Air Force Force Generation (AFFORGEN)

The Air Force is in high demand across the Combatant Commands and throughout the spectrum of conflict. With modern warfare always changing, the Air Force needs to remain dominant and maintain an upper hand on air, space, and cyberspace power over potential adversaries.

The Air Force Force Generation (AFFORGEN) concept was designed to provide a unified capability-based force presentation model to enable sustained, capacity-driven force generation to support the SecDef Global Force Management planning process. The concept ensures readiness and risk-informed sourcing decisions are provided to senior leaders prior to and during execution.

Your part in the "big picture": maintain deployment eligibility at all times.

Overview

Objective: Participate as a high-functioning Airman during basic military training leadership familiarization.

Learning Outcomes

• Understand the purpose of Air Force Force Generation (AFFORGEN) and the 24-month cycle and phases.
• Describe the Force Elements (FEs) and how they support AFFORGEN.
• Recognize the relationship between Ready Airman Training (RAT), Agile Combat Employment (ACE), Multi-Capable Airmen (MCA), and AFFORGEN.
• Demonstrate individual responsibilities of deployment planning and execution.

Foundational Competencies

• Flexibility — The ability to adapt to and work with a variety of situations, individuals, or groups effectively.
• Information Seeking — An underlying curiosity; a desire to know more about things, people, oneself, the mission, or issues; an eager, aggressive learner.
• Initiative — The preference for taking action; doing more than is required or expected; doing things that no one has requested that will improve or enhance job results and avoid problems; or finding and creating new opportunities.

Summary

• AFFORGEN Concepts and Components
• Deployment Planning and Execution
• BMT Deployment Experience

AFFORGEN Concepts and Components

AFFORGEN is the Air Force's sustainable, capacity-driven model for presenting forces to Joint Force Commanders (JFCs). AFFORGEN's intent is to enable operational preparedness and readiness recovery to compete with peer competitors, while clearly focusing USAF efforts on a predictable and sustainable force offering.

All MAJCOMs will align their forces into the AFFORGEN model.

Cycles and Phases

AFFORGEN establishes a 24-month rotational cycle with 6-month phases. There are four rotational phases of readiness:

Airmen and resources start the cycle with six months in the Reset phase, then move into Prepare, and so on.

Airmen are assigned to rotational phases A, B, C, or D. In the first cycle:

• Phase A is Available starting in October
• Phase B is Available the following April
• Phase C the next October
• Phase D the next April

The cycle then repeats with phase A Available again. When phase A is Available, phase B is in Reset, phase C is in Prepare, and phase D is in Ready.

Force Element (FE)

Under AFFORGEN, a Force Element (FE) is an integrated set of unit type codes (UTCs) that the USAF uses to offer operational capability to JFCs. The AFFORGEN FEs are:

Mission Generation (MG) FE

Provides combat, combat support (those specifically identified on the aviation/operational UTC's mission capability statement), and combat service support capability. There are multiple types of MG FEs.

Open the Airbase (OAB) FE

Provides capabilities to open an airbase, regardless of follow-on mission. It will arrive first and assess an airbase for establishment of minimum airfield operating parameters. It includes initial capabilities for:

• Command and control (C2)
• Force protection
• Cargo and passenger handling
• Logistics
• Airfield operations
• Force accountability
• Finance and contracting
• Host nation support
• Reception and bed-down of follow-on forces

Expeditionary Airbase (XAB)

XAB is the GFM-recognized term for combined C2, Establish the Airbase (EAB), and Operate the Airbase (OAB) FEs (each described below). It is an approximately 680-personnel team of ACS Airmen who train, certify, and deploy together.

Command and Control (C2) FE

Provides the capabilities to establish an Air Expeditionary Wing (AEW) C2 structure to include initial wing, operations, maintenance, mission support, and medical group commanders and staffs.

Establish the Airbase (EAB) FE

Provides sufficient forces to bring an airbase to initial operating capability and earliest capability to enable and sustain mission generation.

Operate the Airbase (OAB) FE

Enhances combat support and combat service support capabilities beyond what the EAB FE provides and brings an airbase to full operating capability.

Note on naming: the FE is called "OAB" both for Open the Airbase and Operate the Airbase. They're sequential roles — OAB (open) arrives first, then OAB (operate) ramps capability after EAB.

Robust the Airbase (RAB) FE

Provides additional combat support and combat service support to increase the robustness of the capabilities already in place through previous FEs. It contains those support forces that would typically not arrive until 30 days after an operating location has been established.

Demand Force Teams (DFT)

Teams composed primarily of UTCs from units or capabilities that operate independently — including unique, highly specific combat, combat support, or combat service support capabilities. Example DFT capabilities:

• Expeditionary Medical Support System (EMEDS)
• Red Horse
• Tactical Air Control Party (TACP)

Ready Airman Training (RAT)

RAT is the next generation of individual baseline readiness training, moving away from the previous just-in-time training model — ensuring all Airmen are more lethal, survivable, and resilient.

RAT includes Ready Training Areas (RTAs) with requirements spread throughout the Reset, Prepare, and Ready phases of the AFFORGEN cycle.

RAT is the baseline on which any additional training or qualifications will be built.

Agile Combat Employment (ACE)

ACE is a proactive and reactive scheme of maneuver — that is, how a commander will array forces to accomplish the mission — executed within threat timelines to increase survivability while generating combat power.

It's a way of generating, projecting, sustaining, and preserving airpower that shifts operations from large, centralized, and often vulnerable infrastructures to networks of smaller-footprint dispersed locations to:

• Increase force survivability
• Complicate adversary planning
• Provide more options to joint force commanders for power projection

ACE provides an approach to generating airpower in environments where an adversary can impose prohibitive interference on friendly forces and operations.

Multi-Capable Airmen (MCA)

MCA are Airmen who can perform specific tasks outside of their core AFSC — which may or may not include cross-utilization training.

MCA can reduce the number of Airmen who must be put in harm's way to generate airpower by providing smaller, multidisciplinary teams able to provide combat support and solve problems with the resources at hand.

Deployment Planning and Execution

Pre-Deployment

Each unit has a Unit Deployment Manager (UDM) who manages all deployment readiness and training aspects for all deployable personnel. The UDM uses unit manpower documents to tailor personnel requirements and ensure assignment to appropriate UTCs.

Your individual responsibilities to stay prepared include (but aren't limited to):

• Completing all required expeditionary readiness training.
• Being physically fit IAW the Air Force Fitness Program.
• Possessing a valid security clearance and CAC.
• Having a valid passport or visa (if applicable).
• Ensuring emergency data is up to date.
• Completing personal and family readiness briefings.
• Completing wills and power-of-attorney.
• Completing a Family Care Plan if military married to military.
• Deploying with sufficient personal hygiene items and other items that may not be available at forward operating sites (e.g., extra eyeglasses, protective mask inserts, contact lens solution).

Deployment Tasking

Deployment orders are used to direct preparations, planning, deployment, and execution of plans in response to crisis or contingencies.

When the Installation Deployment Officer (IDO) receives a tasking, they activate the appropriate deployment work centers and notify tasked units.

Upon receipt of a tasking, the UDM will:

• Identify deploying members by name.
• Validate eligibility based on code, security clearance, specialty code, and skill level.
• Conduct a final review of readiness to deploy.
• Identify and schedule pre-deployment training requirements.
• Review individual preparedness pre-deployment requirements.

Deploying personnel will complete all individual preparedness and pre-deployment actions no later than five (5) days prior to their scheduled processing date.

Deployment Schedule of Events

The Deployment Control Center (DCC) creates a schedule of events to ensure deploying units and individuals complete all required actions prior to departing home station. Standard events:

1. Assemble the unit(s)
2. Issue deployment bag(s)
3. Process personnel
4. Issue orders
5. Create manifest(s)
6. Load baggage on aircraft
7. Load personnel on aircraft

Unit Assembly

If the unit is deploying via airlift from home station, they will assemble not less than 3 hours prior to aircraft departure. When mass processing, deploying Airmen will assemble in a pre-identified unit assembly area.

During unit assembly, the UDM will:

• Review tasking order.
• Verify deployment eligibility.
• Ensure deploying personnel's personal items are in order.

Deploying personnel will hand-carry the following to the forward operating location:

• All required official and personal documents
• Minimum personnel equipment requirements
• Personal baggage

The Personnel Deployment Function (PDF)

The PDF serves as the installation focal point for monitoring all personnel processing actions during large-scale deployments. It's where final eligibility is checked in a controlled area to control, hold, and account for deploying personnel.

Personnel services provided as needed:

• Legal
• Chaplain
• Medical
• Personnel actions
• Finance

The PDF ensures deploying personnel have all required hand-carried items in their possession.

Personnel Processing Stations

Reception, Staging, Onward Movement, and Integration

• Reception — All activities required to receive and clear personnel, equipment, and materiel through the port of debarkation.
• Staging — Assembles, temporarily holds, and organizes arriving personnel, equipment, and materiel into forces and capabilities and prepares them for onward movement.
• Onward Movement — Moving forces, capabilities, and accompanying materiel from reception facilities, marshalling areas, and staging areas to tactical assembly areas or operational areas — or onward from the port of debarkation or other reception areas to the home or demobilization station.
• Integration — The synchronized transfer of capabilities into an operational commander's force prior to mission execution — or back to the component or Service.

Post-Deployment

• Redeployment — The return of personnel, equipment, and materiel to home stations for reintegration.
• Reintegration — Provides positive transition for redeploying personnel and their families after the members return from a forward operating site. Home station reintegration support is an ongoing process — not a homecoming event.
• Recovery — Each MAJCOM is responsible for establishing and publishing personnel recovery policies for returning deployers.
• Reconstitution — Returns units back to their full combat capability.

The Airman and Family Readiness Center provides programs and services to assist commanders in identifying, assessing, and minimizing personal and family-related challenges to maintaining unit cohesion and strengthening operational readiness.

BMT Deployment Experience

While in BMT, your squadron will receive a deployment tasking order. The experience is a scenario-based event designed to familiarize you with basic deployment concepts. With minimal coaching and mentoring from the location Cadre, you will apply the FAST, TCCC, and CBRN deployment preparation training previously received.

Your role will be forces in an OAB FE, providing initial capabilities to open an airbase with:

• C2
• Force protection
• Cargo and passenger handling
• Logistics
• Force accountability
• Host nation support
• Reception and bed-down

You'll be expected to apply teamwork and critical thinking with minimal Cadre input to complete assigned tasks.

Prep tip: Review the Airman's Manual LMS module during the weekend prior to the 6 WOT to prepare for success.

Summary

All Airmen can expect to deploy sometime in their career and apply the Core Value Service Before Self in both preparatory and post-deployment responsibilities. By planning ahead of time and maintaining readiness, you will make it easier for your family to handle any and all issues at home.

Stay safe and adhere to all rules and expectations — that mindset will help you return home when you have completed your deployment.