, 
Test and Evaluation; the Director, Programs and Evaluation; the Surgeon 
General; the Chief of Chaplains; the Director, Services; and the Chief 
Master Sergeant of the Air Force.
Deputy Chiefs of Staff  The four Deputy Chiefs of Staff (Personnel; 
Plans and Operations; Logistics; and Command, Control, Communications, 
and Computers) function primarily as a coordinating level on policy 
matters and represent the corporate structure. Substantive functions are 
organized under them in homogeneous groups called directorates. Under 
the directorates, functions are further broken down into divisions and 
branches.