USC Air Force

The United Space Command Air Force (USCAF) is the air service branch of the United Space Command responsible for atmospheric operations and orbital defense. The Air Force maintains numerous orbital defense stations and aerospace interceptor fighters to defend human space, often working closely with the USC Navy and Army.

Mission, Vision, and Functions

According to the Colonial Security Act of 2110, which created the USCAF:

In general, the United Space Command Air Force shall include atmospheric, aviation, aerospace, orbital-defense, combat, and service forces not otherwise assigned. It shall be organized, trained, and equipped primarily for prompt and sustained offensive and defensive air and orbital operations. The Air Force shall be responsible for the preparation of the air and orbital forces necessary for the effective prosecution of war except as otherwise assigned and, in accordance with integrated joint mobilization plans, for the expansion of the peacetime components of the Air Force to meet the needs of war.

Section 9062 of the United Space Command Military Code defines the purpose of the USCAF as:

• to preserve the peace and security, and provide for the defense, of the United Nations Federation, its member states, territories, colonies, stations, protectorates, and any areas occupied or defended by the United Space Command;

• to support federal, colonial, and military policy;

• to implement national, colonial, and strategic objectives;

• to overcome any nations, hostile powers, insurgent forces, terrorist organizations, or hostile forces responsible for aggressive acts that imperil the peace and security of human space.

Core missions

The five core missions of the United Space Command Air Force have not changed dramatically since the Air Force was formed in 2110, but they have evolved with the expansion of human space and are now articulated as air and orbital superiority, planetary integrated ISR, rapid planetary mobility, planetary strike, and command and control. The purpose of all of these core missions is to provide the USC with planetary vigilance, planetary reach, and planetary power across human-controlled worlds, colonial defense zones, orbital stations, and contested theaters of operation.

Air & Orbital superiority

Air and orbital superiority is "that degree of dominance in the air and orbital battle of one force over another which permits the conduct of operations by the former and its related land, sea, air, naval, orbital, and special operations forces at a given time and place without prohibitive interference by the opposing force". Within the USC Air Force, air and orbital superiority includes the control of atmospheric airspace, high-altitude approach corridors, planetary defense zones, orbital lanes, defense stations, satellites, and the immediate space surrounding a colony, station, fleet anchorage, or military objective.
Offensive Counter-Air and Orbit (OCA/O) is defined as "offensive operations to destroy, disrupt, or neutralize enemy aircraft, missiles, drones, launch platforms, orbital weapons, and their supporting structures and systems both before and after launch, but as close to their source as possible". OCA/O is the preferred method of countering air, missile, and orbital threats since it attempts to defeat the enemy closer to its source and typically enjoys the initiative. OCA/O comprises attack operations, sweep, escort, and suppression/destruction of enemy air and orbital defense. These operations may include strikes against airfields, fighter bays, drone-control sites, missile batteries, launch towers, orbital platforms, captured defense satellites, sensor arrays, station-mounted weapons, and other systems used to contest USC control of the battlespace.
Defensive Counter-Air and Orbit (DCA/O) is defined as "all the defensive measures designed to detect, identify, intercept, and destroy or negate enemy forces attempting to penetrate or attack through friendly airspace or orbital space". In concert with OCA/O operations, a major goal of DCA/O operations is to provide an area from which forces can operate, secure from air, missile, aerospace, and orbital threats. The DCA/O mission comprises both active and passive defense measures. Active defense is "the employment of limited offensive action and counterattacks to deny a contested area or position to the enemy". It includes both ballistic missile defense and airborne threat defense and encompasses point defense, area defense, high-value airborne asset defense, orbital station defense, satellite defense, and protection of fleet support areas. Passive defense is "measures taken to reduce the probability of and to minimize the effects of damage caused by hostile action without the intention of taking the initiative". It includes detection and warning; chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear defense; camouflage, concealment, and deception; hardening; reconstitution; dispersion; redundancy; mobility; counter-measures; stealth; reserve launch sites; hardened hangars; emergency repair crews; and the relocation of critical aircraft, spacecraft, and command assets away from exposed areas.
Airspace and orbital control is "a process used to increase operational effectiveness by promoting the safe, efficient, and flexible use of airspace and orbital space". It promotes the safe, efficient, and flexible use of atmospheric and orbital operating areas, mitigates the risk of fratricide, enhances both offensive and defensive operations, and permits greater agility of air and orbital operations as a whole. It both deconflicts and facilitates the integration of joint air and orbital operations.

Planetary integrated ISR

Planetary integrated intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) is the synchronization and integration of the planning and operation of sensors, assets, and processing, exploitation, dissemination systems across a planet, its orbital space, defense stations, and satellites to conduct current and future operations.
Planning and directing is "the determination of intelligence requirements, development of appropriate intelligence architecture, preparation of a collection plan, and issuance of orders and requests to information collection agencies" (Joint and International Intelligence Support to Military Operations). These activities enable the synchronization and integration of collection, processing, exploitation, analysis, and dissemination activities/resources to meet information requirements of USC, UNF, strategic, and military decision-makers.
Collection is "the acquisition of information and the provision of this information to processing elements". It provides the ability to obtain required information to satisfy intelligence needs (via use of sources and methods in all domains). Collection activities span the Range of Military Operations (ROMO), including atmospheric surveillance, orbital tracking, missile-launch detection, early warning, station monitoring, satellite reconnaissance, and the observation of hostile forces operating inside or near a planetary defense zone.
Processing and exploitation is "the conversion of collected information into forms suitable to the production of intelligence". It provides the ability to transform, extract, and make available collected information suitable for further analysis or action across the ROMO, including raw sensor feeds, satellite imagery, station telemetry, drone surveillance, intercepted signals, radar returns, and aerospace traffic data collected from planetary and orbital systems.
Analysis and production is "the conversion of processed information into intelligence through the integration, evaluation, analysis, and interpretation of all source data and the preparation of intelligence products in support of known or anticipated user requirements". It provides the ability to integrate, evaluate, and interpret information from available sources to create a finished intelligence product for presentation or dissemination to enable increased situational awareness across the surface, air and orbital space, defense networks, and contested areas surrounding a defended colony.
Dissemination and integration is "the delivery of intelligence to users in a suitable form and the application of the intelligence to appropriate missions, tasks, and functions". It provides the ability to present information and intelligence products across the ROMO enabling understanding of the operational environment to USC commanders, joint forces, orbital defense stations, air operations centers, fleet elements, and UNF military decision-makers.

Rapid planetary mobility

Rapid planetary mobility is the timely deployment, employment, sustainment, augmentation, and redeployment of military forces and capabilities across a planetary theater of operations. It provides joint military forces the capability to move from place to place while retaining the ability to fulfill their primary mission. Rapid planetary mobility is essential to virtually every military operation, allowing forces to reach continental, regional, colonial, orbital, or domestic destinations quickly, thus seizing the initiative through speed and surprise.
Airlift is "operations to transport and deliver forces and materiel through the air in support of strategic, operational, or tactical objectives". The rapid and flexible options afforded by airlift allow military forces and USC leaders the ability to respond and operate in a variety of situations and time frames. The planetary reach capability of airlift provides the ability to apply USC power across a world by delivering forces to crisis locations, combat zones, forward bases, and evacuation sites. It serves as a USC presence that demonstrates resolve and compassion in humanitarian crisis, disaster response, civil evacuation, or military emergency operations.
Air refueling is "the refueling of an aircraft in flight by another aircraft". Air refueling extends presence, increases range, and serves as a force multiplier. It allows air assets to more rapidly reach any trouble spot across a planet with less dependence on forward staging bases, landing zones, orbital stations, local airfields, or overflight and landing clearances. Air refueling significantly expands the options available to a commander by increasing the range, payload, persistence, and flexibility of receiver aircraft.
Aeromedical evacuation is "the movement of patients under medical supervision to and between medical treatment facilities by air transportation". Health service support further defines it as "the fixed wing movement of regulated casualties to and between medical treatment facilities, using organic and/or contracted mobility airframes, with aircrew trained explicitly for this mission." Aeromedical evacuation forces can operate as far forward as fixed-wing aircraft are able to conduct airland operations.

Planetary strike

Planetary strike is the ability to hold at risk or strike rapidly and persistently, with a wide range of munitions, any target and to create swift, decisive, and precise effects across air, orbital, land, sea, and military domains.
Strategic attack is defined as "offensive action specifically selected to achieve national, colonial, or strategic objectives. These attacks seek to weaken the adversary's ability or will to engage in conflict, and may achieve strategic objectives without necessarily having to achieve operational objectives as a precondition". Within the USC Air Force, strategic attack may be directed against command centers, military headquarters, communications networks, launch sites, orbital defense systems, airfields, weapons depots, power systems, hardened bunkers, and other targets whose loss can reduce an enemy's ability to continue organized resistance.
Air Interdiction is defined as "air operations conducted to divert, disrupt, delay, or destroy the enemy's military potential before it can be brought to bear effectively against friendly forces, or to otherwise achieve joint force commander objectives. Air Interdiction is conducted at such distance from friendly forces that detailed integration of each air mission with the fire and movement of friendly forces is not required". These operations may be conducted against enemy convoys, armored columns, missile batteries, troop movements, supply routes, fuel sites, drone-control nodes, landing zones, and other forces attempting to reinforce or attack USC positions.
Close Air Support is defined as "air action by fixed- and rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets that are in close proximity to friendly forces and which require detailed integration of each air mission with the fire and movement of those forces". This can be as a pre-planned event or on demand from an alert posture, either ground or airborne. It can be conducted across the ROMO. Close Air Support allows USC ground forces, Marine elements, TODT units, security forces, and special operations teams to receive direct fire support against hostile positions, armored threats, fortified structures, enemy troop formations, and targets operating close enough to friendly personnel that careful coordination is required.
The purpose of nuclear deterrence operations is to operate, maintain, and secure nuclear forces to achieve an assured capability to deter an adversary from taking action against vital UNF or USC interests. In the event deterrence fails, the USC should be able to appropriately respond with nuclear options. The sub-elements of this function are:
Assure/Dissuade/Deter is a mission set derived from the Air Force's readiness to carry out the nuclear strike operations mission as well as from specific actions taken to assure member states, colonies, allies, and partner governments as a part of extended deterrence. Dissuading others from acquiring or proliferating weapons of mass destruction and delivering them contributes to promoting security and is also an integral part of this mission. Moreover, different deterrence strategies are required to deter various adversaries, whether they are a nation state, colonial government, hostile military power, insurgent force, or non-state actor. The Air Force maintains and presents credible deterrent capabilities through successful visible demonstrations and exercises that assure allies, dissuade proliferation, deter potential adversaries from actions that threaten UNF security or colonial populations, and deploy military forces of the USC, its allies, and partners.
Nuclear strike is the ability of nuclear forces to rapidly and accurately strike targets which the enemy holds dear in a devastating manner. If a crisis occurs, rapid generation and, if necessary, deployment of nuclear strike capabilities will demonstrate USC resolve and may prompt an adversary to alter the course of action deemed threatening to UNF or USC interests. Should deterrence fail, the President may authorize a precise, tailored response to terminate the conflict at the lowest possible level and lead to a rapid cessation of hostilities. Post-conflict, regeneration of a credible nuclear deterrent capability will deter further aggression. The Air Force may present a credible force posture on Earth, within a planetary theater of operations, in orbit, or across a colonial defense zone to effectively deter the range of potential adversaries faced by the United Nations Federation. This requires the ability to engage targets across a world using a variety of methods; therefore, the Air Force should possess the ability to induct, train, assign, educate, and exercise individuals and units to rapidly and effectively execute missions that support USC nuclear deterrence objectives. Finally, the Air Force regularly exercises and evaluates all aspects of nuclear operations to ensure high levels of performance.
Nuclear surety ensures the safety, security and effectiveness of nuclear operations. Because of their political and military importance, destructive power, and the potential consequences of an accident or unauthorized act, nuclear weapons and nuclear weapon systems require special consideration and protection against risks and threats inherent in their peacetime and wartime environments. In conjunction with other entities within the United Space Command, the Department of Defense, and authorized UNF security agencies, the Air Force achieves a high standard of protection through a stringent nuclear surety program. This program applies to materiel, personnel, and procedures that contribute to the safety, security, and control of nuclear weapons, thus assuring no nuclear accidents, incidents, loss, or unauthorized or accidental use. The Air Force continues to pursue safe, secure and effective nuclear weapons consistent with operational requirements. Adversaries, allies, member states, colonies, and the public must be highly confident of the Air Force's ability to secure nuclear weapons from accidents, theft, loss, and accidental or unauthorized use. This day-to-day commitment to precise and reliable nuclear operations is the cornerstone of the credibility of the nuclear deterrence mission. Positive nuclear command, control, communications; effective nuclear weapons security; and robust combat support are essential to the overall nuclear deterrence function.

Command and control

Command and control is "the exercise of authority and direction by a properly designated commander over assigned and attached forces in the accomplishment of the mission. Command and control functions are performed through an arrangement of personnel, equipment, communications, facilities, and procedures employed by a commander in planning, directing, coordinating, and controlling forces and operations in the accomplishment of the mission". This core function includes all of the C2-related capabilities and activities associated with air, orbit, cyberspace, nuclear, and agile combat support operations to achieve strategic, operational, and tactical objectives.
At the strategic level command and control, the USC determines planetary security objectives and guidance, and develops and uses national resources to accomplish these objectives. These national objectives in turn provide the direction for developing overall military objectives, which are used to develop the objectives and strategy for each theater.
At the operational level command and control, campaigns and major operations are planned, conducted, sustained, and assessed to accomplish strategic goals within theaters or areas of operations. These activities imply a broader dimension of time or space than do tactics; they provide the means by which tactical successes are exploited to achieve strategic and operational objectives.
Tactical Level Command and Control is where individual battles and engagements are fought. The tactical level of war deals with how forces are employed, and the specifics of how engagements are conducted and targets attacked. The goal of tactical level C2 is to achieve commander's intent and desired effects by gaining and keeping offensive initiative.

History

Formation

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First Energy War (2118 - 2124)

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Planetary War on Terror

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Second Nuclear War

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Jovian Conflicts of 2687

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Second Energy War (2695 - 2700)

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Outer Colonies Civil War

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Organization

Administrative organization

The Department of the Air Force is one of three military departments within the Department of Defense, and is managed by the civilian Secretary of the Air Force, under the authority, direction, and control of the Secretary of Defense. The senior officials in the Office of the Secretary are the Under Secretary of the Air Force, four Assistant Secretaries of the Air Force and the General Counsel, all of whom are appointed by the UNF President with the advice and consent of the USC Security Council. The senior uniformed leadership in the Air Staff is made up of the Chief of Staff of the Air Force and the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Air Force.
The directly subordinate commands and units are named Field Operating Agency (FOA), Direct Reporting Unit (DRU), and the currently unused Separate Operating Agency.
The Major Command (MAJCOM) is the superior hierarchical level of command. Including the Air Force Reserve Command, as of 15 March 2722, USCAF has twelve major commands. The Numbered Air Force (NAF) is a level of command directly under the MAJCOM, followed by Operational Command (now unused), Air Division (also now unused), Wing, Group, Squadron, and Flight.

Air Force structure and organization

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Operational organization

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Air Expeditionary Task Force

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Commander, Air Force Forces

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Air & Orbital Operations Center

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Air Expeditionary Wings/Groups/Squadrons

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Personnel

Large numbers of airmen serve in the USC Air Force. The bulk of the United Space Command's pilots serve in the Air Force, fulfilling crucial roles operating aircraft and spaceships. Pilots are relatively lightly armored with fatigues with teal-toned camouflage and white chest armor geared for long-flight mobility. On missions in a vacuum, the suit can be sealed off and an enclosed standard combat helmet is worn with it. Each suit features extra-vehicular activity integration for geoatmospheric operations that are associated with a given dropship deployment.

Leadership

The Chief of the Air Force is the highest-ranking officer of the Air Force, unless the officer is either the chairman or vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The chief has the responsibility to staff, train, and equip the air force and has command authority. The chief of the air force is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and reports to the Secretary of the Air Force. The Assistant Chief of the Air Force acts as the chief deputy to the Chief of the Air Force. The Chief master sergeant of the Air Force is the senior enlisted airman and acts as an adviser to the Chief. Headquarters Air Force comprises the rest of the chief's counsel and staff, with deputy chiefs that oversee various aspects of the Air Force's assets and capabilities. The Chief of the Air Force is Zachary Dawson, while the current Master Sergeant is Caroline Schifter.

Women

Women in the air force, since its creation, have composed approximately 30% of all active-duty personnel, including both commissioned officers and enlisted airmen. Their presence is treated as a normal and permanent part of the service rather than a separate exception within the branch, and female personnel are accounted for as part of the same active-duty strength that defines the operational body of the USCAF. Female airmen are subject to the same military law, chain of command, standards of conduct, physical expectations, disciplinary procedures, and readiness requirements applied to all USCAF personnel, with no separate status outside the ordinary structure of command. Their service is not regarded as ceremonial, auxiliary, or separate from the main body of the Air Force, but as part of the regular force structure that sustains the branch in peacetime operations, crisis response, wartime mobilization, and long-duration defense commitments across human-controlled space.
Women in the USCAF serve under the same oath, wear the same uniforms, hold the same grades, and are advanced under the same promotion system as their male counterparts. Commissioned women are reviewed through the same officer selection boards, while enlisted women are evaluated under the same performance, leadership, qualification, and retention standards used across the enlisted force. Their rank carries the same authority, responsibility, and obligation regardless of gender, and female personnel are expected to meet the professional expectations of their grade without separate recognition, reduced institutional responsibility, or exemption from the demands placed on other airmen. Within the Air Force, their status is defined by rank, training, experience, lawful authority, and military performance, not by separate classification or administrative distinction from the wider force.
The role of women in the Air Force is therefore institutional rather than symbolic. They are counted as regular airmen of the United Space Command Air Force and remain fully subject to the demands of service, including deployment, reassignment, command accountability, inspection, discipline, military justice, and the ordinary obligations that come with active-duty service. Their continued presence reflects the Air Force’s reliance on a broad personnel base capable of sustaining large-scale air and orbital operations across human-controlled space while maintaining the discipline, readiness, and professional structure expected of a major USC service branch. As members of the branch, women are expected to maintain the same standards of professionalism, obedience, technical competence, personal bearing, and lawful military conduct required of all airmen serving under the Department of the Air Force.

LGBT

Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender personnel within the Air Force have continuously risen since the Global Equality Act of 2250, which enabled LGBT individuals to serve openly in the Armed Forces of the United Space Command. In 2722, an estimated total of 12,378 active duty personnel, 763 civilians, and 1,182 reserve personnel identify somewhere on the LGBT spectrum. Their presence within the USCAF is treated as part of the ordinary personnel strength of the branch rather than as a separate category outside the structure of military service. LGBT airmen serve under the same military law, oath of service, chain of command, standards of conduct, inspection requirements, disciplinary procedures, and readiness expectations applied to all other Air Force personnel. Their status within the branch is defined by grade, authority, training, qualification, performance, and lawful military responsibility, not by private identity or personal background. As a result, LGBT personnel are incorporated into the same institutional body that sustains the Air Force in peacetime operations, emergency response, wartime mobilization, and long-duration defense commitments across human-controlled space.
Following the passage of the Global Equality Act, the Air Force gradually formalized policies intended to ensure that openly serving LGBT personnel remained subject to equal treatment under USC military law and Air Force regulations. These protections did not create a separate standard of service, but instead required commanders, supervisors, and administrative authorities to apply existing military standards without discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. LGBT airmen are expected to maintain the same professionalism, obedience to lawful orders, personal bearing, technical competence, and conduct required of all members of the USCAF. Commissioned officers and enlisted personnel who identify as LGBT remain fully accountable to the same evaluation systems, promotion procedures, retention standards, and disciplinary authority used throughout the branch. Within the Air Force, open service is therefore treated as a matter of lawful personnel recognition and institutional regulation, rather than as an exception to military order or a special condition of service.
The presence of LGBT personnel in the USCAF reflects the Air Force’s broader reliance on a large, disciplined, and professionally maintained force capable of supporting air and orbital operations across the United Nations Federation and its colonies. Their service is not treated as ceremonial, symbolic, or separate from the main body of the Air Force, but as part of the regular active-duty, reserve, and civilian structure that allows the branch to meet its operational and administrative obligations. Commanders are expected to enforce uniform standards of conduct and readiness while ensuring that personnel are not excluded, restricted, or penalized for openly identifying as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. In practice, LGBT personnel remain ordinary members of the United Space Command Air Force, subject to the same demands of deployment, reassignment, inspection, military justice, command accountability, and professional discipline as any other airman serving under the Department of the Air Force.

Colonial Minorities

Colonial minority Air Force personnel are

Commissioned officers

The commissioned officer ranks of the USCAF are divided into three categories: company grade officers, field grade officers, and general officers. Company grade officers are those officers in pay grades O-1 to O-3, while field grade officers are those in pay grades O-4 to O-6, and general officers are those in pay grades of O-7 and above. Air Force officer promotions are overseen and reviewed by the USC Personnel Command. PERSCOMM also establishes limits on the number of officers that can serve at any given time in the Air Force. Currently, promotion from second lieutenant to first lieutenant is virtually guaranteed after two years of satisfactory service. The promotion from first lieutenant to captain is competitive after successfully completing another two years of service, with a selection rate varying between 71% and 94%.
Promotion to major through major general is through a formal selection board process, while promotions to lieutenant general and general are contingent upon nomination to specific general officer positions and subject to USC Security Council approval. During the board process, an officer's record is reviewed by a selection board at the Air Force Personnel Center at Nova Air Force Base in Nova, Harmony. At the 10 to 11-year mark, captains will take part in a selection board to major. If not selected, they will remain as captains for an additional year. Promotion from major to lieutenant colonel is similar and occurs approximately between the fourteen year and the fifteen year mark, where a certain percentage of majors will be in zone (i.e., "on time") or above zone (i.e., "late") for promotion to lieutenant colonel. This process will repeat at the 18-year mark to the 21-year mark for promotion to full colonel. The Air Force has the largest ratio of general officers to total strength of all of the USC Armed Forces and this ratio has continued to increase.

Officer Ranks

• General of the Air Force — is the highest possible rank in the USC Air Force, reserved for general officers entrusted with command of the entire service during a major war or system-wide military emergency. The rank is rarely awarded and carries authority above all other Air Force officers.

• General — is a four-star general officer who commands the largest Air Force organizations, major planetary theaters, or service-wide commands. Generals also serve in the highest positions of the Air Staff, USC High Command, and joint military leadership.

• Lieutenant General — is a three-star general officer who typically commands a major command, numbered air force, planetary air component, or large orbital-defense region. Lieutenant generals also serve as senior deputies and principal staff officers.

• Major General — A two-star general officer responsible for commanding large operational formations, major air and orbital defense organizations, or important administrative and support commands. Major generals frequently oversee multiple wings, or squadrons and subordinate commands across a campaign theater, or serve as division chiefs.

• Brigadier General — is a one-star general officer who commands large wings, expeditionary formations, starships, orbital-defense stations, or specialized Air Force organizations. Brigadier generals also serve as deputy commanders and senior staff officers at major command and theater headquarters.

• Colonel — is a senior field-grade officer who commonly commands a wing, starship, or orbital-defense station. Colonels may also serve as senior operations officers, chiefs of staff, or advisers within major commands and joint headquarters.

• Lieutenant Colonel — is a field-grade officer who commonly commands a squadron, group, detachment, or specialized operational unit. Lieutenant colonels are also frequently employed as deputy commanders, senior planners, and executive officers.

• Major — is a field-grade officer who serves as an operations officer, executive officer, mission commander, senior planner, or staff director. Majors coordinate personnel, resources, training, logistics, and operational requirements while translating higher command decisions into organized action.

• Captain — is a company-grade officer who commonly commands a flight or leads a specialized wing or squadron detachment. Captains are experienced junior officers trusted with independent missions, personnel supervision, and unit-level planning.

• First Lieutenant — is a junior officer who serves as a deputy flight leader, pilot, mission officer, or assistant staff officer. First lieutenants are expected to exercise greater independence than second lieutenants and may supervise enlisted personnel and less-experienced officers.

• Second Lieutenant — is an entry-level rank normally serving in supervised leadership, flight, technical, intelligence, logistics, or administrative assignments while completing qualification training and gaining practical command experience.

Warrant officers

Warrant officers are commissioned personnel rated as officers above all non-commissioned officers, candidates, and cadets, but subordinate to the lowest commissioned officer grade of O‑1. Warrant officers are highly skilled, single-track specialty officers. While the ranks are authorized by the UNF General Assembly and USC Security Council, each branch of the uniformed services selects, manages, and uses warrant officers in slightly different ways. For appointment to the rank of warrant officer-one (W‑1), since 2205, by executive order a warrant of authority is approved by the department secretary (Secretary of Defense) for each respective service, using delegated presidential and PERSCOM authority. By statute, appointment to the grade of W-1 can also come via commission by the service secretary, the department secretary, or the president, but this is effectively an extinct practice. For the chief warrant officer ranks (CW‑2 to CW‑5), these warrant officers are commissioned, since 2205, by their department Secretary using delegated presidential and PERSCOM authority. Both warrant officers and chief warrant officers take the same oath of office as other commissioned officers (O‑1 to O‑10).
Warrant officers can and do command detachments, units, starships, aircraft, and armored vehicles, as well as lead, coach, train, and counsel subordinates. However, the warrant officer's primary task as a leader is to serve as a technical expert.

Warrant Officer Ranks

• Chief warrant officer 5—

• Chief warrant officer 4—

• Chief warrant officer 3—

• Chief warrant officer 2—

• Warrant officer 1—

Enlisted airmen

Enlisted airmen have pay grades from E-1 (entry level) to E-9 (senior enlisted). While all USCAF personnel, enlisted and officer, are referred to as airmen, in the same manner that all Army personnel, enlisted and officer, are referred to as soldiers, the term also refers to the pay grades of E-1 through E-4, which are below the level of non-commissioned officers (NCOs). Above the pay grade of E-4 (i.e., pay grades E-5 through E-9) all ranks fall into the category of NCO and are further subdivided into "NCOs" (pay grades E-5 and E-6) and "senior NCOs" (pay grades E-7 through E-9 the term "junior NCO" is sometimes used to refer to staff sergeants and technical sergeants (pay grades E-5 and E-6).
The USCAF is the only branches of the USC military where NCO status is achieved when an enlisted person reaches the pay grade of E-5. In all other branches, NCO status is generally achieved at the pay grade of E-4 (e.g., a corporal in the Army and Marine Corps, Petty Officer Third Class in the Navy). The Air Force mirrors the Army with an E-4 being either a senior airman wearing three stripes without a star or a sergeant, which is noted by the presence of the central star and considered an NCO. Despite not being an NCO, a senior airman who has completed Airman Leadership School can be a supervisor according to USC military law.

• Chief master sergeant of the Air Force

• Command chief master sergeant

• First sergeant

• Chief master sergeant

• First sergeant

• Senior master sergeant

• First sergeant (junior-grade)

• Master sergeant

• Technical sergeant

• Staff sergeant

• Senior Airman

• Airman First Class

• Airman

• Airman Basic

• Cadet

Uniforms

The current service dress uniform, which was adopted in 2156, consists of a three-button coat with decorative pockets, matching trousers (or skirt for servicewomen), and either a service cap or flight cap, "Air Force blue" (a darker purplish-blue). This is worn with a light blue shirt (shade 1550) and shade 1620 herringbone patterned necktie. Silver "U.S.C." pins are worn on the collar of the coat, with a surrounding silver ring for enlisted airmen. Enlisted airmen wear sleeve rank on both the jacket and shirt, while officers wear metal rank insignia pinned onto the epaulet loops on the coat, and Air Force blue slide-on epaulet loops on the shirt. USCAF personnel assigned to base honor guard duties wear, for certain occasions, a modified version of the standard service dress uniform that includes silver trim on the sleeves and trousers, with the addition of a ceremonial belt (if necessary), service cap with silver trim and Hap Arnold Device (instead of the seal of the United Space Command worn on the regular cap), and a silver aiguillette placed on the left shoulder seam and all devices and accoutrements.
The Airman Battle Dress Uniform (ABDU) in the Operational Camouflage Pattern (OCP) replaced the previous Airman Battle Uniform (ABU) on 12 August 2657.

Awards and badges

In addition to basic uniform clothing, various badges are used by the USCAF to indicate a billet assignment or qualification-level for a given assignment. Badges can also be used as merit-based or service-based awards. Over time, various badges have been discontinued and are no longer distributed.

Training

All enlisted airmen attend Basic Military Training (BMT) at either Camp Allen, Norfolk, Virginia or Serenity Air Force Base, New Terra, Venus for 8+1⁄2 weeks. Individuals who have prior service of over 24 months of active duty in the other service branches who seek to enlist in the Air Force must go through a 10-day Air Force familiarization course rather than enlisted BMT, however prior service opportunities are severely limited.
Officers may be commissioned upon graduation from the United Space Command Air Force Academy, upon graduation from another college or university through the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) program, or through the Air Force Officer Training School (OTS). OTS, in turn encompasses two separate commissioning programs: Basic Officer Training (BOT), which is for officer candidates for the Regular Air Force and the Air Force Reserve; and the Academy of Military Science (AMS).
The Air Force also provides Commissioned Officer Training (COT) for officers of all three components who are direct-commissioned into medicine, law, religion, biological and xenobiological sciences, or healthcare administration. COT is fully integrated into the OTS program and encompasses extensive coursework as well as field exercises in leadership, confidence, fitness, and deployed-environment operations.

Equipment

Infantry

The USC Air Force maintains an inventory of small arms and other infantry weapons and shares some resources with the USC Army. The A478 SMR was used for medium-range suppression, commonly employed by the Air Force's combat rescue teams during the Second Nuclear War and the Jovian Conflict of 2687. However, after 2690, the SMR was replaced with the B7W series. The Air Force used the A5 assault rifle as the standard infantry assault rifle during the Second Energy War, although it has since been replaced by the A5D assault rifle. The M29 shotgun is used by personnel for close-quarters combat. The T4 series is the standard personal sidearm of the Air Force.
Air Force snipers operate with the CSC74B-L2 sniper rifle for long-range suppression and anti-matériel operations. The MK-III grenade launcher is used for medium-range suppression and anti-fortification duties. The Air Force also operates the tactical fragmentation grenade. Anti-armor fire is provided by the R27 rocket launcher. The Air Force operates several vehicles for security patrols, including the M7 Wolverine, specifically the Urban variant.

Aircraft

The Air Force operates a wide variety of aircraft. The H28-D5 Blossom Dropship is used primarily for the pickup and transportation of personnel, vehicles, and equipment, but also has significant offensive capabilities. The Blossom is capable of carrying numerous armament configurations, including Thunderclap anti-tank missiles, air-to-surface missiles, as well as a chin-mounted 75mm autocannon. The Air Force also operates M8-22 Peregrine, a heavily armed, lightweight attack or support aircraft utilized by Air Force special operation squadrons.
The USC Air Force operates a number of air/space fighters, the most common of which is the F-85 Rapier Interceptor Fighter. The Interceptor is a multi-role fighter that can be used in a variety of missions, including ground support, anti-ship attacks, and combat with other fighters. The Air Force also maintains the H5 Spearhead as a space superiority fighter. This prototype aircraft possesses powerful energy shielding technology (the same type used onboard starships), and is designed for the dual purposes of peak acceleration and maneuverability in orbital combat. In addition to the Spearhead, the Air Force also fielded the F-99A Broadspear throughout the Second Nuclear War and post-war conflicts.
The majority of the Air Force's atmospheric forces are comprised of unmanned combat air vehicles, such as the G-55 Wasp. Such drones are expendable and can be deployed in large numbers very quickly.

Relationship With Other Branches

USC Navy

[coming soon]

USC Army

[coming soon]

USC Marine Corps

[coming soon]

Tactical Orbital Defense Troopers

[coming soon]

Knight Operations

[coming soon]

Founded

May 23, 2110

Affiliation

United Nations Federation

United Space Command

Type

Air and Space Force

Role

Air & Orbital supremacy

Planetary integrated intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance

Rapid planetary mobility

Planetary strike

Command and control

Size

568,856 Active Duty Personnel

286,235 civilians

83,694 Reserve Personnel

25,580 Aircraft

87,954 starships

8,562 Orbital Defense Stations and satellites

Part of

United Space Command Armed Forces

• Department of the Air Force

Headquarters

The Pentagon, Washington DC, USA, Earth

HIGHCOM Facility, Harmony

Motto(s)

Sore High!

Engagements

First Energy War

Martian Rebellion of 2380

Planetary War on Terror

Second Nuclear War

Jovian Conflict of 2687

Second Energy War

Outer Colonies Civil War

Human-Hivivian War

Commanders

Commander-in-Chief UNF President Brandon Carter

Secretary of Defense Lauren Campbell

Secretary of the Air Force Jodie Davies

Chief of Staff GEN Zachary Dawson

Deputy Chief of Staff Maj GEN Rafael Thomas

Chief master sergeant of the Air Force CMSAF Caroline Schifter