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Detachment

Before and during World War II, many types of organizations used generic designations which are no longer used, such as: 1st AF Combat Film Detachment 4th Air Base Operations Section 4th AAF Emergency Rescue Crew, Type I 6th AAF Combat Camera Unit

All of these units were of the constituted-and-activated type. The generic terms detachment, section, crew, and unit, however, are no longer used with Air Force-controlled units.

One of these--the detachment--has had its generic name used since World War II in an entirely different manner. Modern detachments are frequently mistaken for units, but in fact they are merely segments (usually three or more people) or parts of a unit, generally stationed away from the physical location of the parent unit. Many times detachments carry a number, such as Detachment 5, of a particular squadron. Although not a unit, a detachment may be analogous to a unit under the Universal Code of Military Justice when a commissioned officer is appointed by orders as its "commander." Thus, modern detachments are often mistaken for units because they have commanders and are subject to some of the same organizational actions applying to units, including designation, activation, assignment, and inactivation.

Any unit may have one or more detachments, and many Air Force organizations operate primarily through detachments. Very often, since most day-to-day work is conducted by detachment personnel, unit honors have been awarded to specific detachments in recognition of outstanding performance or achievement by detachment personnel.

Because detachments are not units, they have no lineage, no continuing history, and no authorized official emblem. When a specific detachment is discontinued or inactivated, the detachment (and its history) is terminated even though a similarly designated detachment may later be designated and manned.

Finally, a detachment of one unit may not be reassigned to another unit, although it may be attached to another for operational control. A unit cannot be redesignated as a detachment, nor may a detachment be redesignated as a unit.