Air Force District of Washington

The Air Force District of Washington (AFDW) is a Direct Reporting Unit of the United States Air Force. AFDW oversees Air Force operations in the Washington, D.C. region (also known as the "National Capital Region" or "NCR").

Air Force District of Washington
Unit emblem
Active	1985–1994 2005 – present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Type	Direct Reporting Unit
Role	Contingency response, ceremonial and operational support in the National Capital Region
Part of	HQ Air Force (administratively) Joint Task Force-National Capital Region (operationally)
Headquarters	Joint Base Andrews, Maryland
Motto	Pride ...Teamwork ...Success
Decorations	Air Force Organization Excellence Award
Website	Official website
Commanders
Commander	Major General Daniel A. DeVoe
Deputy Commander	Colonel Andrew L. Roddan
Command Chief	Chief Master Sergeant Michael Wynne

As a Direct Reporting Unit, AFDW is directly subordinate to the Chief of Staff, Headquarters, United States Air Force, and serves as the Air Force service component to the JFHQ-NCR. AFDW was originally headquartered on Bolling Air Force Base, but changed to Joint Base Andrews-Naval Air Facility Washington (JBA-NAFW).

History

Background

AFDW originates back to the post-World War II era when Bolling Field Command was established on 15 December 1946. Bolling Field Command absorbed functions from various support organizations in the Washington, D.C. vicinity.^[1] It was redesignated Headquarters Command, USAF, on 17 March 1958. When Headquarters Command, USAF, inactivated on 1 July 1976, many of its functions passed to Military Airlift Command.

Establishment

The Air Force District of Washington was constituted and activated on 1 October 1985 (1985-10-01). Due to declining defense budgets, it was inactivated on 15 July 1994.^[2]

The unit was reactivated on 7 July 2005, to realign the Air Force command structure in the National Capital Region with the other military services and to improve Air Force support to Joint Force Headquarters – National Capital Region (JFHQ-NCR).

Mission

AFDW oversees two wings and one group on JBA-NAFW: the 11th Wing, the 316th Wing and the 844th Communication Group. The 844th Communications Group have a specialized communications mission and serve as the central communications support group for the Air Force in the National Capital Region (NCR). The 316th Wing fulfills duties as the host base organization of Joint Base Andrews, while also supporting AFDW requirements. AFDW also supports airmen in more than 33,000 Airmen in over 200 locations in 108 countries.^[3]

AFDW serves as the Air Force service component for coordination purposes to JTF-NCR and the supporting command to Joint Task Force National Capital Region. JTF-NCR has an emergency or major event operation 'mobilization' function as Joint Task Force-National Capital Region. Under the Joint Task Force NCR (JTF-NCR), the 320th Air Expeditionary Wing (320 AEW) activates and becomes the Air Force service component of JTF-NCR. The Commander of AFDW serves as the Commander, 320 AEW. Air Force Mission Directive 13 delineates missions and assigned duties applicable to AFDW in both its worldwide Air Force service role and its JTF-NCR Air Force service component role.

Component units

Air Force District of Washington comprises the following wings and major units.^[4]

Headquarters

• Headquarters Air Force District of Washington (Joint Base Andrews, Maryland)

Permanent units

• 11th Wing (Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling, Washington, D.C.)
  • US Air Force Band
  • US Air Force Chaplaincy (Arlington National Cemetery)
  • US Air Force Honor Guard
• 316th Wing (Joint Base Andrews) – UH-1N Iroquois
• 844th Communications Group (Joint Base Andrews)

Expeditionary units

• 320th Air Expeditionary Wing (Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling)

Decorations

Air Force Organizational Excellence Awards^[2]

• 1 October 1985 – 30 June 1987
• 1 November 1991 – 31 October 1993
• 7 July 2005 – 31 December 2006

List of commanders

No.	Commander		Term
	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Term length
1		Giddings, Edward N.Brigadier General Edward N. Giddings (born 1935)	1 October 1985	November 1988	~ 3 years, 31 days
2		Rohatsch, Ralph R. Jr.Brigadier General Ralph R. Rohatsch Jr. (born 1940)	November 1988	July 1990	~ 1 year, 242 days
3		Vick, James L.Brigadier General James L. Vick (born 1943)	July 1990	~ September 1992	~ 2 years, 62 days
4		Richard, Stevan B.Colonel Stevan B. Richards	~ September 1992	15 July 1994	~ 1 year, 317 days
5		Jones, Duane A.Brigadier General Duane A. Jones	7 July 2005	14 April 2006	281 days
6		Smolen, Robert L.Major General Robert L. Smolen	14 April 2006	29 June 2007	1 year, 76 days
7		Gorenc, FrankMajor General Frank Gorenc (born 1957)	29 June 2007	6 August 2008[5]	1 year, 38 days
8		Jodice, Ralph J. IIMajor General Ralph J. Jodice II (born 1955)	6 August 2008	18 November 2009	1 year, 104 days
9		Jones, Darrell D.Major General Darrell D. Jones	18 November 2009	9 December 2010	1 year, 21 days
10		McDew, Darren W.Major General Darren W. McDew (born 1960)	9 December 2010	26 July 2012	1 year, 230 days
11		Dunbar, Sharon K.G.Major General Sharon K.G. Dunbar	26 July 2012	22 July 2014	1 year, 361 days
12		Burke, Darryl W.Major General Darryl W. Burke	22 July 2014	21 June 2017	2 years, 334 days
13		Jacobson, James A.Major General James A. Jacobson	21 June 2017	9 July 2019	2 years, 18 days
14		Rupp, RickyMajor General Ricky Rupp	9 July 2019	20 July 2021	2 years, 11 days
15		Jackson, Joel D.Major General Joel D. Jackson	20 July 2021	6 September 2023	2 years, 48 days
16		Major General Daniel A. DeVoe	6 September 2023	Incumbent	2 years, 107 days

See also

• United States Army Military District of Washington
• Naval District Washington