| Allied Air Forces Central Europe | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
| Active | 1951–1993 |
| Allegiance |  North Atlantic Treaty Organization |
| Part of | Allied Command Operations, Casteau, Belgium |
| Location | Ramstein, Germany |
Allied Air Forces Central Europe (AAFCE) was the NATO command tasked with air and air defense operations in NATOs Allied Forces Central Europe (AFCENT) area of command.
Allied Air Forces Central Europe was activated on 2 April 1951 at Fontainebleau in France through General Dwight D. Eisenhower's General Order No. 1. [1] The first commanding officer of AAFCE was U.S. Air Force general Lauris Norstad, commanding general of US Air Forces in Europe, Wiesbaden. AAFCE reported to Allied Forces Central Europe (AFCENT) at Fontainebleau, which in turn reported to Allied Command Europe, headquartered at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Rocquencourt. The task of AAFCE was to control and command allied air assets in the NATO Central Region [of Europe] in wartime.
Flight magazine, in the first of a three-part feature on 26 June 1953, described AAFCE as already comprising two allied tactical air forces, Second Allied Tactical Air Force, under RAF Air Marshal Sir Robert Foster, [2] comprising British-Dutch No. 2 Group RAF, Belgian-Dutch 69 Group (which later issues described as being responsible for 'Low Countries Air Defence' and being alternately under Dutch and Belgian officers), and British-Belgian No. 83 Group RAF. Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force, under General Dean C. Strother (USAF), comprised the Twelfth Air Force, French 1er Air Division, and the Canadian No. 1 Air Division RCAF. [3]
| List of AAFCE commanders | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Name | Country | Service | Duration |
| 1 | General Lauris Norstad |  United States | US Air Force | 2 April 1951 – 16 July 1953 |
| 2 | Air Chief Marshal Sir Basil Embry |  United Kingdom | Royal Air Force | 16 July 1953 – 1 January 1956 |
| 3 | Air Chief Marshal Sir George Mills | United Kingdom | Royal Air Force | 1 January 1956 – 20 May 1959 |
| 4 | Air Chief Marshal Sir Harry Broadhurst | United Kingdom | Royal Air Force | 20 May 1959 – 1 March 1961 |
| 5 | Air Chief Marshal The Earl of Bandon | United Kingdom | Royal Air Force | 1 March 1961 – 1 December 1963 |
| 6 | Air Chief Marshal Sir Edmund Hudleston* | United Kingdom | Royal Air Force | 1 December 1963 – 1 March 1967 |
| Deputy C-in-C AFCENT | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Name | Country | Service | Duration |
| 7 | Air Chief Marshal Sir Augustus Walker | United Kingdom | Royal Air Force | 1 March 1967 – 13 April 1970 |
| 8 | Air Chief Marshal Sir Frederick Rosier | United Kingdom | Royal Air Force | 13 April 1970 – 31 September 1973[ clarification needed ] |
| 9 | Air Chief Marshal Sir Lewis Hodges | United Kingdom | Royal Air Force | 31 September 1973[ clarification needed ] – 5 February 1976 |
On 28 June 1974 Headquarters Allied Air Forces Central Europe (AAFCE) was re-established as an independent headquarters at Ramstein Air Base, Germany as one of three principal subordinate command under Allied Forces Central Europe (AFCENT). [5] Its task was to provide central direction and control for NATO air forces in the European Central Region. Two existing headquarters, Second Allied Tactical Air Force (2 ATAF), based at RAF Rheindahlen, which covered the northern part of the region, and Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force (4 ATAF), based at Heidelberg, which was responsible for the southern part, both came under AAFCE's command.
Second Allied Tactical Air Force (2 ATAF) had been formed in 1958 to direct NATO air units in the Netherlands, Belgium, and the northern part of Germany in support of Northern Army Group (NORTHAG). Commander of 2ATAF was the commanding general of RAF Germany. The peacetime headquarters of 2 ATAF was at RAF Rheindahlen, the command center in case of war for 2 ATAF and NORTHAG was in the Netherlands, at Joint Operations Center Maastricht (JOC Maastricht). In 1983 NATO began with the construction of Static War Headquarters Castlegate in Linnich, Germany as a replacement for JOC Maastricht. 2 ATAF commanded RAF Germany, the Belgian Air Force, the Royal Netherlands Air Force, two divisions of the German Air Force and one US Air Force Tactical Fighter Group, as well as extensive air defense and radar installations. [6]
Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force (4 ATAF) had been formed in 1958 to direct NATO air units in the southern part of Germany in support of Central Army Group (CENTAG). Commander of 4ATAF was the commanding general of US Seventeenth Air Force. The peacetime headquarters of 4 ATAF was in Heidelberg, the command center in the case of war for 4 ATAF and CENTAG was a secret bunker facility known as Feudenheim Bunker in Mannheim-Feudenheim, Germany. In 1985 NATO began with the construction of a new command bunker for CENTAG and 4 ATAF in Ruppertsweiler, Germany. [7] Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force commanded the Seventeenth Air Force, two divisions of the German Air Force and the 1 Canadian Air Group of the Royal Canadian Air Force, as well as extensive air defense and radar installations, including the United States Army's 32nd Army Air Defense Command. [8]
| List of AAFCE commanders | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Name | Country | Service | Duration |
| 10 | Air Chief Marshal Sir Peter Le Cheminant | United Kingdom | Royal Air Force | 5 February 1976 – 1 June 1979 |
| 11 | Air Chief Marshal Sir John Stacey | United Kingdom | Royal Air Force | 1 June 1979 – 1 February 1981 |
| 12 | Air Chief Marshal Sir Peter Terry | United Kingdom | Royal Air Force | 1 February 1981 – 8 April 1981 |
| 13 | Air Chief Marshal Sir John Gingell | United Kingdom | Royal Air Force | 8 April 1981 – 14 March 1984 |
| 14 | Air Chief Marshal Michael Beavis | United Kingdom | Royal Air Force | 14 March 1984 – 19 September 1986 |
| 15 | Air Chief Marshal Sir Joseph Gilbert | United Kingdom | Royal Air Force | 19 September 1986 – 1 May 1989 |
| 16 | Air Chief Marshal Sir Anthony Skingsley | United Kingdom | Royal Air Force | 1 May 1989 – 27 August 1993 |
During the early 1990s, following the relaxation of the tensions between East and West, a major reorganization of the NATO command and control structure was undertaken. As part of this, and to take account of the decrease in the number of allied aircraft in Europe, a rationalization of the Central Region air force headquarters occurred in 1993 with the disbandment of 2ATAF and 4ATAF on 30 June 1993 and AAFCE absorbing the functions previously undertaken by the ATAFs. The new command was inaugurated on 1 June 1993 retaining the name of Allied Air Forces Central Europe, but with a change in acronym to AIRCENT. [9] The command was redesignated Component Command-Air Headquarters Ramstein in 2004, Allied Air Command, Ramstein in 2010 and Allied Air Command in 2013. [9]
Ramstein Air Base or Ramstein AB is a United States Air Force base in Rhineland-Palatinate, a state in southwestern Germany. It serves as headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) and also for NATO Allied Air Command (AIRCOM). Ramstein is located near the town of Ramstein-Miesenbach, which stands outside the base's west gate, in the rural district of Kaiserslautern.
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) is the military headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) that commands all NATO operations worldwide. ACO's and SHAPE's commander is titled Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), a U.S. four-star general officer or flag officer who also serves as Commander, U.S. European Command. SHAPE is situated in Mons, Belgium.
An army group is a military organization consisting of several field armies, which is self-sufficient for indefinite periods. It is usually responsible for a particular geographic area. An army group is the largest field organization handled by a single commander – usually a full general or field marshal – and it generally includes between 400,000 and 1,000,000 soldiers.
Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum (JFCBS) is a NATO command with its headquarters at Brunssum, the Netherlands. It was established in 2004 from previous commands as part of NATO's continuing command structure reductions in the face of a then-diminishing threat.
Allied Forces Northern Europe (AFNORTH) was the northern Major Subordinate Command of NATO's Allied Command Europe (ACE), located at Kolsås outside Oslo. In the case of war with the Soviet Union, AFNORTH would assume supreme command of all Allied forces in northern Europe and Germany north of Elbe/Hamburg and adjacent sea territory.
JHQRheindahlen was a military base in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany active from 1954 to 2013. It functioned as the main headquarters for British forces in Germany and for the NATO Northern Army Group. Latterly it was also known as the Rheindahlen Military Complex, part of Rheindahlen Garrison. It was named after the local village of Rheindahlen, part of the city borough of Mönchengladbach.
Campbell Barracks, in Heidelberg, Germany, was home to Headquarters, United States Army Europe (USAREUR) from 1948 to 2013. It was also home to Headquarters, V Corps and Headquarters, Allied Force Command Heidelberg.
Allied Joint Force CommandNaples is a NATO military command based in Lago Patria, in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Italy. It was activated on 15 March 2004, after what was effectively a redesignation of its predecessor command, Allied Forces Southern Europe (AFSOUTH), originally formed in 1951. In NATO Military Command Structure terms, AFSOUTH was a "Major Subordinate Command". The commander of JFC Naples reports to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, Casteau, Belgium.
Victor Eugene "Gene" Renuart Jr. is a retired United States Air Force four-star general. His last military assignment was as the commander of United States Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command from March 23, 2007, to May 19, 2010. Prior to that, he served as director of strategic plans and policy, the Joint Staff. Renuart retired from the Air Force on July 1, 2010, after over 39 years of service.
The Allied Air Command (AIRCOM) is the central command of all NATO air and space forces and the Commander Allied Air Command is the prime air and space advisor to the Alliance. When directed by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), it provides the core of the headquarters responsible for the conduct of air operations. The command is based at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
The 86th Air Division is a former designation of the 86th Airlift Wing, a United States Air Force organization. It was assigned to United States Air Forces in Europe at Ramstein Air Base, West Germany. It was inactivated on 14 November 1968. Its mission was the air defense of NATO-controlled airspace in Western Europe.
The Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) was a NATO military formation comprising four Western European Army Corps, during the Cold War as part of NATO's forward defence in the Federal Republic of Germany.
Headquarters Allied Force Command Heidelberg was a formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) responsible for providing deployable joint staff elements (DJSE) in support of NATO operations worldwide. It was headquartered at Campbell Barracks, Germany, and reported to the Joint Force Command Brunssum (JFCBS). During the War on Terrorism, it provided command and control elements to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). It was disbanded on 1 April 2013.
The Structure of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is complex and multi-faceted. The decision-making body is the North Atlantic Council (NAC), and the member state representatives also sit on the Defence Policy and Planning Committee (DPPC) and the Nuclear Planning Group (NPG). Below that the Secretary General of NATO directs the civilian International Staff, that is divided into administrative divisions, offices and other organizations. Also responsible to the NAC, DPPC, and NPG are a host of committees that supervise the various NATO logistics and standardisation agencies.
Second Allied Tactical Air Force was a NATO military formation under Allied Air Forces Central Europe tasked with providing air support to NATO's Northern Army Group (NORTHAG). 2 ATAF commanded all flying units based within its sector and all reinforcements flying into its sector, as well as ground-based radar systems and stations, air defense units and the airfields in its sector.
Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force was a NATO military formation under Allied Air Forces Central Europe tasked with providing air support to NATO's Central Army Group (CENTAG). 4 ATAF commanded all flying units based within its sector and all reinforcements flying into its sector, as well as ground-based radar systems and stations, air defense units and the airfields in its sector.
NATO Headquarters Cannerberg / Joint Operations Centre (JOC), located behind the Château Neercanne south of Maastricht, on the border with Belgium, was, during the Cold War, a communications center and headquarters of NATO. It housed the war headquarters of Northern Army Group and Second Allied Tactical Air Force.
The following is a hierarchical outline for the elements of the United States Air Force in Europe at the end of the Cold War. It is intended to convey the connections and relationships between units and formations. In case of war with the Warsaw Pact, all would have been assigned to NATO.
Allied Land Forces Southern Europe (LANDSOUTH) was a military command of NATO's Allied Forces Southern Europe (AFSOUTH) command. Based in Verona in Northern Italy LANDSOUTH was tasked with defending Italy north of the Apennine mountains against a Warsaw Pact or Yugoslavian invasion. Activated in 1951 under an Italian Army four-star general, the command was disbanded in 2004.
The history of NATO begins in the immediate aftermath of World War II when British diplomacy set the stage to contain the Soviet Union and to stop the expansion of communism in Europe. The United Kingdom and France signed, in 1947, the Treaty of Dunkirk, a defensive pact, which was expanded in 1948 with the Treaty of Brussels to add the three Benelux countries and committed them to collective defense against an armed attack for fifty years. The British worked with Washington to expand the alliance into NATO in 1949, adding the United States and Canada as well as Italy, Portugal, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland. West Germany joined in 1955 and Spain joined in 1982.