The Military Air Transport Service (MATS) is an inactive Department of Defense Unified Command. Activated on 1 June 1948, MATS was a consolidation of the United States Navy Naval Air Transport Service (NATS) and the United States Air Force Air Transport Command (ATC) into a single joint command. It was inactivated and discontinued on 8 January 1966 when the Air Force and Navy set up separate strategic airlift commands.