JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. — The U.S. Air Force’s 21st Air Force has carried many names and missions since it was first activated on June 12, 1942. The organization began as a World War II ferrying wing responsible for delivering aircraft to support wartime operations. It soon transitioned into an airlift headquarters that moved personnel and cargo across the European theater. Over the decades, the unit evolved into a global mobility command that delivered combat capability, humanitarian relief and operational support to warfighters around the world.
Following several redesignations and a period of inactivation, the 21st Air Force reemerged on Sept. 5, 2025, under Air Mobility Command as part of a broader effort to modernize the expeditionary mobility enterprise. Today, it stands alongside the 18th Air Force as one of the mobility enterprise’s two numbered air forces responsible for organizing, training and equipping Rapid Global Mobility forces.
Maj. Gen. Darren R. Cole took command during AMC’s 2025 realignment this past September. The new construct strengthened unity of command across several joint bases, distributed workload between the two numbered air forces and elevated a mission-centric organizational design. Under this structure, the 18th and 21st Air Forces now share responsibility for preparing forces to execute AMC’s core capabilities: airlift, aerial refueling, aeromedical evacuation, global mobility support and command and control.
Cole is a command pilot with more than 4,900 flying hours in mobility and tanker aircraft. His career includes combat missions in Iraq, Afghanistan and across the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. He previously served as director of Global Reach Programs at the Pentagon and held senior positions at USSOUTHCOM and USCENTCOM. His operational and joint experience has reinforced his belief that Rapid Global Mobility is inseparable from warfighting success.
“Air Mobility Command is the nation’s rapid maneuver force. No other nation can match the speed, scale and reach of America’s mobility forces, so we must be able to get the joint force to the fight and keep them there,” Cole said. “This is a demanding task. Whether they fly, fix or support at home station, enroute or at a contingency location, I expect our 21st Airmen to lean forward and anticipate the mission. They must be biased for action, relentlessly improving and determined to build warfighter advantage. To be succinct, we must be maneuvering to win.”
The 21st Air Force provides administrative control for nine Air Mobility Command wings and one stand-alone group. Its units include the 305th Air Mobility Wing, the 87th Air Base Wing and the 621st Contingency Response Wing at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey; the 19th Airlift Wing at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas; the 436th Airlift Wing at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware; the 437th Airlift Wing at Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina; the 521st Air Mobility Operations Wing at Ramstein Air Base, Germany; and the 43rd Air Mobility Operations Group at Pope Field, North Carolina.
The units aligned under the 21st Air Force execute missions that reach every corner of the globe, continuing a legacy that began with the organization’s World War II airlift operations into the European theater. Today, these wings and group conduct humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, aeromedical evacuation, strategic airlift, aerial refueling, air base opening and contingency response. Operating as a unified mobility enterprise, they enable the Joint Force to deploy rapidly, maintain operational reach and sustain campaigns across all theaters.
Cole also commands the USAF Expeditionary Center, which forges and integrates Air Force expeditionary concepts and oversees the USAF Expeditionary Operations School. Throughout its history, the Expeditionary Center’s mission has adapted alongside Air Force requirements. It originated in 1978 as the Airlift Operations School at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. The institution later broadened its scope, relocated to Fort Dix, New Jersey, and emerged as the service’s primary center for expeditionary training. In 2011, it assumed installation support responsibilities for several joint bases, and in 2012 it expanded again to include the Air Force’s only Contingency Response Wing and two Air Mobility Operations Wings in Europe and the Pacific.
The USAF Expeditionary Operations School now serves as the execution arm of the center. It offers 92 in-residence courses and 19 online programs that graduate more than 40,000 students annually. The school provides advanced training for multiple career fields following initial skills instruction under Air Education and Training Command. Its curriculum includes Advanced Readiness Training for deploying Airmen, as well as courses in expeditionary skills, joint all-domain command and control, intelligence, Phoenix Raven, the Advanced Study of Air Mobility and aerial port operations.
Cole identified three enduring priorities for the 21st Air Force and Expeditionary Center: Airmen, readiness generation and continuous mission improvement. He consistently emphasizes that Airmen are the organization’s competitive edge.
“We must begin with a rock-solid foundation of trained, supported and ready Airmen,” he said, “because when we take care of our people, they take care of the mission.”
Strengthening readiness is central to Cole’s leadership approach. Under his direction, the 21st Air Force is expanding training in combat representative environments that mirror the complexity of future conflicts, including contested, degraded, and dispersed conditions. He has directed the enterprise to be prepared to transition rapidly from peacetime operations to crisis response with minimal delay.
“Together, these priorities form a framework to increase our advantage against any adversary,” Cole said. “Together, we must always maneuver to win.”
With a legacy rooted in World War II and a mission that spans continents, the 21st Air Force and Expeditionary Center remain central to the nation’s ability to project power and deliver hope. Under Cole’s leadership, the enterprise continues to adapt to the modern security environment while sustaining its heritage as one of the Air Force’s most enduring global mobility organizations.