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16th Air Expeditionary Wing | |
---|---|
Active | 1997-2003 |
Country | United States |
Branch | United States Air Force |
Role | Control of deployed expeditionary units |
Part of | United States Air Forces in Europe |
Motto(s) | We Clear the Skies |
Engagements | Global War on Terrorism |
Insignia | |
Emblem used by the 16th Air Expeditionary Wing [1] |
The United States Air Force's 16th Air Expeditionary Wing (16 AEW) was a provisional Air Expeditionary unit of the United States Air Forces in Europe from 1997 for the purpose of supporting US no-fly zone and other operations in the Balkans. It remained active until June 2003, when it was replaced by the 401st Air Expeditionary Wing at Aviano. [2]
The wing headquarters was located at Aviano Air Base, Italy. It operated from expeditionary sites at Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo; Camp Able Sentry, Macedonia; Sarajevo and Tuzla Air Base, Bosnia; Taszar Air Base, Hungary; Zagreb, Croatia and Naval Air Station Sigonella and San Vito Air Station, Italy; in addition to a contingency processing center at Rhein-Main Air Base, Germany.
On 1 July 1995, United States Air Forces Europe activated the 7490th Wing (Provisional) at Aviano Air Base, Italy to control units deployed temporarily on the base in connection with Operation Deny Flight. [3] The wing was replaced on 11 March 1996 by the 4190th Wing (Provisional) when the United States Air Force (USAF) began numbering provisional units based on the theater exercising operational control, rather than the Major Command to which they were assigned. [4] The 4190th wing participated in Operation Deny Flight and Operation Joint Endeavour. [5]
On 1 June 1997 the 16th Air Expeditionary Wing replaced the 4190th as USAF replaced its provisional units with expeditionary units. Its initial mission was as a component of Operation Allied Force, which was the North Atlantic Treaty Organization response to Serbian aggression against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.
In June 2003 the 401st Air Expeditionary Wing was activated at Aviano Air Base, Italy, replacing the 16th Air Expeditionary Wing, which inactivated to eliminate an overlap in designation with the 16th Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, Florida. [6]
The Sixteenth Air Force (Air Forces Cyber) (16 AF) is a United States Air Force (USAF) organization responsible for information warfare, which encompasses intelligence gathering and analysis, surveillance, reconnaissance, cyber warfare and electronic warfare operations. Its headquarters is at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in Texas.
The 64th Air Expeditionary Group is a provisional United States Air Force group, most recently assigned to AFNORTH. In that capacity, in support of FEMA operations across the United States, the 64 Air Expeditionary Group (AEG) led Air Force doctors, nurses, medics and general purpose staff augmenting the civilian work force in hospitals along the west coast of California to reduce the patient load on civilian providers battling COVID-19. As the number of United States citizens with COVID-19 declined, the group transitioned to establishing Air Force-led COVID-19 Community Vaccination Center (CVC) sites.
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The 485th Air Expeditionary Wing is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Combat Command. As a provisional unit, the 485 AEW may be inactivated or activated at any time by Air Combat Command. The wing was last known to be active during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 at Tabuk Regional Airport, Saudi Arabia, in 2003.
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The 131st Fighter Squadron is a unit of the Massachusetts Air National Guard 104th Fighter Wing located at Barnes Air National Guard Base, Westfield, Massachusetts. The 131st is equipped with the F-15C/D Eagle.
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The 378th Air Expeditionary Wing is a provisional United States Air Forces Central Command unit assigned to Air Combat Command. As a provisional unit, it may be activated or inactivated at any time.
The 31st Operations Group is the flying component of the 31st Fighter Wing, assigned to the United States Air Forces in Europe. It is stationed at Aviano Air Base, Italy.
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This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency