Goldfein: 9th Air Force to become 'core joint task force' HQ

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein said today the service is "within weeks" of certifying 9th Air Force as a "core joint task force headquarters."

9th Air Force falls under Air Combat Command and is based at Shaw Air Force Base, SC. The organization oversees fighter jets, attack aircraft, combat search-and-rescue helicopters and the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System. It will be offered to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis as part of a new "dynamic force employment model," Goldfein said in his keynote speech at the Air Force Association conference here Tuesday.

The announcement comes as part of a speech focused on how the Air Force is positioning itself to meet the Defense Department's new National Defense Strategy as well as for more integrated, multidomain operations.