A Direct Reporting Unit is an agency of the United States Department of the Air Force that is outside the bounds of the standard organizational hierarchy by being exclusively and uniquely under the control of Air Force headquarters alone, rather than reporting through a Major Command. The term "Direct Reporting Unit" comes from the fact that the unit reports directly to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force or to a designated representative on the Air Staff.

Operations

A DRU has a specialized and restricted mission, meaning that it is a single purpose unit, usually to the exclusion of other duties, reporting to Air Force Air Staff alone. It is separate and independent from any organization structure or supervision: major command, numbered air force, operational command, division, wing, group, squadron, or field operating agency. It is a DRU because the unit's specific and focused duties, legal issues that necessitate the unit's independence, or other factors such as national security concerns.

Components

The Air Force has a very limited number of Direct Reporting Units:

DRU	Location
Air Force District of Washington Air Force District of Washington Air Force District of Washington is composed of two wings and one group, the 11th Wing, the 79th Medical Wing and the 844th Communication Group at Joint Base Andrews Naval Air Facility...  (AFDW)	Joint Base Andrews Naval Air Facility, Maryland Maryland Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center Located at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center is a direct reporting unit of Headquarters, United States Air Force...  (AFOTEC)	Kirtland Air Force Base Kirtland Air Force Base Kirtland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in the southeast quadrant of the Albuquerque, New Mexico urban area, adjacent to the Albuquerque International Sunport. The base was named for the early Army aviator Col. Roy C. Kirtland...  New Mexico New Mexico New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
United States Air Force Academy United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy is an accredited college for the undergraduate education of officer candidates for the United States Air Force. Its campus is located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States...  (USAFA)	United States Air Force Academy United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy is an accredited college for the undergraduate education of officer candidates for the United States Air Force. Its campus is located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States... , Colorado Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

External links

• Air Force Historical Research Agency: Direct Reporting Units
• Airman magazine January 2004 Web Edition Airman magazine Web Edition copyright notice: http://www.af.mil/news/airman/notice.shtml