 Headquartered in the Sydney suburb of Edgecliff , Eastern Area Command was formed on 15 May 1942 under the leadership of Air Vice Marshal Bill Anderson . Staff numbered 114 , including forty @-@ five officers . Training units in New South Wales remained part of No. 2 ( Training ) Group . No. 5 ( Maintenance ) Group was formed in Sydney on 1 June , and took responsibility for all maintenance units initially controlled by Eastern Area Command . In September , the Allied Air Forces commander in the South West Pacific Area , Major General George Kenney , formed the majority of his US flying units into the Fifth Air Force , and most of their Australian counterparts into RAAF Command , led by Air Vice Marshal Bill Bostock . Bostock exercised control of Australian air operations through the area commands , although RAAF Headquarters continued to hold overarching administrative authority , meaning that Bostock and his area commanders were ultimately dependent on the Chief of the Air Staff , Air Vice Marshal George Jones , for supplies and equipment . 
