The Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center was activated on Aug. 8 at JB Andrews, Md., which will serve as a temporary headquarters until officials can find a permanent home for the newly established center, the Air Force announced last week. Maj. Gen. Theresa Carter was named provisional commander of the center, which is intended to consolidate major command-level installation and mission support activities into a single location. The center will also “become the parent organization for several existing field operating agencies,” including “Air Force Security Forces Center, Air Force Civil Engineer Center, Air Force Installation Contracting Agency, the services directorate of the Air Force Personnel Center, and other FOAs,” states the Aug. 7 release. The center was established in response to a 2013 Defense Department mandate to identify ways to reduce overhead and redundancies and consolidate staffs. “This challenging fiscal environment requires us to think differently about how we deliver installation and mission support capabilities for the Air Force and the combatant commanders,” Carter said. “With this center, we’re creating a single organization focused on supporting commanders at the installations and [major commands] and we are committed to building a responsive, mission-focused organization.”
The 301st Fighter Wing in Fort Worth, Texas, became the first standalone Reserve unit in the Air Force to get its own F-35s, welcoming the first fighter Nov. 5.