The 12th Air Task Force, the first ATF under the new Air Force deployment model, was officially activated during a ceremony at Scott Air Force Base, Sept. 4.
Lt. Gen. Randall Reed, Air Mobility Command deputy commander, handed the guidon to Col. Gabriel Arrington, who, along with Chief Master Sgt. Chastity Hert, command chief, will lead the new unit.
"The way we organized, trained, and deployed over the past two decades to fight the war on terror was efficient but not effective to endure global competition," Reed said. "The ATF paves the way for a fundamental change for our Air Force where deployed units prepare together, execute together, and win together. As we make this shift, the ATF will show us how."
ATFs will allow the Air Force to provide a definable unit of action and establish a sustainable pace for posturing forces. Rather than the old deployment model, which often deployed individuals and units who were unfamiliar to each other to the same locations, members of an ATF will deploy already having worked and trained together through the Air Force Force Generation cycle.
The 12th ATF's mission is to be an Air Force's ready unit of action for competition and combat as part of a major step in evolving its force generation model as the Air Force shifts with a sense of urgency toward Great Power Competition.
The weight of his new unit's mission is not lost on Arrington.
"This new task force could not exist without the dedication of all of you," Arrington said, addressing the attendees. "The Airmen who make up this task force will be able to train and deploy with greater efficiency and be more mission-ready than ever before, and I am honored to be leading you in this new environment."
Approved by Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall in 2022, Air Task Forces consist of a command element with an attached expeditionary A-Staff and Special Staff, along with a Combat Air Base Squadron, and Mission Generation Force Elements with attached Mission Sustainment Teams.
As part of the pilot program, five additional ATFs are scheduled for activation across the United States in the coming months.
"I have full confidence in the future of the 12th ATF," Reed said. "Their activation reiterated the Air Force's continued support and commitment to evolving airpower to fight and win."
