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. The base supports forward elements deploying to Eastern Europe and Africa.
The Third Air Force (Air Forces Europe) (3 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA). Its headquarters is Ramstein Air Base, Germany. It is responsible for all U.S. air forces in Europe and Africa, and operations and support activities in the U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command's areas of responsibility. It also has a unique mission as the U.S. military's primary liaison to the British government, which is conducted through the command's 3 AF-UK headquarters at RAF Mildenhall, England.
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.
Royal Air Force Lakenheath or RAF Lakenheath is a Royal Air Force station near the village of Lakenheath in Suffolk, England, UK, 4.7 miles (7.6 km) north-east of Mildenhall and 8.3 miles (13.4 km) west of Thetford. The base also sits close to Brandon.
Royal Air Force Mildenhall, or more simply RAF Mildenhall, is a Royal Air Force station located near Mildenhall in Suffolk, England. Despite its status as a Royal Air Force station, it primarily supports United States Air Force (USAF) operations, and is currently the home of the 100th Air Refueling Wing.
The United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) is a United States Air Force (USAF) major command (MAJCOM) and a component command of both United States European Command (USEUCOM) and United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM). As part of its mission, USAFE-AFAFRICA commands U.S. Air Force units pledged to NATO, maintaining combat-ready wings based from the United Kingdom to Turkey. USAFE-AFAFRICA plans, conducts, controls, coordinates and supports air and space operations in Europe, parts of Asia and all of Africa with the exception of Egypt to achieve U.S. national and NATO objectives based on taskings by the two combatant commanders.
The 48th Fighter Wing is part of the United States Air Force's Third Air Force, assigned to Headquarters Air Command Europe and United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE). It is based at RAF Lakenheath, England. The 48 FW is the only F-15 wing based in Europe which hosts two F-15E Strike Eagle squadrons. The wing also hosts two F-35A Lightning II squadrons. The 48 FW was given the name "Statue of Liberty Wing" on 4 July 1954 and remains the only U.S. Air Force unit with both a name and a numerical designation.
Spangdahlem Air Base is a NATO air base with the United States Air Force as a tenant constructed between 1951 and 1953 and located near the small German town of Spangdahlem, approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) north-northeast of the city of Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate.
Zweibrücken Air Base was a NATO military air base in West Germany. It was located 35 miles (56 km) SSW of Kaiserslautern and 2 miles (3.2 km) SE of Zweibrücken. It was assigned to the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) during its operational lifetime. It was a constituent member of the Kaiserslautern Military Community.
The 501st Combat Support Wing is an administrative support wing of the United States Air Force, based at RAF Alconbury, United Kingdom. It is one of three wings located in the United Kingdom as components of the Third Air Force and United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE).
MDP Wethersfield is a Ministry of Defence facility in Essex, England, located north of the village of Wethersfield, about 6 mi (9.7 km) north-west of the town of Braintree. Originally an RAF station, the original accommodation areas have now been converted to become the headquarters and training centre of the Ministry of Defence Police.
Quartier La Horie is a French Army base. It is located in the Moselle département, about 2 miles(3 km) west of the town of Phalsbourg, on the north side of the Route nationale 4 (N4) Highway adjacent to the village Saint-Jean-Kourtzerode; 29 miles (47 km) northwest of Strasbourg.
The 7th Special Operations Squadron is an active flying unit of the United States Air Force. It is a component of the 752d Special Operations Group, United States Special Operations Command, and is currently based at Royal Air Force Station Mildenhall in Suffolk, UK. From their base at RAF Mildenhall, the 7th Special Operations Squadron is able to deploy or extract troops from hostile, sensitive, or otherwise undesirable locations.
Since 1942 the United States has maintained air bases in the United Kingdom. Major Commands of the USAF having bases in the United Kingdom were the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), Strategic Air Command (SAC), and Air Mobility Command (AMC).
The Seventeenth Expeditionary Air Force was a numbered air force of the United States Air Force located at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. The command served the United States Air Forces in Europe during (1953–1996) and United States Air Forces Africa during 2008–2012. Upon reactivation on 1 October 2008, it became the air and space component of United States Africa Command. In this capacity, Seventeenth Air Force was referred to as U.S. Air Forces Africa (AFAFRICA). 17 AF was reformed in April 2012 to become the 17th Expeditionary Air Force, sharing a commander and headquarters with the Third Air Force. As of March 2022, the Third Air Force is USAFE-AFAFRICA's sole numbered air force, with the 17 EAF having been inactivated in July 2018.
The 406th Air Expeditionary Wing is a provisional air expeditionary unit assigned to the United States Air Force's Third Air Force, stationed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Its components conduct tactical airlift, personnel recovery, casualty evacuation, and attack missions in support of United States Africa Command.
The 86th Airlift Wing is a United States Air Force wing, currently assigned to the Third Air Force, United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa. The 86th AW is stationed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.
The 86th Operations Group is the flying operational component of the 86th Airlift Wing, United States Air Force. The group is stationed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.
The 48th Operations Group is the flying component of the 48th Fighter Wing, assigned to the United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa. The group is stationed at RAF Lakenheath, England.
The following is a hierarchical outline for the elements of the United States Air Force in Europe at the end of the Cold War. This list 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.
