Alaskan Air Command was originally constituted as Alaskan Air Force on 28 December 1941 and activated on 15 January 1942. Redesignated as the Eleventh Air Force the next month, it provided air support for the offensives pushed the Japanese out of the Aleutians, launched attacks on enemy positions in the Kuril Islands, and contributed to the defense of Alaska throughout the war.
Redesignated as Alaskan Air Command, the unit was on what could be considered the front lines of the Cold War due to its close proximity to territory controlled by the Soviet Union, and maintained a watchful eye on Soviet air assets through the use of radar and reconnaissance and patrol flights. It was part of the NORAD system and in 1963 was outfitted with a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System.
The elimination of the Soviet threat due to the collapse of the Soviet Union led to the inactivation of the Alaskan Air Command in 1990, when it was redesignated the Eleventh Air Force and became subordinate unit of Pacific Air Forces Command.