Cold War led senior defense planners to conclude that the structure of the military establishment which had evolved during the Cold War years was not suited to the new world situation. As shown by Desert Shield / Desert Storm, U.S. military forces would increasingly be called upon to participate in smaller-scale regional contingencies and humanitarian operations. In a post-Cold War / post-Desert Storm environment, General Merrill A. McPeak, the then- Chief of Staff of the Air Force, envisioned a streamlined Air Force, eliminating superfluous organizational layers. General John M. Loh, who served as Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force before becoming the commander of TAC on 26 March 1991, was heavily involved in the restructuring decisions. As a result, in the spring of 1992 the decision was made to merge most SAC resources with all of TAC's resources, while simultaneously reorganizing the Military Airlift Command (MAC). On 1 June 1992, Tactical Air Command (TAC), Strategic Air Command (SAC), and Military Airlift Command (MAC) were inactivated, being replaced by two new major commands, Air Combat Command (ACC) and Air Mobility Command (AMC). A brief ceremony at Langley AFB, Virginia marked the inactivation of TAC and the activation of ACC. General Loh, who had commanded TAC until its inactivation, became the first commander of ACC. Lineage Established as Tactical Air Command and activated on 21 March 1946 Reduced from major command status, and assigned to Continental Air Command as a subordinate operational command, 1 December 1948 Returned to major command status. 1 December 1950 Inactivated on 1 June 1992 Consolidated with Air Combat Command as Air Combat Command on 26 September 2016 Assignments HQ, United States Army Air Forces, 21 March 1946 HQ, United States Air Force, 27 September 1947 Continental Air Command, 1 December 1948 HQ, United States Air Force, 1 December 1950 – 1 June 1992 Stations Headquarters MacDill Field, Florida, 21 March 1946 Langley AAF (later Langley AFB), Virginia, 26 May 1946 – 1 June 1992 Major components Air Forces First Air Force, 6 December 1985 – 1 June 1992 Ninth Air Force, 28 March 1946 – 1 December 1948; 1 December 1950 – 1 June 1992 Twelfth Air Force, 17 May 1946 – 1 December 1948; 1 January 1958 – 1 June 1992 Eighteenth Air Force, 28 March 1951 – 1 January 1958 Nineteenth Air Force, 8 July 1955 – 2 July 1973 Air Defense, Tactical