Air Force Combat Units of WWII

476 AIR FORCE COMBAT UNITS OF WORLD WAR I1was disbanded. After disbandment, a unitcould have its lineage cantinued by reconstitution.Further, the lineage of one unitcould be merged with that of another(without violating the policy mentionedabove) by formal action taken to cansolidatethe two units. Constitutions, disbandments,reconstitutions, and consolidationswere accomplished by the Departmentof the Air Force, which alsa controlledall actions relating to activations,inactivations, and redesignations.The lineage of an organized unit beganwhen the unit was designated and organized.The unit could at any time be redesignated,but its lineage continued untilthe unit was discontinued. Designation,organization, redesignation, and discontinuancewere usually controlled by theDepartment of the Air Force for organizedunits at higher echelons and by themajor commands for units at lower echelons.Sometimes a constituted headquarterswas inactivated and replaced simultaneouslyby an organized headquarters thathad essentially the same name and functionsand often the same personnel. Inother instances the reverse took place.When any such change was, in effect,merely a reorganization (usually associatedwith a shift from one system ofmanning to another), the Department ofthe Air Force disregarded the change intracing the history of the establishment.It may be noted in passing that provi-sional units were organized rather thanconstituted. They had no personnel assignedbut were manned by persons whowere attached. Likewise, provisionalestablishments had components attachedbut none assigned. Detachments were notunits but segments of units.The following glossary defines organizationalterms, including those that relate tolineage :Activate. To bring a constituted unit intophysical existence by assigning personnel.(In some cases a token activationwas accomplished by assigning a minimumnumber of personnel, generallyone officer and one enlisted man; inother cases activation was recorded 0%-cially without assignment of personnel.)Active list. The constituted units thatwere active and those that had been assignedto commands for activation.Assign. To place a unit in a military organization,making it an element af thatorganization.Attach. To place a unit with a militaryorganization for administration, operationalcontrol, logistic support, or otherpurposes, without making the unit anintegral part of the organization.Azltttorixe. To designate a unit and placeit on the active or inactive list (usedprior to World War 11 in the place ofconstitution of some units).Consolidate. To combine two units, mergingtheir lineage and histories into asingle unit.