Ramstein Air Base or Ramstein AB is a
United States Air Force base
This is a list of installations operated by the United States Air Force located within the United States and abroad. Locations where the Air Force have a notable presence but do not operate the facility are also listed.
Background
The locatio ...
in
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...
, a state in southwestern
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. It serves as headquarters for the
United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa
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 ...
(USAFE-AFAFRICA) and also for
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
Allied Air Command
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 pro ...
(AIRCOM). Ramstein is located near the town of
Ramstein-Miesenbach
Ramstein-Miesenbach is a town in the district of Kaiserslautern in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany, adjacent to the U.S. Ramstein Air Base.
History
As a result of the State of Rheinland-Pfalz administrative reform, Ramstein-Miesenbach, which ...
, which stands outside the base's west gate, in the rural
district of Kaiserslautern.
The east gate of Ramstein Air Base is approximately from Kaiserslautern (locally referred to by Americans as "K-Town"). Other nearby civilian communities include
Landstuhl
Landstuhl () is a town in the Kaiserslautern district of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. It is the seat of ''Verbandsgemeinde Landstuhl'', a kind of "collective municipality." Landstuhl is situated on the north-west edge of the Palatinate F ...
, some from the west gate.
Overview
![521st Air Mobility Operations Wing](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/521st_Air_Mobility_Operations_Wing.png)
The host unit is the
86th Airlift Wing
The 86th Airlift Wing (86 AW) 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 wing's primary mi ...
(86AW), commanded by
Brigadier General
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
Otis C. Jones.
The 86th Airlift Wing is composed of six groups, 30 squadrons and four bases in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, the Azores, and
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. Its mission is the operation and maintenance of airlift assets consisting of
C-130Js,
C-21s, and
C-37A
The Gulfstream V (Model GV, pronounced "G-five") is a long-range, large business jet aircraft produced by Gulfstream Aerospace, derived from the previous Gulfstream IV. It flies up to , up to and has a range. It typically accommodates four cr ...
Gulfstream aircraft throughout Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
Also at Ramstein is the
435th Air Ground Operations Wing (formerly the 435th Air Base Wing) (435AGOW), which focuses on base-support responsibilities within the KMC. It is composed of five groups and 20 squadrons. The wing provides rapid mobility and agile combat support for military operations, and maintains expeditionary forces and infrastructure.
, the commander of the 435th AGOW is Colonel Bryan T. Callahan.
The new
521st Air Mobility Operations Wing stood up on . , the commander of the 521st AMOW is Colonel Adrienne Williams.
Ramstein's wings are assigned to the headquarters 3rd Air Force also based at RamsteinAB that controls most of the USAF Wings throughout Europe.
Ramstein AB is part of the
Kaiserslautern Military Community
Kaiserslautern Military Community is a community of Americans living in and around Kaiserslautern, Germany, supporting United States Armed Forces and NATO installations, such as the Ramstein Air Base, Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Kapaun Ai ...
(KMC), where more than 54,000 American service members and more than 5,400 US civilian employees live and work. U.S. organizations in the KMC also employ the services of more than 6,200 German workers. Air Force units in the KMC alone employ almost 9,800 military members, bringing with them nearly 11,100 family members. There are more than 16,200 military, U.S.civilian and U.S.contractors assigned to RamsteinAB alone.
In 1984, an enlisted airman (Sgt Darrel Dietlein), assigned to the
1964th Communications Group, solicited National Headquarters Civil Air Patrol to charter the first "Cadet Squadron" in Germany, naming the unit "Ramstein Cadet Squadron" and becoming the unit's first commander as a CAP First Lieutenant. The Ramstein Cadet Squadron was formed with Captain Mark Bailey serving as the unit's first liaison officer, as well as other like minded military volunteers and roughly six cadets. To this day, the squadron enjoys vibrant member participation, as well as base support, hosting drill competitions and encampments along with their traditional military studies and aerospace education efforts. The Ramstein Cadet Squadron commander was Lt Col Chris Blank. The squadron is the parent unit for 2 flights located at Wiesbaden Army Airfield and Patch Barracks, Stuttgart. Membership was 124 members.
In the subsequent years, a companion cadet squadron was formed at Spangdahlem Air Base. Distance learning cadets are located at SHAPE, Belgium and Hohenfels, Germany.
Current status
From 2004 to 2006, Ramstein Air Base underwent an extensive expansion with a major construction project – including an all-new
airport terminal
An airport terminal is a building at an airport where passengers transfer between ground transportation and the facilities that allow them to board and disembark from an Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft.
Within the terminal, passengers purchase ...
, among other new facilities, through the so-called Rhein-Main Transition Program which was initiated in support of the total closure of
Rhein-Main Air Base
Rhein-Main Air Base (located at ) was a United States Air Force air base near the city of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was a Military Airlift Command (MAC) and United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) installation, occupying the south side ...
on and transferring all its former capacities to Ramstein Air Base (70%) and
Spangdahlem Air Base (30%).
While the KMC remains the largest U.S.community overseas at 53,000 people, the defense drawdown continues to shape its future. Due to the departure of other main operating installations, more than 100 geographically separated units receive support from Ramstein.
Ramstein Air Base also served as temporary housing for the
United States men's national soccer team
The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF.
The U.S. team ha ...
during the
2006World Cup.
There is often a Summer Camp to Ramstein from British CCF (RAF) and ATC cadets, as well as Civil Air Patrol encampments and tours like the ones held in July 2015 and June 2016.
Currently, Ramstein Air Base consists of two runways09/27 and 08/26two large aprons, one near a hangar north of Runways 27 and 26, and one to the north of 09 and 08. The north-western apron also has a small passenger terminal with two
jetways
A jet bridge (also termed jetway, jetwalk, airgate, gangway, aerobridge/airbridge, skybridge, finger, airtube, expedited suspended passenger entry system (E-SPES), or its official industry name passenger boarding bridge (PBB)) is an enclosed, ...
. This means the air base is capable of joint-use operations, although currently there are no scheduled airlines running flights to and from Ramstein.
History
The construction of the air base was a project designed and undertaken by the French Army and the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
, colors =
, anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day)
, battles =
, battles_label = Wars
, website =
, commander1 = ...
from 1949 to 1952. It was an example of international collaboration: designed by French engineers, constructed by local businesses and large number of temporary and migrant workers of Italy, Portugal, Spain, Greece, and Turkey and operated by Americans.
The area was a
swamp
A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
that had to be built up by two meters (six feet). A train line was laid out from in a yoke shape around to the current base and back down to the Landstuhl spur in 1948 by agreement of the U.S. and French Occupational Forces. Trainloads of earth were moved over the line and spread over the base's current area to raise it to its current level. Once the ground was level, building construction began. Two bases were laid out. Landstuhl Air Base on the south side and Ramstein Air Station (station, no airstrip) on the north. From 1948 to the opening of the bases in 1953, it was the largest one spot construction site in Europe employing over 270,000 Europeans at one time.
Previous names
* Landstuhl Air Base,
* Ramstein Air Base,
: Landstuhl and Ramstein were separate bases until
* Ramstein–Landstuhl Air Base,
* Ramstein Air Base, present
Major USAF units assigned
Source: Fletcher, ''Air Force Bases, Volume II''
* 86th Air Base Group, 5 April 195214 November 1968
:
86th Wing (various designations), 21 August 195218 November 1960; 31 January 1973present
: (86th Air Base Group (later under various designations) assigned as subordinate unit, 21 August 1952)
:
86th Air Division
The 86th Air Division (86 AD) 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 ...
, 18 November 196014 November 1968
* 7030th Combat Support Group, 6 April 19531 May 1960
: 7030th Air Base Wing, 5 October 196614 June 1985
*
Twelfth Air Force
The Twelfth Air Force (12 AF; Air Forces Southern, (AFSOUTH)) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona.
The command is the air component to ...
, 27 April 19531 January 1958
*
7486th Air Defense Group
The 7486th Air Defense Group is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Twelfth Air Force, being stationed at Landstuhl Air Base, West Germany. It was inactivated on 12 September 1957.
History Lineage
* ...
, 1 May 195425 September 1957
*
322d Air Division
The 322d Airlift Division (322d AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Military Airlift Command, assigned to Twenty-First Air Force, being stationed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. It was inactivate ...
, 22 March 195412 August 1955
: 322d Airlift Division, 23 June 19781 April 1992
*
7455th Tactical Intelligence Wing
The 7455th Tactical Intelligence Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the United States Air Forces in Europe, stationed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. The unit was inactivated on 1 July 1992.
The wing was a ...
, 1 September 19851 July 1992
*
Seventeenth Air Force, 15 November 19597 October 1972; 1 October 200824 April 2012
* HQ, Atlantic Air Rescue Center (various designations), 8 October 196130 June 1973
*
26th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing
The 26th Information Operations Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with United States Air Forces in Europe at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, where it was inactivated on 5 July 2006.
The wing was first establi ...
, 5 October 196631 January 1973
*
HQ, USAFE, 10 March 1973present
*
306th Strategic Wing, 15 August 197630 June 1978
*
7th Air Division
The 7th Air Division (7 AD) served the United States Air Force with distinction from early 1944 through early 1992, earning an outstanding unit decoration and a service streamer along the way.
History
Hawaii
As the 7th Fighter Wing, the divis ...
, 1 July 19781 February 1992
*
316th Air Division, 14 June 19851 May 1991
* NHQ119 Civil Air PatrolRamstein Cadet SquadronUnit 3395, 1984present
*
377th Combat Support Wing
The 377th Air Base Wing is a wing (air force unit), wing of the United States Air Force based at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. The wing has been the host unit at Kirtland since January 1993. It was activated on 1 January 1993, when Air F ...
, 14 June 19851 May 1991
*
435th Air Base Wing, 15 January 200416 July 2009
*
435th Air Ground Operations Wing, 16 July 2009–present
*
38th Combat Support Wing, 24 May 200530 June 2007
*
521st Air Mobility Operations Wing, 4 September 2008present
Major U.S. Army units assigned
Source: Fletcher, ''Air Force Bases, Volume II''
*
21st TSC / 39th Movement Control BN. (2008Present)
* USAREUR Movement Control Team / AMC Logistic Center
* USAREUR Overseas Replacement CenterContingency Operations / AMC Passenger Terminal
Origins
In 1940, construction of today's was stopped when
a bridge that was being built across the
Rhine River
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, source ...
near
Mannheim
Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...
collapsed, leaving a section of autobahn that could not be used. A part of the unused autobahn to the west of Mannheim, near
Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern (; Palatinate German: ''Lautre'') is a city in southwest Germany, located in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate Forest. The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfur ...
, was used as an airstrip by the
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
. The airstrip was also used by the advancing
U.S. Army Air Forces during the final months of World WarII. The old autobahn section is still used as the access road to the east and west gates of the base and the A6 was rebuilt south of the air base after the war.
During the initial postwar era, the USAAF repaired several former
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
airfields in
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
, part of the American occupation zone of Germany. With the advent of the
Berlin Blockade
The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, ro ...
and the chilling of relations with the Soviet Union, by 1948, it became obvious to
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
planners that these bases were tactically untenable because of their proximity to the
East German
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
and
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
n borders.
With the creation of
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
in response to
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
tensions in Europe in 1949, USAFE wanted its vulnerable fighter units in what was then
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
moved west of the Rhine River to provide greater air defense warning time. France agreed to provide air base sites within their zone of occupation in the
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...
as part of the NATO expansion program.
Construction of the modern USAF base near Kaiserslautern began in April 1948 under the provisions of a Franco-American reciprocal agreement. Two separate, but adjoining bases were designed. A headquarters base for
Twelfth Air Force
The Twelfth Air Force (12 AF; Air Forces Southern, (AFSOUTH)) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona.
The command is the air component to ...
, along with several NATO organizations, designated as Ramstein Air Station; and an operational fighter base, designated as Landstuhl Air Base. What is today known as Kisling Memorial Drive would separate the two facilities.
Enough construction was completed in mid-1952 that LandstuhlAB was opened on 5 August. Its facilities included a runway, dispersal hardstands, a
control tower
Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airsp ...
, ramps, and other flight-related facilities and the associated flying and support units. On , Det1, 86th Fighter-Bomber Wing arrived at LandstuhlAB from
Neubiberg Air Base
Neubiberg Air Base is a former German Air Force and United States Air Force airfield which was closed in 1991. It is located 9 km south of the city of Munich, Germany.
Today the former base area holds the campus of Bundeswehr University of ...
near
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
.
On , Ramstein Air Station was opened. Ramstein was the location of headquarters, Twelfth Air Force, and supported family housing, base exchange, commissary, dependents' schools and other administrative offices for the WAFs (Women's Air Force). The barracks that were built at Ramstein AS were used to house WAFs and single women that worked as U.S. Government employees at both RamsteinAS and LandstuhlAB. On , Headquarters,
Twelfth Air Force
The Twelfth Air Force (12 AF; Air Forces Southern, (AFSOUTH)) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona.
The command is the air component to ...
was activated on Ramstein Air Base, having moved from its joint facilities with HQ USAFE at
Wiesbaden AB
Lucius D. Clay Kaserne (german: Flugplatz Wiesbaden-Erbenheim) , commonly known as Clay Kaserne, is an installation of the United States Army in Hesse, Germany. The ''kaserne'' is located within Wiesbaden-Erbenheim. Named for General Lucius ...
. What was not generally known at the time and not made public until after the end of the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
in 1993, was the desire to have HQTwelfth Air Force in close proximity to the Air Defense Operations Center (ADOC)Kindsbach, 'Kindsbach Cave'the site of NATO's underground combat operations center.
The 86th Air Base Group was activated as the main base support unit for Landstuhl while the 7030th HQ Support Group was the main base support unit for Ramstein. On , the two bases were consolidated into the largest NATO-controlled air base in service on the continent. It was called "Ramstein–Landstuhl Air Base", but later, after the German government continued construction of the A6 autobahn from Kaiserslautern to Saarbrücken, the autobahn cut off access at the south of the base which is where the main gate was in the city limit of Landstuhl. The main gate was moved to the west side of the base which was in the town of Ramstein. The two bases were joined and the current Kisling Memorial Drive cut off to the public which made one base. In 1961, the base was officially named "Ramstein Air Base".
One legacy of the two separate air bases is that the north side of Ramstein retained a separate APO from the south side. The north side (Ramstein AB) is APOAE09012, while the south side (LandstuhlAB) is APOAE09009. Also separate Combat Support Groups, the 7030th for the north side, and the 86th for the south side existed. These were consolidated in the 1980s, and the two Combat Support units were merged into the 377th Combat Support Wing. There is still a north and south side Fitness Centers. The current northside Community Center before housed the WAF NCO Club. As well, there were two Movie Theaters on the North side and two on the South side. Currently, only two still stand on the north side: a remodeled Nightingale Theater (known before as the Four Corners Theater) on the corner across from the Base gas Station, and the north side AAFES dry cleaners that was known as the Ramstein Rocket Theater. On the South side, there are the current Hercules Theater (Falcon Theater) next to HQ 86th Air Wing and a non-existent theater for which new barracks are currently under construction at the corner across the street from Moms/Gear-up shops called the Landstuhler Knights Theater.
Near the Ramstein Air Base is the
Landstuhl Regional Medical Center
The Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC), also known as Landstuhl Hospital, is a U.S. Army medical center, located in the German town of Landstuhl, near Ramstein Air Base. The installation is an amalgamation of Marceau Kaserne (german: Infan ...
(LRMC), operated by the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
. Although part of the Kaiserslautern Military Community, LRMC has a separate history and was never a part of Ramstein or Landstuhl Air Bases, although both facilities have utilized the medical facilities at LRMC since they were established in 1953. Currently there are plans on the drawing board from the U.S. Department of Defense to build a new Medical Center on the current U.S. Army Weilerbach Storage Installation just to the east of RamsteinAB. Construction is to be completed in and around 2024.. It will be a twelve-story facility to house all departments of LRMC and the current Ramstein AB Clinic along with Dental Clinic facilities for the whole KMC. In turn, the East Gate to RamsteinAB will be extended from its current location to just off the Autobahn 6 Einsiedlerhof exit to the base at what is known as the Elvis Gate.
Operational history
86th Wing
![F-4E-F-16C-86thTFW](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/F-4E-F-16C-86thTFW.jpg)
Reassigned from
Neubiberg Air Base
Neubiberg Air Base is a former German Air Force and United States Air Force airfield which was closed in 1991. It is located 9 km south of the city of Munich, Germany.
Today the former base area holds the campus of Bundeswehr University of ...
,
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
in 1952 and except for a period between 1968 and 1973, the
86th Wing, under various designations, has been the main operational and host unit at Ramstein Air Base.
Throughout the 1950s, the 86th was primarily a Fighter-Bomber Wing. In 1960, it was realigned to an air defense mission and became the
86th Air Division
The 86th Air Division (86 AD) 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 ...
(Defense). The 86th AD was inactivated in 1968. Returning as an
F-4 Phantom II Tactical Fighter Wing in 1973, the 86th TFW performed that mission until 1994, deploying components to the Middle East during the 1990
Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
.
On , the
Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...
306th Strategic Wing was activated at Ramstein with a KC-135 air refueling and an RC-135 reconnaissance mission. The 306th also functioned as the focal point for all SAC operations in Europe and as liaison between SAC and USAFE. The wing moved to
RAF Mildenhall
Royal Air Force Mildenhall or RAF Mildenhall is a Royal Air Force (RAF) 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, ...
, England on .
In June 1985, the
316th Air Division was activated, centralizing command authority at Ramstein. The 86 TFW became the division's flight operations arm, while the newly formed
377th Combat Support Wing
The 377th Air Base Wing is a wing (air force unit), wing of the United States Air Force based at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. The wing has been the host unit at Kirtland since January 1993. It was activated on 1 January 1993, when Air F ...
, also activated in 1985, became responsible for the logistical and administrative support on base, replacing the 86th and 7030 Combat Support Wings. On , Ramstein Air Base was the site of the tragic
Ramstein airshow disaster
The Ramstein air show disaster occurred on Sunday, 28 August 1988 during the ''Flugtag '88'' airshow at USAF Ramstein Air Base near Kaiserslautern, West Germany. Three aircraft of the Italian Air Force display team collided during their displ ...
, which killed 72 spectators and three pilots, and injured hundreds.
After the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
, the 86th was realigned to become the
86th Airlift Wing
The 86th Airlift Wing (86 AW) 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 wing's primary mi ...
. On , the 55th Aeromedical Airlift Squadron moved from the 435thAW at
Rhein-Main Air Base
Rhein-Main Air Base (located at ) was a United States Air Force air base near the city of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was a Military Airlift Command (MAC) and United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) installation, occupying the south side ...
Germany to Ramstein. On 1 October, the 75th and 76th Airlift Squadron arrived at Ramstein from the 60th AW at
Travis Air Force Base
Travis Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base under the operational control of the Air Mobility Command (AMC), located three miles (5 km) east of the central business district of the city of Fairfield, in Solano County, California ...
California, and 437thAW at
Charleston AFB South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
, respectively. A year later on , the 37thAirlift Squadron was transferred to Ramstein from Rhein-Main.
In 1999, the activation of the 86th Contingency Response Group brought the airfield and aerial port operations and provision of force protection at contingency airfields mission to the wing.
On , the
38th Combat Support Wing was activated to enhance support to USAFE geographically separated units. This wing was inactivated in 2007. The 521st Air Mobility Operations Wing was activated on . The wing is the headquarters for the existing 721st Air Mobility Operations Group at Ramstein and the 521st AMOG at
Naval Station Rota, Spain
Naval Station Rota, also known as NAVSTA Rota ( es, Base Naval de Rota, links=no), is a Spanish-American naval base commanded by a Spanish Rear Admiral. Located in Rota in the Province of Cádiz, NAVSTA Rota is the largest American military comm ...
. The 521st AMOW provides an enhanced level of control for the AMC route structure in Europe, which includes critical locations for getting people, cargo and patients to and from current war zones.
26th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing
![Rs-26trw-rf4c](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Rs-26trw-rf4c.jpg)
On , French President
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...
announced that France would withdraw from NATO's integrated military structure. The United States was informed that it must remove its military forces from France by .
As a result, the
26th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing
The 26th Information Operations Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with United States Air Forces in Europe at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, where it was inactivated on 5 July 2006.
The wing was first establi ...
, based at Toul-Rosieres Air Base, France, and two of its squadrons, the 38th and 32d, equipped with the
RF-4C Phantom II
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and ...
, were relocated to Ramstein on .
Assigned squadrons of the 26th TRW at Ramstein were:
* 38th Tactical Reconnaissance (RF-4C, Tail Code: RR)
* 526th Fighter Interceptor/Tactical Fighter (F-102/F-4E (1970) Tail Code: RS)
* 7th Special Operation (C-130, C-47, UH-1)
While at Ramstein, the 26th TRW acquired a number of other units with different flying missions. One function gained by the 26 TRW, almost immediately after arriving at Ramstein, was the maintenance and flying of the HQ USAFE liaison aircraft. In addition, the Wing was responsible for flying members of the HQ USAFE staff to Air Force and NATO bases throughout Europe. In addition, the 26th TRW was only designated as a flight, because of its small size. It consisted of a mixture of aircraft, including: T-29s, T-33s, T-39s, C-54s, O-2s, H-19s, and UH-1s.
In 1971 a detachment of the 630th Military Airlift Support Squadron from
Rhein-Main Air Base
Rhein-Main Air Base (located at ) was a United States Air Force air base near the city of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was a Military Airlift Command (MAC) and United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) installation, occupying the south side ...
was assigned to Ramstein and a large cargo aerial port constructed. This allowed
Military Airlift Command
The Military Airlift Command (MAC) is an inactive United States Air Force major command (MAJCOM) that was headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. Established on 1 January 1966, MAC was the primary strategic airlift organization of the ...
C-141
The Lockheed C-141 Starlifter is a retired military strategic airlifter that served with the Military Air Transport Service (MATS), its successor organization the Military Airlift Command (MAC), and finally the Air Mobility Command (AMC) of the ...
and
C-5 Galaxy
The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a large military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed, and now maintained and upgraded by its successor, Lockheed Martin. It provides the United States Air Force (USAF) with a heavy intercontinental-rang ...
aircraft to use Ramstein as a transshipment point for material, which was then moved within USAFE by
C-130
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 ...
tactical transports.
In the spring of 1972, the 7th Special Operations Squadron (SOS) was assigned flying C-130Es, C-47As, and UH-1Ns. Because of the special operations mission of the 7 SOS, it reported directly to HQ USAFE for operational control.
As part of operation "Creek Action", a command-wide effort to realign functions and streamline operations, HQ USAFE transferred the 26th TRW from Ramstein to
Zweibrücken Air Base
Zweibrücken Air Base was a NATO military air base in West Germany . It was located SSW of Kaiserslautern and SE of Zweibrücken. It was assigned to the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) durin ...
and the 86th Tactical Fighter Wing was reassigned from Zweibrücken to Ramstein on .
NATO command center
From its inception, Ramstein was designed as a NATO command base. In 1957, Ramstein provided support for NATO's HQ Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force, which moved to Ramstein from
Trier Air Base
Trier Air Base, also known as Trier Euren Airfield, is a former military airfield located in the southwest of Trier, a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It was established in 1910. During World War I it was used by the Deutsche Luftstreitkr ...
on upon the closure of that facility. Also on that date, HQ Twelfth Air Force was transferred to
Bergstrom Air Force Base
Bergstrom Air Force Base (1942–1993) was located seven miles southeast of Austin, Texas. In its later years it was a major base for the U.S. Air Force's RF-4C reconnaissance fighter fleet.
History
Bergstrom was originally activated on ...
, Texas, and was assigned to
Tactical Air Command
Tactical Air Command (TAC) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. It was inactivated on 1 J ...
. It was replaced by HQ Seventeenth Air Force (USAFE) which was moved from North Africa. In turn, the 17th AF was replaced by its mother unit HQ USAFE from Lindsey Air Station, Wiesbaden, Germany in 1973. The HQ 17th AF was moved to Sembach AB at that time and controlled all USAF Air Divisions and Wings north of the Alps, with the exception of the British Isles and Scandinavia, which were controlled by HQ 3rd AF at Mildenhall.
On , several headquarters were relocated into and out of Ramstein, when SeventeenthAF moved to
Sembach Air Base
Sembach Kaserne is a United States Army post in Donnersbergkreis, Germany, near Kaiserslautern, and is about 19 miles (30 km) east of Ramstein Air Base. Prior to 2010, the installation was a United States Air Force installation and prior to ...
to make room for the expected move of HQUSAFE to Ramstein. This entire operation, code-named "Creek Action", was carried out as part of the USAF's new worldwide policy of locating the most vital headquarters in thinly populated rural areas rather than near cities. Later, HQ USAFE was moved due to the fact that US Intelligence found that the Soviets had plans to invade Western Europe through the Fulda Gap in Germany. The military thought to move vital HQs on the other side of the Rhein River for protection.
As a result of this policy change, Ramstein air base became a large multi-national NATO center: in addition to the USAFE's headquarters, it also housed the new NATO headquarters of the
Allied Air Forces Central Europe
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.
History
Allied Air Forces Central Europe was activated on 2 April 1951 at Fon ...
(AAFCE).
The AAFCE also commanded the 2nd Allied Tactical Air Force (2ATAF) and the 4th ATAF. The 4th ATAF, which had been headquartered at Ramstein for many years, included the 1st Canadian Air Group, 1st and 2nd Divisions of the West
German Air Force, and units of the USAFE's 3rd and 17th Air Force.
HQ USAFE fully completed its move from Wiesbaden to Ramstein in early 1991.
With USAFE's arrival in 1973, Ramstein entered a period of expansion. The duel commander of the 316th AD / 86 TFW became host commander of Americans living in the Kaiserslautern Military Community instead of the US Army 21st Commanding General. The Wiesbaden USAF Community was then traded to the US Army Control as for an even Kaiserlautern switch. The KMC from the 1950s to the early 1990s had an average population of Americans of 110,000, outnumbering those Germans in the City of Kaiserslautern for that period.
Allied Air Forces Central Europe
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.
History
Allied Air Forces Central Europe was activated on 2 April 1951 at Fon ...
was established at Ramstein on . Ramstein subsequently provided support for other headquarters including the 322nd Airlift Division that arrived on , and
SAC's 7th Air Division that arrived on .
In December 1980, HQ Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force was moved from Ramstein to
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
and co-located with HQ Central Army Group.
Today, the base is home to the
Allied Air Command
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 pro ...
, which is responsible to
Joint Force Command Brunssum
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-dim ...
, the only and main NATO command unit on Ramstein AB.
ADOC Kindsbach
Close to Ramstein was the site of Air Defense Operations Center (ADOC)Kindsbach, AKA 'Kindsbach Cave' – the site of Europe's underground combat operations center.
The facility was located in a former German western front command headquarters. The French took control of the underground bunker after World War II, and USAFE assumed control in 1953. After major renovations, USAFE opened the center on .
The center was a state-of-the-art, 67-room, facility where USAFE could have led an air war against the Soviet Union. The center had a digital computer to work out bombing problems, cryptographic equipment for coded message traffic and its own photo lab to develop reconnaissance photos. Responsible for an air space extending deep behind the
Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its s ...
, the center interacted directly with
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...
, NATO,
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) is the military headquarters of the NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) that commands all NATO operations worldwide. ACO's and SHAPE's commander ...
and all USAFE bases. With its massive telephone switchboard and 80 teletype machines, the cave was plugged into everything in the outside world. The center was receiving more than 1,000 calls a day.
As a further measure of protection, the cave was fully self-contained with its own
water supply
Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...
, electric backup-generators,
climate control
Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air in an enclosed space. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. HV ...
s, dining facilities and sleeping accommodations for its 125-man crew. Visitor passes were rarely issued to this secret facility.
Throughout the years, leadership changed but USAFE led the operations through numbered Air Forces. The center's commander was the USAFE Advanced Echelon. The glassed-in office was on the top floor of the three-story underground command center. Directly under the office was the management for offensive air operations. And the bottom floor office was the management for defensive air operations – to include support for U.S. Army forces and German Civil Defense. All three offices had a full view of the massive Air Operations Center map on the opposing wall.
The AOC was the largest room in the complex. Its three-story map was used to plot minute-by-minute movements of friendly and unidentified aircraft. But the center was much more than just a tracking station, because it could also react to threats. They always knew the current operational status of air weapons in theater including missiles, and could dispatch armed response "at a moment's notice".
By the early 1960s, the manual plotting system used to track aircraft at the cave and elsewhere throughout Germany was too slow and inaccurate for the quick responses necessary. Beginning in 1962, airmen trained in the new 412L air weapons control system began to arrive in Germany and at the cave. Over the next year, the new GE semi-automatic system was installed. When complete at the cave, the current air picture over East and West Germany, as well as parts of the eastern soviet bloc countries, was displayed on a screen with radar information provided by various 412L sites located throughout Germany. Senior U.S. staff monitored the dynamic display
24/7. Over the next several years, additional 412L sites throughout Germany joined the network until the manual system had been totally replaced.
By 1984, the Kindsbach Cave had become too small and its cost for renovation too high. The USAFE vacated the facility and, on , control was returned to the German government and the German government returned the facility to the original owner of the land. Today the Kindsbach Cave is private property, through tours of the cave can be arranged. The cave is overgrown by vegetation, trees, and new housing.
Drone war control center
In April 2015, Ramstein Air Base was reported by German and international media as an important
control center in the
drone
Drone most commonly refers to:
* Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg
* Unmanned aerial vehicle
* Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft
* Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone
Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to:
...
war staged under the
Obama administration against targets in areas like
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
,
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
,
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
and
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
. The German government claimed not to have been informed about this function of the U.S. base.
In a TV and online documentary, the German
Das Erste channel cited 2014 reports from
Norddeutscher Rundfunk
Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR; ''Northern German Broadcasting'') is a public broadcasting, public radio and television broadcaster, based in Hamburg. In addition to the city-state of Hamburg, NDR broadcasts for the German states of Lower Saxony, M ...
,
WDR, and the that revealed Ramstein to be an important hub in the drone war against terror suspects. New data, provided by
Edward Snowden
Edward Joseph Snowden (born June 21, 1983) is an American and naturalized Russian former computer intelligence consultant who leaked highly classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2013, when he was an employee and su ...
affiliate
Glenn Greenwald
Glenn Edward Greenwald (born March 6, 1967) is an American journalist, author and lawyer. In 2014, he cofounded ''The Intercept'', of which he was an editor until he resigned in October 2020. Greenwald subsequently started publishing on Substac ...
, supported these reports with
classified documents from inside the U.S. administration and were also presented in the
Citizenfour
''Citizenfour'' is a 2014 documentary film directed by Laura Poitras, concerning Edward Snowden and the NSA spying scandal. The film had its US premiere on October 10, 2014, at the New York Film Festival and its UK premiere on October 17, 2014, ...
video documentary. The revelation of US drone activities from Ramstein lead to nationwide anti-drone protests under the banner of "Stop Ramstein Air Base".
In 2019, three
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
is who lost relatives in a 2012 US drone strike took legal action against the German government for aiding the breaking of international law by the United States, by tolerating these operations from Ramstein. The German Higher Administrative Court in
Münster
Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state di ...
ruled that the German government must take appropriate measures to control whether the US army follows
international law
International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...
at Ramstein Air Base. However, the possibilities of Germany to control US activities on their territory are very limited as the United States have jurisdiction over Ramstein Air Base.
Illegal arms and munition transports
In 2015, the Serbian newspaper reported about Ramstein Air Base being used by the United States Armed Forces to transport arms and munitions to
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
. At the end of 2017, an anonymous U.S. official stated that the U.S. does, indeed, use Ramstein Air Base to supplement Syrian rebels with arms and munition. The
Cabinet of Germany stated that it did not grant the necessary permits for these transports, nor that it had been informed about them. The public prosecutor's office of Kaiserslautern is currently auditing whether an official investigation should be launched. However, such investigations are complicated because, despite Ramstein Air Base being located on German territory, German officials and politicians are not allowed to enter the base without permission of the U.S. commander. Previous investigations of the Ramstein Air Base, such as the
Abu Omar case, have proven to be unsuccessful. Should the investigation about the arms and munition transports be successful, it would constitute a violation of the German War Weapons Control Act.
Afghanistan Evacuation
In late Summer 2021, Ramstein Air Base became the transfer point for thousands of Afghan civilians fleeing Afghanistan following the
fall of Kabul back into
Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...
hands as U.S. and NATO forces withdrew from the country. Civilian airlines under the
Civil Reserve Air Fleet
The Civil Reserve Air Fleet is part of the United States's mobility resources. Selected aircraft from U.S. airlines, contractually committed to Civil Reserve Air Fleet, support United States Department of Defense airlift requirements in emergenci ...
, such as
Delta
Delta commonly refers to:
* Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet
* River delta, at a river mouth
* D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta")
* Delta Air Lines, US
* Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19
Delta may also ...
,
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
,
Eastern
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
*Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
*Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
*Eastern Air Li ...
, and
United
United may refer to:
Places
* United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
Arts and entertainment Films
* ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film
* ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
were allowed to land at Ramstein and serve as flights to take Afghan families and other supporters to the U.S. and NATO forces to new lives in the United States. Those who had to stay on the base were cared for in makeshift living centers which were set up to tend to their needs until they could be processed and flown to the United States.
Russo-Ukrainian War
On , Ramstein Air Base hosted a meeting of the International Advisory Group on Ukraine's Defense and Counteraction to Russia, convened by US Secretary of Defense
Lloyd Austin
Lloyd James Austin III (born August 8, 1953) is a retired United States Army four-star general who, since his appointment on January 22, 2021, has served as the 28th United States secretary of defense. He is the first African American to serv ...
to synchronize and coordinate Ukraine's military assistance in the war with Russia. The event was attended by heads of defense agencies of 42 countries. The meeting was attended by Minister of Defense of Ukraine
Oleksii Reznikov
Oleksii Yuriyovych Reznikov (; born 18 June 1966) is a Ukrainian lawyer and politician who has served as the Minister of Defence of Ukraine since 4 November 2021. Reznikov previously has served in several other positions in the government of ...
.
The participating countries agreed on financial assistance to Ukraine and the supply of "heavy" weapons. They also allowed Ukraine to strike at Russian strategic sites with Western weapons. The next meetings are planned to be held monthly.
Based units
Flying and notable non-flying units based at Ramstein Air Base.
Units marked GSU are
Geographically Separate Unit
In the United States military a Geographically Separate Unit (GSU) is a base that is physically separate from, yet not autonomous of its "parent" base. GSUs are "owned" by their parent organization and are typically quite small.
Assignment to a ...
s, which although based at Ramstein, are subordinate to a parent unit based at another location.
United States Air Force
United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa
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 ...
(USAFE-AFAFRICA)
* Headquarters United States Air Forces in EuropeAir Forces Africa
*
Third Air Force
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 ...
**Headquarters Third Air Force
**
86th Airlift Wing
The 86th Airlift Wing (86 AW) 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 wing's primary mi ...
***
86th Operations Group
The 86th Operations Group (86 OG) is the flying operational component of the 86th Airlift Wing, United States Air Force. The group is stationed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.
The mission of the 86 OG (Tail Code: RS) is to conduct airlift, aird ...
****
37th Airlift SquadronC-130J Hercules
The Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. The C-130J is a comprehensive update of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, with new engines, flight deck, and other systems.
The C-130J is the newest v ...
****
76th Airlift Squadron
The 76th Airlift Squadron is part of the 86th Airlift Wing at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. It operates executive airlift aircraft, including the Learjet C-21A and Gulfstream C-37A Gulfstream V.
The squadron was first activated during World ...
C-21A
The Learjet Model 35 and Model 36 are a series of United States, American multi-role business jets and military transport aircraft manufactured by Learjet. When used by the United States Air Force they carry the designation C-21A.
The aircraft ...
,
C-37A
The Gulfstream V (Model GV, pronounced "G-five") is a long-range, large business jet aircraft produced by Gulfstream Aerospace, derived from the previous Gulfstream IV. It flies up to , up to and has a range. It typically accommodates four cr ...
****
86th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron
The 86th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron (86 AES) is a unit of the United States Air Force. It is part of the 86th Operations Group, 86th Airlift Wing at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. It is a component of Third Air Force and United States Air Forc ...
****86th Operational Support Squadron
***86th Civil Engineer Group
****
786th Civil Engineer Squadron
***86th Logistics Readiness Group
***86th Maintenance Group
***86th Medical Group
***86th Mission Support Group
****786th Force Support Squadron
**
435th Air Expeditionary Wing
**
435th Air Ground Operations Wing
***
4th Air Support Operations Group
****
2nd Air Support Operations Squadron
****
7th Combat Weather Squadron
The 7th Combat Weather Squadron (7 CWS), based out of Wiesbaden, Germany, is a United States Air Force squadron providing weather intelligence to United States Army Europe and Africa (USAREUR-AF) forces across the United States European Command ...
***435th Air and Space Communications Group
****1st Air & Space Communications Operations Squadron
****
1st Combat Communications Squadron
****1st Communications Maintenance Squadron
***435th Contingency Response Group
****435th Construction and Training Squadron
****435th Contingency Response Squadron
****435th Contingency Response Support Squadron
****435th Security Forces Squadron
Air Combat Command
Air Combat Command (ACC) is one of nine Major Commands (MAJCOMs) in the United States Air Force, reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force (HAF) at the Pentagon. It is the primary provider of air combat forces for the Air Force, and i ...
(ACC)
*
Sixteenth Air Force
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 ele ...
**
480th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing
***
693rd Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group (GSU)
****
24th Intelligence Squadron
**** 402nd Intelligence Squadron
****
450th Intelligence Squadron
**** 693rd Intelligence Support Squadron
Air Mobility Command (AMC)
*
United States Air Force Expeditionary Center
The United States Air Force Expeditionary Center is the Air Force's Center of Excellence for advanced expeditionary combat support training and education. It consists of nine units with approximately 14,000 Airmen in 28 countries.
History
The U ...
**
521st Air Mobility Operations Wing
***
721st Air Mobility Operations Group
The 721st Air Mobility Operations Group (721 AMOG) is a United States Air Force (USAF) unit assigned to the 521st Air Mobility Operations Wing, stationed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.
History
The squadron was reactivated in 1977 to operate the ...
**** 10th Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Flight
**** 313th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron
**** 721st Aerial Port Squadron
**** 721st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
United States Army
United States Army Europe and Africa
United States Army Europe and Africa (USAREUR-AF) is an Army Service Component Command (ASCC) /Theater Army responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) and U.S. Africa Command (AFRICO ...
(USAREUR-AF)
*
21st Theater Sustainment Command
** Ramstein Gateway Reception Center
NATO
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) is the military headquarters of the NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) that commands all NATO operations worldwide. ACO's and SHAPE's commander ...
(SHAPE)
*
Allied Air Command
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 pro ...
(AIRCOM)
thumb , right , 786th CES Pest Management specialist
exterminating wasps in a roof
Schools
There are four schools at Ramstein Air Base: Ramstein Elementary School (grades PreK–2), Ramstein Intermediate School (grades 3–5), Ramstein American Middle School (grades 6–8), and
Ramstein High School (grades 9–12). All of these schools are run by
DoDDS
The Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS) are a network of schools, both primary and secondary, that serve the dependant, dependents of United States military and civilian United States Department of Defense (DoD) personnel in three ar ...
, a component of
DoDEA
The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) is a federal school system headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, responsible for planning, directing, coordinating, and managing prekindergarten through 12th grade educational programs on behal ...
.
In popular culture
Fictional entities
*
Lois Lane
Lois Lane is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #1 (June 1938). Lois is an award-winning journalist for ...
was born at Ramstein Air Base despite the base opening in 1948 and Lane debuting in 1938.
In films
* Ramstein was the location where Colonel Masters is taken after being rescued by his son in ''
Iron Eagle
''Iron Eagle'' is a 1986 action film directed by Sidney J. Furie who co-wrote the screenplay with Kevin Alyn Elders, and starring Jason Gedrick and Louis Gossett Jr.Mann, Roderick"Sidney Furie leads the cheer for 'Iron Eagle'."''Los Angeles Ti ...
'' (
1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal ente ...
).
* Ramstein was the location of the aborted landing of
Air Force One when it is hijacked by a group of terrorists in ''
Air Force One'' (
1997).
Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base
Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base is an Ohio Air National Guard installation located near Lockbourne in southern Franklin County. The base was named for the famous early aviator and Columbus native Eddie Rickenbacker. It is the home of ...
stood in for Ramstein as the film was shot mostly in the state of
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
.
*Ramstein was the location where Ethan Hunt and his team are given a second chance to retrieve stolen plutonium in ''
Mission: Impossible – Fallout'' (
2018)
In games
*Ramstein Air Base appears in the video game ''
Tom Clancy's EndWar
''Tom Clancy's EndWar'' is a strategy video game available on Microsoft Windows and all seventh-generation platforms except the Wii, with the timing and flow of gameplay differing across platforms. The console and PC version is a real-time tac ...
'' as a possible battlefield. In the game,
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
has since collapsed, and the base is controlled by the
European Federation
The United States of Europe (USE), the European State, the European Federation and Federal Europe, is the hypothetical scenario of the European integration leading to formation of a sovereign superstate (similar to the United States of Amer ...
.
*In ''
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3'', Ramstein Air Base suffers a surprise invasion by
Russian Ground Forces
The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска ВSukhoputnyye voyska V}), also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the land forces of the Russian Armed Forces.
The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces ...
after a
gas attack
Chemical warfare (CW) involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from nuclear warfare, biological warfare and radiological warfare, which together make up CBRN, the military acronym ...
.
*In ''
Wargame: European Escalation'', one mission of the NATO campaign takes place in the base.
In literature
*Both Ramstein Air Force Base and the Ramstein air disaster figure as plot points in
Donna Leon
Donna Leon (; born in Montclair, New Jersey) is the American author of a series of crime novels set in Venice, Italy, featuring the fictional hero Commissario Guido Brunetti. In 2003, she received the Corine Literature Prize.
Leon lived in Veni ...
's second Guido Brunetti novel, ''
Death in a Strange Country
''Death in a Strange Country'' (1993) is the second novel in Donna Leon
Donna Leon (; born in Montclair, New Jersey) is the American author of a series of crime novels set in Venice, Italy, featuring the fictional hero Commissario Guido Brunet ...
'' (1993)
* The base was mentioned in
Walter Dean Myers
Walter Dean Myers (born Walter Milton Myers; August 12, 1937 – July 1, 2014) was an American writer of children's books best known for young adult literature. He was born in Martinsburg, West Virginia, but was raised in Harlem. A tough childho ...
' book ''Sunrise over Fallujah''.
In music
*
Rammstein
Rammstein (, "ramming stone") is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band formed in Berlin in 1994. The band's lineup—consisting of lead vocalist Till Lindemann, lead guitarist Richard Kruspe, rhythm guitarist Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, ...
, a German metal band, formed in 1994. They have stated that they take their name from the
Ramstein air show disaster
The Ramstein air show disaster occurred on Sunday, 28 August 1988 during the ''Flugtag '88'' airshow at USAF Ramstein Air Base near Kaiserslautern, West Germany. Three aircraft of the Italian Air Force display team collided during their display ...
; in turn, the asteroid
110393 Rammstein is named after the band. The band's
self-titled song (on the album ''
Herzeleid
''Herzeleid'' (; "Heartbreak") is the debut studio album by German Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein, first released on 25 September 1995 via Motor Music.
Production and writing
After signing up with Motor Music, the band was instructed to se ...
'' (1995)) refers to the event.
In television
* In ''
The West Wing
''The West Wing'' is an American serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White Hous ...
'' episode "Memorial Day",
Donna Moss
Donnatella Moss is a fictional character played by Janel Moloney on the television serial drama ''The West Wing.'' During most of the series, Donna works for White House Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman as a senior assistant (or, as she jokingly c ...
is flown to Ramstein to be treated at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center nearby.
* In ''
The West Wing
''The West Wing'' is an American serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White Hous ...
'' episode "Red Haven's on Fire", Air Force Veteran
Leo McGarry
Leo Thomas McGarry is a fictional character played by American actor John Spencer on the television serial drama ''The West Wing''. This role earned Spencer the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2002. ...
refers to "Ramstein Air Force Base".
* In the
pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
of ''
Homeland
A homeland is a place where a cultural, national, or racial identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethn ...
'', Marine Sergeant
Nicholas Brody
Nicholas Brody (often simply called "Brody"), played by actor Damian Lewis, is a fictional character on the American television series ''Homeland'' on Showtime, created by Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon. Brody is a United States Marine Corps Gun ...
is debriefed in Ramstein after being rescued from an al-Qaeda base in Iraq.
* In the ''
Madam Secretary'' episode "The Seventh Floor", journalist Colin Mitchell is flown to Ramstein after being released by the Sudanese government.
* In ''
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', chief medical examiner
Melinda Warner reveals in season 7's "
Blast
Blast or The Blast may refer to:
*Explosion, a rapid increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner
*Detonation, an exothermic front accelerating through a medium that eventually drives a shock front
Film
* ''Blast'' (1997 film), ...
" that she served on the base in the
U.S. Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...
during the
Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
.
Accidents and incidents
Red Army Faction car bombing,
The
U.S. Air Forces in Europe
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
(USAFE) headquarters became the target of a bombing attack at 07:21 on , carried out by a
Red Army Faction
The Red Army Faction (RAF, ; , ),See the section "Name" also known as the Baader–Meinhof Group or Baader–Meinhof Gang (, , active 1970–1998), was a West German far-left Marxist-Leninist urban guerrilla group founded in 1970.
The ...
commando called 'Sigurd Debus'. A total of 20 victims were injured, some seriously.
Ramstein air show disaster,
The
Ramstein air show disaster
The Ramstein air show disaster occurred on Sunday, 28 August 1988 during the ''Flugtag '88'' airshow at USAF Ramstein Air Base near Kaiserslautern, West Germany. Three aircraft of the Italian Air Force display team collided during their display ...
was a mid-air collision that occurred at the Ramstein Air Force Base during the Flugtag '88 air show on Sunday, , killing 70 people.
C-5 crash,
On , a
C-5 Galaxy
The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a large military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed, and now maintained and upgraded by its successor, Lockheed Martin. It provides the United States Air Force (USAF) with a heavy intercontinental-rang ...
Transport plane carrying U.S. servicemen to the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...
crashed shortly after takeoff, killing 13 people and injuring 4 others.
Environmental scandal
In 2014, it was revealed that poisonous extinguishing foams (
PFCs) were used on Ramstein Air Base and other U.S. air bases in the region. These are now contaminating lakes, rivers and the ground water in the region. In one river, the contamination was 7700 times higher than the safety limit set by the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
. These contaminations are linked to cancer and birth defects.
frameless , right
Environment
Among other duties, the performs
pest management
Pest control is the regulation or management of a species defined as a pest (organism), pest; any animal, plant or fungus that impacts adversely on human activities or environment. The human response depends on the importance of the damage don ...
for the base.
References
Further reading
*
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*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
{{Authority control
Airports in Rhineland-Palatinate
Buildings and structures in Rhineland-Palatinate
Installations of the United States Air Force in Germany
Kaiserslautern (district)
Military airbases established in 1953
NATO installations in Germany