Emphasis on Wartime Tasks. Organizations must be structured to accomplish wartime tasks without reorganizing.

Functional Grouping. Organizations have these characteristics: a clear-cut purpose, goal and scope, with one individual in charge; parts that form a logical, separable activity; a close relationship among the parts, constituting a complete entity; and natural divisions of work that clearly define where responsibility begins and ends.

Lean Organizational Structures. Organizations must encourage rapid decision making, so they should be flat structures without intermediate levels, unless mission requirements cannot otherwise be met. When used, intermediate organizations will consist of tactical functions only, without a full range of staff functions. Organizational levels that exist only to review and transmit information or tasking should be eliminated. Both the number of supervisors and the number of internal subdivisions within organizations should be designed to minimize layers and maximize worker-to-supervisor ratios.

Skip-Echelon Structure. Major commands (MAJCOM) sit on top of a skip-echelon staffing structure. MAJCOMs, wings, and squadrons possess the full range of staff functions needed to perform required tasks; numbered air forces (NAF), groups, and flights have no or minimal staff. These tactical echelons are designed to increase operational effectiveness rather than to review and transmit paperwork. The chain of command and responsibility for mission accomplishment runs through commanders at all levels. Problems, however, often are solved by staff communication through the functional chain, bypassing echelons where the function is not found.

Standard Levels. The Air Force uses standard levels to design organizations. Establish organizations at the lowest level required to successfully accomplish the primary mission. Factors such as scope of responsibility, span of control and functional grouping of related missions/activities are the predominant factors that determine organizational kind.