Color Emblem
Cable Numbers	Color Name	PMS Number
67103	Air Force Yellow	116
67101	White	---
67118	Ultramarine Blue	Reflex Blue
67111	Scarlet	200
Subdued Emblem
Cable Numbers	Color Name	PMS Number
67130	Spruce Green	357
67158	Garnet	209
67138	Black	K
67124	Flag Blue	282

Approved
13 August 1943

Description
Azure, in dexter chief the numeral "11" gules fimbriated agent above a mullet of the last pierced of the second winged or in bendwise sinister, all within a diminished bordure of the last.

Significance
Blue and yellow are the Air Force colors. Blue alludes to the sky, the primary theater of Air Force operations. Yellow refers to the sun and the excellence required of Air Force personnel. The winged star-in-circle is adapted from the Air Force logo and is a stylized representation of the North Star, which suggests the 11th Air Force's home base in the Alaska and the scope of the organization's defense mission. The "11" refers to the numerical designation of the unit.

Lineage 
Constituted as Alaskan Air Force on 28 December 1941.
Activated on 15 January 1942.
Redesignated Eleventh Air Force in February 1942.

Honors
Service Streamers: None
Campaign Streamers: None
Armed Forces Expeditionary Streamers: None
Decorations: None

Campaigns
Air Offensive, Japan
Aleutian Islands

Stations
Elmendorf Field, AK, 15 January 1942
Adak, AK, 10 August 1943
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, AK, 1 October 1946-present

The Alaskan Air Force was activated on Elmendorf Field 15 January 1942 to manage the buildup of the Army Air Forces in Alaska. It was redesignated the Eleventh Air Force on 5 February 1942.

Following the Japanese bombing of Dutch Harbor in the eastern Aleutian Islands and the occupation of Attu and Kiska in the western Aleutians in early June 1942, the Eleventh Air Force launched an air offensive against the Japanese on the two islands.

Missions were flown initially from Cape Field on Umnak Island in the eastern Aleutians and later from fields built on Adak and Amchitka. Headquarters Eleventh Air Force was moved to Davis Field, Adak in early 1943. Attu was retaken in May 1943, and the Japanese withdrew their garrison from Kiska in late July.

The Aleutian Campaign ended with the reoccupation of Kiska on 15 August 1943. Primarily an air war, it was the only World War II campaign fought on North American soil. The Eleventh Air Force flew 297 missions and dropped 3,662.00 tons of bombs. One hundred and fourteen men were killed in action, another forty-two were reported missing in action and forty-six died as a result of accidents.

Thirty-five aircraft were lost to combat and another 150 to operational accidents. It was the highest American combat-to-operational loss ratio of the war. Weather was the prime culprit.

The Eleventh Air Force accounted for approximately 60 Japanese aircraft, one destroyer, one submarine and seven transport ships destroyed by air operations.

Following the occupation of Kiska, the Eleventh Air Force declined from peak strength of 16,526 in August 1943 to 6,849 by the end of the war. For the remainder of the war, it flew bombing and reconnaissance missions against Japanese military installations in the northern Kurile Islands from Attu and Shemya Islands. The first land based bombing mission of the World War II against the Japanese home islands was launched from Attu on 10 July 1943.

The Eleventh Air Force was redesignated the Alaskan Air Command on 18 December 1945, and its headquarters was moved from Adak to Elmendorf AFB on 1 October 1946 to better manage Alaska's emerging air defense system.

Alaska's air defenses were greatly expanded during 1945-1955 period. An extensive aircraft control and warning (AC&W) system was constructed along Alaska's coast and interior. The Alaskan segment of the DEW Line was built, and later the DEW Line was extended to the eastern Aleutian Islands. The Command was initially equipped with P-51s, which were replaced in succession by F-80s, F-94s, F-89s and F-102s.

By 1957, AAC had reached the height of its strength with over 200 fighter interceptors assigned to six squadrons. Early warning and fighter direction were provided by 18 aircraft control and warning and 12 DEW Line sites tied together by the White Alice Communications System. Its assigned strength was 20,687. The forces were organized into two air divisions providing "Top Cover for America."

The late 1950s and the 1960s saw a major reduction in AAC's forces as Air Force air defense doctrine began changing, and emphasis shifted to a defense against a mixed threat of missile and bomber attacks. The number of fighter interceptor squadrons shrunk to one, the air divisions were inactivated, and the aircraft control and warning sites reduced to 13. The assigned strength dropped to 9,987 by 1969. The Aleutian DEW Line segment was dismantled. Emphasis shifted towards supporting other commands.

The F-102s were replaced with F-4Es in 1970. The arrival of the versatile F-4E marked another turning point in AAC's history. It gave AAC a tactical air capability.

The Command's command, control, communications and surveillance system underwent a modernization during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The manpower intensive, 1950s era aircraft control and warning system radars were replaced with minimum attended AN/FPS-117 minimally attended, long range radars. The system achieved its operational capability in October 1985. The outdated, semi-automated Alaskan NORAD Control Center was replaced with the fully automated Regional Operations Control Center. It achieved an operational capability on 14 June 1983.

Further improvements were made to the force structure with the arrival of F-15As in 1982, upgraded to "C" models during 1987-86. On 1 July 1986, the 962nd Airborne Warning and Control System Squadron was activated at Elmendorf AFB to operate two E-3 Sentry aircraft on rotational duty to Alaska. (The aircraft were later assigned to the squadron.) A second F-15C squadron was added the next year. The modern radar system, the F-15s and the E-3 resulted in a greater capability to protect the air sovereignty of North America. The number of Soviet aircraft intercepts increased dramatically from an average of ten a year during the first half of the 1980s to a record of 31 in 1987, after which the numbers began to decline dramatically following the breakup of the Soviet Union. Four Russian aircraft were intercepted in 1993.

In keeping with the force modernization, significant improvements were made in data automation and the use of personal computers proliferated.

One of the most singular events affecting AAC was the disestablishment of the Alaskan Command on 1 July 1975. The Commander, AAC assumed the additional responsibility of Commander, Joint Task Force-Alaska, a provisional joint command that could be activated in the event of an emergency, such as the Exxon Valdez oil spill in March 1989.

The Alaskan Command was reestablished on 7 July 1989, as a subordinate unified command under the U.S. Pacific Command in recognition of Alaska's strategic importance to the defense of the Pacific.

With the activation of the Alaskan Command, the next logical step was to place its air component (AAC) under the Pacific Air Forces. On 9 August 1990, the Alaskan Air Command was redesignated the Eleventh Air Force.

The early 1990s marked a period of major organizational mission changes and force modernization. The Eleventh Air Force was reorganized as an objective numbered air force during 1992-1993 and its headquarters reduced to 100 authorizations. Its major units also changed. The 21st Tactical Fighter Wing was inactivated and the 3rd Wing was transferred from Clark AB to Elmendorf AFB in December 1991. The F-15E equipped 90th Fighter Squadron was added as were the 517th Airlift Squadron (C-130Hs and C-12Fs) and the 962nd Airborne Air Control Squadron (E-3B).

There were also significant changes at Eielson AFB. The A-10As assigned to the 18th Fighter Squadron were replaced with F-16Cs in 1992 and an OA-10A squadron was activated. Eielson AFB became home of the Cope Thunder training exercise series and the range complex was greatly expanded and improved to accommodate not only Cope Thunder but other joint training requirements as well. Finally, in keeping with Air Force Chief of Staff guidance to retain the most illustrious units, the 343rd Wing, a veteran of the Aleutian Campaign, was inactivated in August 1993. The 354th Fighter Wing was activated in its place.

Other changes during the period included upgrading the 11th Tactical Air Control Group to the 11th Air Control Wing in January 1992. The wing subsequently inactivated 1 July 1994 in favor of two groups organized under the 11 AF, the 611th Air Operations Group and 611th Air Logistics Group, later changed to the 611th Air Support Group.

The mission of the Eleventh Air Force shifted during the early 1990s from defending Alaska against the Soviet Union bomber threat to committing its forces to worldwide deployment and providing training opportunities for others.

Commander	Date Assumed Command
Lt Col Everett S. Davis	15 Jan-16 Feb 1942
Col Lionel H. Dunlap	17 Feb-7 Mar 1942
Maj Gen William O. Butler	8 Mar 1942-10 Sep 1943
Brig Gen Robert V. Ignico	11-12 Sep 1943
Maj Gen Davenport Johnson	13 Sep 1943-3 May 1945
Brig Gen Isaiah Davies	4 May-21 Jun 1945
Maj Gen John B. Brook	22 Jun-17 Dec 1945
Brig Gen Edmond C. Lynch	18 Dec 1945-30 Sep 1946
Maj Gen Joseph H. Atkinson	1 Oct 1946-25 Feb 1949
Brig Gen Frank A. Armstrong, Jr.	26 Feb 1949-26 Dec 1950
Maj Gen William D. Old	27 Dec 1950-14 Oct 1952
Brig Gen Walter R. Agee	27 Oct 1952-25 Feb 1953
Maj Gen George R. Acheson	26 Feb 1953-1 Feb 1956
Brig Gen T. Alan Bennett	2 Feb 1956-23 Feb 1956
Lt Gen Joseph H. Atkinson	24 Feb-16 Jul 1956
Maj Gen Frank A. Armstrong, Jr.	17 Jul -23 Oct 1956
Brig Gen James H. Davies	24 Oct 1956-27 Jun 1957
Lt Gen Frank A. Armstrong, Jr.	28 Jun-Aug 1957
Brig Gen Kenneth H. Gibson	19 Aug 1957-13 Aug 1958
Maj Gen Conrad F. Necrason	14 Aug 1958-19 Jul 1961
Brig Gen Jack A. Gibbs	20 Jul-25 Jul 1961
Maj Gen Wendell W. Bowman	26 Jul 1961-8 Aug 1963
Col Alfred Walton	9-14 Aug 1963
Maj Gen James C. Jensen	15 Aug 1963-14 Nov 1966
Maj Gen Thomas E. Moore	15 Nov 1966-24 Jul 1969
Maj Gen Joseph A. Cunningham	25 Jul 1969-31 Jul 1972
Maj Gen Donavon F. Smith	1 Aug 1972-5 Jun 1973
Col John A. Nelson	6-17 Jun 1973
Maj Gen Charles W. Carson, Jr.	18 Jun 1973-2 Mar 1974
Col David T. Stockman	3 Mar-18 Mar 1974
Maj Gen Jack K. Gamble	19 Mar 1974-30 Jun 1975
Lt Gen James E. Hill	1 Jul 1975-14 Oct 1976
Lt Gen Marion L. Boswell	15 Oct 1976-26 Jun 1978
Lt Gen Winfield W. Scott, Jr	27 Jun 1978-30 Mar 1981
Lt Gen Lynwood E. Clark	31 Mar 1981-25 Aug 1983
Lt Gen Bruce K. Brown	26 Aug 1983-27 Sep 1985
Lt Gen David L. Nichols	27 Sep 1985-23 May 1988
Lt Gen Thomas G. McInerney	23 May 1988-13 Jul 1992
Lt Gen Joseph W. Ralston	13 Jul 1992-29 Jun 1994
Lt Gen Lawrence E. Boese	29 Jun 1994-21 Aug 1995
Lt Gen Patrick K. Gamble	21 Aug 1995-21 Nov 1997
Col Timothy Brady	18 Dec 1997-26 Jul 1998
Lt Gen David J. McCloud	18 Dec 1997-26 Jul 1998
Brig Gen Tommy Crawford	26 Jul 1998-19 Oct 1998
Lt Gen Thomas R. Case	19 Oct 1998-26 Sep 2000
Lt Gen Norton A. Schwartz	26 Sep 2000-30 Sep 2002
Lt Gen Carrol H. Chandler	30 Sep 2002-11 Oct 2005
Lt Gen Douglas M. Fraser	11 Oct 2005-9 May 2008
Lt Gen Dana T. Atkins	9 May 2008-Nov 2011
Lt. Gen Stephen L. Hoog	Nov 2011 - Aug 2013
Lt. Gen Russell J. Handy	Aug 2013 - Aug 2016
Lt. Gen Kenneth S. Wilsbach	Aug 2016 - Aug 2018

Lt. Gen Thomas A. Bussiere

Aug 2018 - May 2020