History
The American Forces Network can trace its origins to 26 May 1942, when theOrigins
World War II
ThePost-war contraction and expansion
On 10 July 1945, the first AFN station in occupiedPost-War Europe
A large number of AFN stations continued broadcasting from American bases inKorean War
When war broke out inIran
An AFRTS radio station became operational inLadies and Gentlemen, I'm Chief Master Sergeant Bob Woodruff Station Manager of the American Forces Radio and Television Service inThe following day, AFRTS radio and television services in Iran were replaced by those operated by the state broadcasterTehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul .... After 22 years of radio broadcasting and 17 years of telecasting in Tehran, AFRTS Radio 1555 and TV Channel 7 cease all operations in this country at this time. I bid you all goodbye and thank you for letting us serve you. And now the national anthem of the United States of America."
South Vietnam
As the U.S. military presence in South Vietnam increased, AFRTS opened radio and later television stations there. AFRTS stations in Vietnam were initially known by the name "AFRS" (Armed Forces Radio Saigon), but as the number of stations quickly expanded throughout South Vietnam became known as "AFVN" (American Forces Vietnam Network) and had several stations, includingThailand
InTaiwan
Before the United States and theCaribbean
Then still known as the American Forces (or Armed Forces) Radio and Television Service, military bases and facilities throughout Puerto Rico received original radio programming from Army studios at Ft. Brooke in San Juan, Air Force studios at Ramey Air Force Base, and radio and television originating from Navy studios at Roosevelt Roads, in addition to local playback of stateside entertainment radio and television shows. This broadcast service was known as AFCN, the American Forces Caribbean Network in the 1970s (later as the Armed Forces Caribbean Network) served military bases and facilities throughout Puerto Rico from transmitters in San Juan (Fort Brooke, Fort Buchanan), Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, and Ramey Air Force Base. Each of these bases also had their own television transmitters or cable systems that played back stateside TV programming delivered to each location in weekly "packages" of 16mm film, kinescope recordings, video tape, and satellite news programming feeds. AFCN Roosevelt Roads also produced live radio programming featuring Navy Journalist/Broadcaster disc jockeys in a Top 40 hits format, combined with programming from AFRTS Hollywood-sourced stateside shows such as American Top 40. Programming broadcast over AFCN broadcast radio and television transmitter antennas also reached some local civilian markets across Puerto Rico, such as San Juan.Central America
Radio, and later television, to U.S. troops stationed in the Panama Canal Zone was provided initially by Armed Forces Radio (AFN) atShortwave radio
With the advent of satellite broadcasting, AFRTS has shifted its emphasis away from shortwave. Currently, the U.S. Navy provides the only shortwaveOrganization
The American Forces Network (AFN) is the operational arm of the American Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS), an office of theTelevision services
European operations
Until the early 1970s, U.S. military television service was provided inPacific operations
Over-the-air TV for U.S. Forces in the Pacific is currently provided by AFN-Korea, AFN-Japan and AFN-Kwajalein. All local operations merged under the AFN banner effective 1 January 1998.South Korea
AFN-Korea, formerly American Forces Korea Network (AFKN), was the largest of AFN's Pacific TV operations, although there are also AM and FM operations from military bases around Korea. AFKN began TV operations on 15 September 1957, and consisted of an originating studio atJapan
AFN-Japan, formerly theLatin America
AFN-Latin America, formerly the Las CableVision (LCV), has one full-power VHF terrestrial TV outlet. Located onKwajalein Atoll
AFN-Kwajalein at the Reagan Missile Test Range on Kwajalein Atoll is the only civilian-run affiliate in AFN, broadcasting on U.S. channel 13 for military personnel and civilian contractor employees and their families. AFN-Kwajalein's signal is beamed by microwave to the nearby island ofGulf War
In January 1991, the network dispatched news teams and technicians toOperation Iraqi Freedom
AFN-Iraq began broadcasting in December 2003 on theOperation Enduring Freedom
AFN Afghanistan operated out of a building onOperations in Western Europe
AFN in Germany and SEB (Southern European Broadcasting) in Italy provided broadcasting to U.S. troops in Western Europe throughout the Cold War. The U.S. defense drawdown began in earnest after the Gulf War, and affected AFN stations across Europe, as many stations were consolidated or deactivated with the closing of bases. In Europe, AFN is still on the air fromMedia services
There have been ongoing plans for transitioning AFN TV toAFN programming
While the audience tunes into AFN to watch their favorite shows or listen to the latest stateside hits, entertainment is the "candy coating" used to attract the military viewer/listener. AFN's primary mission is to provide access for worldwide, regional and local command information (CI) spots, which air during commercial breaks in programming instead of commercial advertisements. These CI spots run the gamut from reminding service members to register to vote, promoting local command-sponsored recreation events and off-duty educational programs, providing health and wellness tips, and listing what's playing at local base movie theaters. AFN also insertsRadio
AFN also offers a variety of radio programming over its various frequencies throughout the world. Not only is there local programming (with military disc jockeys), but there is satellite programming, as well. Music programming spansTelevision
Like its radio counterpart, AFN TV tries to air programming from a variety of sources to replicate programming on a typical U.S. TV channel; sourcing from U.S. commercial networks (including PBS), and program syndicators at little to no cost since AFN does not air commercials and in that regard cannot profit from airing shows like stations in the United States can. In their place, AFN inserts public service announcements on various subjects; these can be civilian "agency spots" created by=Channels
= Unless specified, the first telecast of each channel targets the Japan/Korea region, then replayed several hours later for the Central European time zone. * AFN Prime. Formerly AFN Atlantic and AFN Pacific. The standard AFN feed airs currentInternet radio
In November 2013, the American Forces Network launched Internet radio streams expanding the reach of the military network's radio programming overseas.Regional stations
AFN Europe
The internet radio stations in Europe are as follows:AFN Pacific
The internet radio stations in the Asia-Pacific region are as follows: * Japan * South Korea * Diego GarciaAFN Go programs
AFN Go, formerly AFN 360, provides the following nine music and spoken word stations. AFN Go's Internet streams are only made available in countries where AFN has terrestrial stations (i.e., where the U.S. armed forces have established bases) and are not available in North America. AFN Go uses IP address geolocation to determine whether a listener can access the streams. AFN stations can be accessed where it is not available throughAFN frequencies and transmitters by country (alphabetical)
Bahrain
Radio: AFN Bahrain * 106.3 FM: serves NSA Bahrain andBelgium
Television: Historical data only – AFN Prime Atlantic/AFN Benelux (NTSC) * 33H: Everberg, (Kortenberg) oriented towardsCuba
Germany
Mediumwave AM
FM
The AFN transmitters in Germany are operated by different authorities but most are operated directly by the U.S. military. Some are the property of Deutsche Telekom, while others are controlled by German public broadcasting corporations.Greece
* 106.3 MHz FM ** Souda Bay Air BaseHonduras
* 106.3 MHz FM **Iraq ''Freedom Radio''
Freedom Radio–Iraq stations went off the air on 30 September 2011, as a result of the continuing draw-down of U.S. Military personnel. Listing remains to document the coverage of Iraq.]'' * 93.3 MHz FM **Italy
In Italy there are 4 radio stations that serve 5 bases and more than 14 cities: * AFN The Eagle – 106.0 FM ** Monte Serra – AFN Livorno (After the closing of AFN Livorno it will be transmitted AFN Vicenza) in Pisa (Camp Darby), Livorno, Viareggio and the surrounding area. ** Monte Venda – AFN Vicenza in Vicenza (Caserma Ederle and Del Din), Verona, Venezia, Padova, Sud Treviso and the surrounding area. ** Aviano – AFN Aviano in Pordenone (Aviano Air Base), Udine and the surrounding area. * AFN Naples – 107.9 FM Collina dei Camaldoli Naples (Naval Base), Caserta, South Avellino and the highest zones (there are interferences) * AFN Sigonella – 105.9 FM in Catania (Naval and Air Base), North Siracusa and the surrounding area. ** * AFN Power Network ** Monte Serra – AFN Livorno Power (After the closing of AFN Livorno it will be transmitted AFN Vicenza) in Pisa (Camp Darby), Livorno, Viareggio and the surrounding area. ** Monte Venda – AFN Vicenza Power in Vicenza (Caserma Ederle and Del Din), Verona, Venezia, Padova, Sud Treviso and the surrounding area. ** Collina dei Camaldoli – AFN Naples Power in Naples (Naval Base), Caserta, South Avellino and the highest zones (there are interferences). ** Sigonella – AFN Sigonella Power in Catania (Naval and Air Base), North Siracusa and the surrounding area. ** Aviano – AFN Aviano Power in Pordenone (Aviano Air Base), Udine and the surrounding area. AFN Italy, has been serving Americans that live on American Bases in Pisa, Vicenza, Aviano, Napoli and Sigonella, since 1983. Many Italians also listen to AFN Radio to hear great music every day.Japan
* 648 kHz AM **Netherlands
Radio: AFNSaudi Arabia
Table of AFN-transmitters inFM
The AFN FMSpain
Radio: AFN Rota Radio – The Eagle * 102.5 FM:South Korea
Television
NOTE: All over-the-air television broadcasts in South Korea ended in May 2012. The following are previous stations. * Channel 2 (VHF) ** Chuncheon, Gangwon (100 W) **AM Radio (Thunder AM)
* 1440 kHz ** Daegu,FM Radio (AFN Eagle)
* 88.1 MHz **Turkey
Radio: AFN Incirlik – The Eagle * 1590 AM:Shortwave (USB)
The last known confirmation of AFN using its shortwave frequencies was in the mid-2010s. Current (2022) bandscans show no signal on any of AFN's frequencies. *See also
* Chris Noel *References
Further reading
* ''History of AFRTS: The first 50 years''.External links
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