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99-706: Ramstein Air Base ( IATA : RMS , ICAO : ETAR ) is a United States Air Force installation located in Rhineland-Palatinate , southwestern Germany . It serves as the headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) and NATO Allied Air Command (AIRCOM). The base plays a key role in supporting forward military operations, particularly those deploying to Eastern Europe and Africa . Constructed between 1949 and 1952 by

198-464: A formal partnership with Panzergrenadierbrigade 32, a Federal Republic of Germany Bundeswehr mechanized infantry brigade headquartered in nearby Schwanewede. The division also had informal relationships with Dutch, Belgian, and British NORTHAG forces, often conducting joint training activities at Bergen Hohne. After the Gulf War the division went through a series of inactivations and redesignations. Due to

297-455: 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

396-470: A local training area, facilities at Garlstedt included a troop medical clinic, post exchange, library, movie theater, and a combined officer/non-commissioned officer/enlisted club. The division's soldiers and family members received radio and TV broadcasts from The American Forces Network (AFN) – Europe via the AFN Bremerhaven affiliate station located in the nearby port city of Bremerhaven. The brigade

495-460: A moment's notice". By the early 1960s, the manual plotting system used to track aircraft at the cave and elsewhere throughout West 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

594-550: A new airport is built, replacing the old one, leaving the city's new "major" airport (or the only remaining airport) code to no longer correspond with the city's name. The original airport in Nashville, Tennessee, was built in 1936 as part of the Works Progress Administration and called Berry Field with the designation, BNA. A new facility known as Nashville International Airport was built in 1987 but still uses BNA. This

693-411: 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 (Defense). The 86th AD was inactivated in 1968. Returning as an F-4 Phantom II Tactical Fighter Wing in 1973,

792-717: A plum assignment for armor branch brigadier generals, on par with perhaps only the Berlin Brigade for high visibility and potential for advancement to higher rank. The brigade initially deployed to Germany with the M60 Patton tank and the M113 armored personnel carrier . 4–3rd Field Artillery had the M109 155 mm self-propelled howitzer . In 1984, 2–66th AR transitioned to the M1 Abrams main battle tank . In 1985, 3–41st IN and 4–41st IN transitioned to

891-591: A retired U.S. Army major general, attended the ceremony. The brigadier general in charge of 2nd Armored Division (Forward) had a unique command. In addition to command of the heavy brigade, he also functioned as the Commander, III Corps (Forward), headquartered in Maastricht , Netherlands , and as commander of all US Army forces in Northern Germany , including the military communities of Garlstedt and Bremerhaven. In

990-514: A small regional studio, AFN Hessen, on WAAF to serve the American troops in and around Wiesbaden. It is now home to the 2nd Military Intelligence Battalion of the 66th Military Intelligence Brigade , flying the RC-12 Guardrail signals intelligence aircraft. On June 14, 2012, WAAF was renamed "Lucius D. Clay Kaserne" after General Lucius D. Clay . Clay was the former U.S. military governor of

1089-499: Is GSN and its IATA code is SPN, and some coincide with IATA codes of non-U.S. airports. Canada's unusual codes—which bear little to no similarity with any conventional abbreviation to the city's name—such as YUL in Montréal , and YYZ in Toronto , originated from the two-letter codes used to identify weather reporting stations in the 1930s. The letters preceding the two-letter code follow

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1188-788: Is an installation of the United States Army in Hesse , Germany . The kaserne is located within Wiesbaden-Erbenheim . Named for General Lucius D. Clay , it is the home of the Army's 2d Theater Signal Brigade , 66th Military Intelligence Brigade and is the headquarters of the U.S. Army Europe and Africa (USAREUR-AF). The USAREUR oversees the 7th Army Training Command , 10th Army Air & Missile Defense Command and 21st Theater Sustainment Command . Clay Kaserne also maintains an airfield. The land on which present-day Clay Kaserne now stands

1287-600: Is available. However, many railway administrations have their own list of codes for their stations, such as the list of Amtrak station codes . Airport codes arose out of the convenience that the practice brought pilots for location identification in the 1930s. Initially, pilots in the United States used the two-letter code from the National Weather Service (NWS) for identifying cities. This system became unmanageable for cities and towns without an NWS identifier, and

1386-518: Is different from the name in English, yet the airport code represents only the English name. Examples include: Due to scarcity of codes, some airports are given codes with letters not found in their names: The use of 'X' as a filler letter is a practice to create three-letter identifiers when more straightforward options were unavailable: Some airports in the United States retained their NWS ( National Weather Service ) codes and simply appended an X at

1485-650: Is governed by IATA Resolution 763, and it is administered by the IATA's headquarters in Montreal , Canada. The codes are published semi-annually in the IATA Airline Coding Directory. IATA provides codes for airport handling entities, and for certain railway stations. Alphabetical lists of airports sorted by IATA code are available. A list of railway station codes , shared in agreements between airlines and rail lines such as Amtrak , SNCF , and Deutsche Bahn ,

1584-513: Is in conjunction to rules aimed to avoid confusion that seem to apply in the United States, which state that "the first and second letters or second and third letters of an identifier may not be duplicated with less than 200 nautical miles separation." Thus, Washington, D.C. area's three airports all have radically different codes: IAD for Washington–Dulles , DCA for Washington–Reagan (District of Columbia Airport), and BWI for Baltimore (Baltimore–Washington International, formerly BAL). Since HOU

1683-408: Is located near the town of Ramstein-Miesenbach , with the east gate about 16  km (10  mi ; 9  nmi ) from Kaiserslautern , commonly known as "K-Town" among Americans. Other nearby towns include Landstuhl , located 5 km (3 mi; 3 nmi) from the base's west gate. In 1940, construction of today's Bundesautobahn 6 was stopped when a bridge that was being built across

1782-532: Is not followed outside the United States: In addition, since three letter codes starting with Q are widely used in radio communication, cities whose name begins with "Q" also had to find alternate codes, as in the case of: IATA codes should not be confused with the FAA identifiers of U.S. airports. Most FAA identifiers agree with the corresponding IATA codes, but some do not, such as Saipan , whose FAA identifier

1881-416: Is used for William P. Hobby Airport , the new Houston–Intercontinental became IAH. The code BKK was originally assigned to Bangkok–Don Mueang and was later transferred to Suvarnabhumi Airport , while the former adopted DMK. The code ISK was originally assigned to Gandhinagar Airport (Nashik's old airport) and later on transferred to Ozar Airport (Nashik's current airport). Shanghai–Hongqiao retained

1980-508: The 26th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing , based at Toul-Rosieres Air Base, France, and two of its squadrons, the 38th and 32d, equipped with the RF-4C Phantom II , were relocated to Ramstein on 5 October 1966. Assigned squadrons of the 26th TRW at Ramstein were: 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,

2079-512: 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 , also activated in 1985, became responsible for the logistical and administrative support on base, replacing the 86th and 7030 Combat Support Wings. On 28 August 1988, Ramstein Air Base was the site of the tragic Ramstein airshow disaster , which killed 72 spectators and three pilots, and injured hundreds. After

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2178-425: The 322nd Airlift Division that arrived on 23 June 1978, and SAC 's 7th Air Division that arrived on 1 July 1978. In December 1980, HQ Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force was moved from Ramstein to Heidelberg and co-located with HQ Central Army Group. In 1984, an enlisted airman (Sgt Darrel Dietlein), assigned to the 1964th Communications Group , solicited National Headquarters Civil Air Patrol to charter

2277-561: The Canadian transcontinental railroads were built, each station was assigned its own two-letter Morse code : When the Canadian government established airports, it used the existing railway codes for them as well. If the airport had a weather station, authorities added a "Y" to the front of the code, meaning "Yes" to indicate it had a weather station or some other letter to indicate it did not. When international codes were created in cooperation with

2376-552: The Cold War , the 86th was realigned to become the 86th Airlift Wing . On 1 July 1993, the 55th Aeromedical Airlift Squadron moved from the 435th   AW at Rhein-Main Air Base Germany to Ramstein. On 1 October, the 75th and 76th Airlift Squadron arrived at Ramstein from the 60th AW at Travis Air Force Base California, and 437th   AW at Charleston AFB South Carolina , respectively. A year later on 1 October 1994,

2475-458: The Federal Republic of Germany . The 2nd Armored Division (Forward) stationed there had approximately 3,500 soldiers and another approximately 2,500 family dependents and civilian employees. The West German government constructed family housing in the nearby city of Osterholz-Scharmbeck. In addition to troop barracks, motor pools, an indoor firing range, repair and logistics facilities, and

2574-625: The M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle . The C/2-1 Cavalry was replaced by an air cavalry troop, the D/2-1 Cavalry, armed with AH-1S Cobra attack helicopters . The brigade's initial subordinate combat units consisted of the 3rd Battalion of the 41st Infantry Regiment , 2nd Battalion of the 50th Infantry Regiment , 2nd Battalion, 66th Armored Regiment (Iron Knights), 1st Battalion, 14th Field Artillery Regiment , and C Troop, 2nd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment . In October 1983, as part of

2673-1045: The Messerschmitt factory in Regensburg and the ball bearing plants in Schweinfurt . Alfred Grislawski , a German fighter ace , took part. The field was captured when the 80th U.S. Infantry Division took Wiesbaden on 28 March 1945. Subsequently, the United States Army Air Forces gave the base the temporary designation "Y-80." Beginning in September, 1945, the European Air Transport Service (EATS) operated passenger and cargo service from Wiesbaden daily to London , Munich , Bremen , Vienna and Berlin . From Berlin an EATS plane made weekly flights to Warsaw , Poland . Flights originated from Vienna for Bucharest , Belgrade , Sofia , and Budapest . In

2772-527: The Rhine River near Mannheim collapsed, leaving a section of autobahn that could not be used. A part of the unused autobahn to the west of Mannheim, near Kaiserslautern , was used as an airstrip by the Luftwaffe . The airstrip was also used by the advancing U.S. Army Air Forces during the final months of World War   II. The old autobahn section is still used as the access road to the east and west gates of

2871-564: The "Return of Forces to Germany" (REFORGER) (1980 and 1987). Division subordinate units used the NATO gunnery and maneuver ranges at the Bergen-Hohne Training Area for gunnery and maneuver training and each year the division as a whole deployed south to Grafenwöhr and Hohenfels[24] (both in Bavaria) training areas for annual crew and unit gunnery and maneuver qualification. The division had

2970-556: 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

3069-604: 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

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3168-408: The 37th   Airlift 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 24 May 2004, the 38th Combat Support Wing was activated to enhance support to USAFE geographically separated units. This wing

3267-400: The 630th Military Airlift Support Squadron from Rhein-Main Air Base was assigned to Ramstein and a large cargo aerial port constructed. This allowed Military Airlift Command C-141 and C-5 Galaxy aircraft to use Ramstein as a transshipment point for material, which was then moved within USAFE by C-130 tactical transports. In the spring of 1972, the 7th Special Operations Squadron (SOS)

3366-596: The 86th TFW performed that mission until 1994, deploying components to the Middle East during the 1990 Gulf War . On 14 August 1976, the Strategic Air Command 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 , England on 1 July 1978. In June 1985,

3465-665: The Airlift. On 4 July 1956 a U-2A stationed in Wiesbaden flew over both Moscow and Leningrad as part of Operation Overflight, missions to spy on Soviet Armed Forces bases. This was the first flight by a U-2 over the Soviet Union . It was flown by United States Air Force pilot Hervey Stockman, and the aircraft is now in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. In 1973,

3564-619: The European Encampments along with their traditional military studies, cadet programs and aerospace education efforts. The Ramstein Cadet Squadron commander as of February 2022 is 1st Lt Cody Chenowith. The squadron is the central hub for all CAP units in Europe. Membership as of April 2024 was 55 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. Additionally,

3663-767: 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. Near the Ramstein Air Base is the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC), operated by the United States Army . 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

3762-666: The French Army and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , Ramstein Air Base is part of the larger Kaiserslautern Military Community (KMC), which houses around 54,000 American service members and over 5,400 U.S. civilian employees. Additionally, more than 6,200 German workers are employed within the KMC. Air Force units in the KMC employ nearly 9,800 military personnel, supported by approximately 11,100 family members. Ramstein AB alone hosts over 16,200 military personnel, U.S. civilians, and contractors. The base

3861-614: The Germany and architect of the rebuilding of Germany after World War II that led to the Marshall Plan . Clay instituted Operation Vittles from WAAF in 1948, retiring only after the Soviets lifted their blockade of Berlin. Prior to this renaming, "Lucius D. Clay Kaserne" was the name of a U.S. Army facility in then-West Germany, near the community of Garlstedt in Osterholz-Scharmbeck . The installation still named Clay Kaserne had been

3960-628: The Kindsbach Cave had become too small and its cost for renovation too high. The USAFE vacated the facility and, on 31 October 1993, 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. The new 521st Air Mobility Operations Wing stood up on 4 September 2008. As of June 2020,

4059-513: 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, construction work 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

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4158-572: The Mediterranean area EATS flights connected Udine , Pisa , Rome , and Naples . The EATS originally was composed of left-over wartime troop carrier squadrons, glider and fighter pilots, B-17 "Flying Fortress" crewmen and other available personnel. In addition to regular flights which service the Army of Occupation, EATS also operated special flights such as providing transportation for diplomatic officials, evacuating sick or wounded, performing mercy flights, aiding Graves Registration in returning

4257-550: The Ramstein Cadet Squadron is the second oldest and continuous operating unit on the installation and even predating the 86th Air Wing. Today, the base is home to the Allied Air Command , which is responsible to Joint Force Command Brunssum , the only and main NATO command unit on Ramstein AB. Close to Ramstein was the site of Air Defense Operations Center (ADOC)  —  Kindsbach , AKA 'Kindsbach Cave' –

4356-555: 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 center interacted directly with The Pentagon , NATO, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe and all USAFE bases. With its massive telephone switchboard and 80 teletype machines,

4455-641: The U.S. For example, several airports in Alaska have scheduled commercial service, such as Stebbins and Nanwalek , which use FAA codes instead of ICAO codes. Thus, neither system completely includes all airports with scheduled service. Some airports are identified in colloquial speech by their IATA code. Examples include LAX and JFK . Wiesbaden AB Lucius D. Clay Kaserne ( German : Flugplatz Wiesbaden-Erbenheim ) ( IATA : WIE , ICAO : ETOU ), commonly known as Clay Kaserne , formerly known as Wiesbaden Air Base and later as Wiesbaden Army Airfield ,

4554-622: 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 was established at Ramstein on 28 June 1974. Ramstein subsequently provided support for other headquarters including

4653-481: The United States, because "Y" was seldom used in the United States, Canada simply used the weather station codes for its airports, changing the "Y" to a "Z" if it conflicted with an airport code already in use. The result is that most major Canadian airport codes start with "Y" followed by two letters in the city's name (for example, YOW for O tta w a , YWG for W innipe g , YYC for C algar y , or YVR for V ancouve r ), whereas other Canadian airports append

4752-526: The West 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,

4851-414: The air base was a joint Army/Air Force community. U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF)/U.S. Air Forces in Europe units (USAFE) assigned to Wiesbaden Air Base or Lindsey Air Station from 1945 to 1993 included: Lucius D. Clay Kaserne was a new military facility built near the village of Garlstedt just north of the city of Bremen . The facilities cost nearly $ 140 million to construct, half of which was paid for by

4950-440: The airport itself instead of the city it serves, while another code is reserved which refers to the city itself which can be used to search for flights to any of its airports. For instance: Or using a code for the city in one of the major airports and then assigning another code to another airport: When different cities with the same name each have an airport, they need to be assigned different codes. Examples include: Sometimes,

5049-418: The airport's former name, such as Orlando International Airport 's MCO (for Mc C o y Air Force Base), or Chicago's O'Hare International Airport , which is coded ORD for its original name: Or char d Field. In rare cases, the code comes from the airport's unofficial name, such as Kahului Airport 's OGG (for local aviation pioneer Jimmy H ogg ). In large metropolitan areas, airport codes are often named after

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5148-497: The army's regimental alignment program, 2–50 Infantry was redesignated as 4–41 Infantry and 1–14 Field Artillery as 4–3 Field Artillery. Other brigade subordinate units eventually included the 498th Support Battalion, D Company, 17th Engineer Battalion, and the 588th Military Intelligence Company. The brigade also had a military police platoon and an aviation detachment. In 1986, under the army's COHORT unit manning and retention plan, 3–41st Infantry returned to Fort Hood , Texas , and

5247-562: 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 airfields in Bavaria , part of the American occupation zone of Germany. The area was a swamp that had to be built up by two metres (six feet) A train line was laid out from Einsiedlerhof-Kaiserslautern in a yoke shape around to the current base and back down to

5346-488: 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 APO   AE   09012, while the south side (Landstuhl   AB) is APO   AE   09009. Also separate Combat Support Groups, the 7030th for the north side, and the 86th for the south side existed. These were consolidated in

5445-558: The bases in 1953, it was the largest one spot construction site in Europe employing over 270,000 workers at one time. Enough construction was completed in mid-1952 that Landstuhl   AB was opened on 5 August. Its facilities included a runway, dispersal hardstands, a control tower , ramps, and other flight-related facilities and the associated flying and support units. On 1 February 1952, Det   1, 86th Fighter-Bomber Wing arrived at Landstuhl   AB from Neubiberg Air Base near Munich . On 1 June 1953, Ramstein Air Station

5544-401: 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 , electric backup-generators, climate controls , dining facilities and sleeping accommodations for its 125-man crew. Visitor passes were rarely issued to this secret facility. Throughout

5643-410: The cave, the current air picture over East and West Germanies, as well as parts of the eastern Soviet bloc countries, was displayed on a 12-by-12-metre (40 ft × 40 ft) screen with radar information provided by various 412L sites located throughout West Germany. Senior U.S. staff monitored the dynamic display 24/7 . Over the next several years, additional 412L sites throughout Germany joined

5742-491: The code SHA, while the newer Shanghai–Pudong adopted PVG. The opposite was true for Berlin : the airport Berlin–Tegel used the code TXL, while its smaller counterpart Berlin–Schönefeld used SXF; the Berlin Brandenburg Airport has the airport code BER, which is also part of its branding. The airports of Hamburg (HAM) and Hannover (HAJ) are less than 100 nautical miles (190 km) apart and therefore share

5841-401: The commander of the 521st AMOW is Colonel Adrienne Williams. In December 2023 a new Space Force component stands up at Ramstein Air Base. On 7 March 1966, French President Charles de Gaulle 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 1 April 1967. As a result,

5940-660: The current Ramstein AB Clinic along with Dental Clinic facilities for the whole KMC. In turn, the East Gate to Ramstein   AB 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. From 2004 to 2006, Ramstein Air Base underwent an extensive expansion with a major construction project – including an all-new airport terminal , among other new facilities, through

6039-730: The end. Examples include: A lot of minor airfields without scheduled passenger traffic have ICAO codes but not IATA codes, since the four letter codes allow more number of codes, and IATA codes are mainly used for passenger services such as tickets, and ICAO codes by pilots. In the US, such airfields use FAA codes instead of ICAO. There are airports with scheduled service for which there are ICAO codes but not IATA codes, such as Nkhotakota Airport/Tangole Airport in Malawi or Chōfu Airport in Tokyo, Japan. There are also several minor airports in Russia (e.g., Omsukchan Airport ) which lack IATA codes and instead use internal Russian codes for booking. Flights to these airports cannot be booked through

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6138-399: The event of the deployment of III Corps and/or the 2nd Armored Division from the United States, the division commander would revert to his job as assistant division commander for operations of 2nd Armored Division. This contingency was practised during REFORGER exercises in 1980 and 1987. As a result of this varied and demanding job, command of the 2nd Armored Division (Forward) was considered

6237-458: The expected move of HQ   USAFE 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 West Germany. The military thought to move vital HQs on

6336-430: The first "Cadet Squadron" in West 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

6435-557: The first three letters of the city in which it is located, for instance: The code may also be a combination of the letters in its name, such as: Sometimes the airport code reflects pronunciation, rather than spelling, namely: For many reasons, some airport codes do not fit the normal scheme described above. Some airports, for example, cross several municipalities or regions, and therefore, use codes derived from some of their letters, resulting in: Other airports—particularly those serving cities with multiple airports—have codes derived from

6534-425: The following format: Most large airports in Canada have codes that begin with the letter "Y", although not all "Y" codes are Canadian (for example, YUM for Yuma, Arizona , and YNT for Yantai , China), and not all Canadian airports start with the letter "Y" (for example, ZBF for Bathurst, New Brunswick ). Many Canadian airports have a code that starts with W, X or Z, but none of these are major airports. When

6633-545: The form of " YYZ ", a song by the rock band Rush , which utilizes the Morse code signal as a musical motif. Some airports have started using their IATA codes as brand names , such as Calgary International Airport (YYC) and Vancouver International Airport (YVR). Numerous New Zealand airports use codes that contain the letter Z, to distinguish them from similar airport names in other countries. Examples include HLZ for Hamilton , ZQN for Queenstown , and WSZ for Westport . Predominantly, airport codes are named after

6732-450: The headquarters of the U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) was relocated to Ramstein Air Base near Kaiserslautern . The Air Force moved most personnel out of Wiesbaden in 1975 as part of Operation Creek Swap, in which most Army facilities in Kaiserslautern were turned over to the Air Force, in exchange for the facilities at Wiesbaden. The 4th Brigade, 4th Infantry Division , was stationed at Wiesbaden in 1976 as part of "Brigade 76" until it

6831-407: The home of the 2nd Armored Division (Forward) and is now the home of the Bundeswehr 's logistics school. In 2022 and 2023, during the Russo-Ukrainian War from 2022, the base became the logistical hub, the International Donor Coordination Center, involving at least 17 nations who had representatives there. Lindsey Air Station, an installation on the opposite side of Wiesbaden from the air base,

6930-430: The international air booking systems or have international luggage transferred there, and thus, they are booked instead through the airline or a domestic booking system. Several heliports in Greenland have 3-letter codes used internally which might be IATA codes for airports in faraway countries. There are several airports with scheduled service that have not been assigned ICAO codes that do have IATA codes, especially in

7029-405: 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 Ramstein   AB. Construction is to be completed in and around 2024.. It will be a twelve-story facility to house all departments of LRMC and

7128-612: The name of the airport itself, for instance: This is also true with some cities with a single airport (even if there is more than one airport in the metropolitan area of said city), such as BDL for Hartford, Connecticut 's B ra dl ey International Airport or Baltimore's BWI, for B altimore/ W ashington I nternational Airport ; however, the latter also serves Washington, D.C. , alongside Dulles International Airport (IAD, for I nternational A irport D ulles) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA, for D istrict of C olumbia A irport). The code also sometimes comes from

7227-518: The network, until the manual system had been totally replaced. In April 2015, Ramstein Air Base was reported by German and international media as an important control center in the drone war staged under the Obama administration against targets in areas like Pakistan , Yemen , Afghanistan and Somalia . The German government claimed not to have been informed about this function of the U.S. base. IATA airport code The assignment of these codes

7326-416: The one they are located in: Other airport codes are of obscure origin, and each has its own peculiarities: In Asia, codes that do not correspond with their city's names include Niigata 's KIJ , Nanchang 's KHN and Pyongyang 's FNJ . EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg , which serves three countries, has three airport codes: BSL, MLH, EAP. Some cities have a name in their respective language which

7425-575: 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 (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

7524-670: The remains of American soldiers and rushing supplies to needy areas. In 1948 the installation served as a hub supporting the Berlin Airlift with around-the-clock flights to Tempelhof Airport . Airmen from Wiesbaden distinguished themselves in support of "Operation Vittles". C-47 "Skytrain"s and C-54 "Skymasters" of the 60th Troop Carrier Group flew missions daily to Tempelhof in the beleaguered city of Berlin. During one day's operations more than 80 tons of food and supplies were airlifted from Wiesbaden. The streets on Wiesbaden Air Base were named after servicemen who gave their lives during

7623-500: The restructuring of the U.S. Army after the end of the Cold War, the 2nd Armoured division was ordered off the active duty rolls, ending more than 50 years of continuous service. SGT Michael L. Anderson was the last member of the 2nd Armored Division. He was a 74F who was in charge of cutting orders for all remaining members of 2nd Armored Division HQ. On 1 September 1991, he cut the final orders for himself and his commanding officer. Over

7722-451: The same first and middle letters, indicating that this rule might be followed only in Germany. Many cities retain historical names in their airport codes, even after having undergone an official name/spelling/transliteration change: Some airport codes are based on previous names associated with a present airport, often with a military heritage. These include: Some airports are named for an administrative division or nearby city, rather than

7821-463: 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 15 August 1954. The center was a state-of-the-art, 67-room, 3,400-square-metre (37,000 sq ft) facility where USAFE could have led an air war against

7920-411: 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 1 December 1957, 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

8019-675: The so-called Rhein-Main Transition Program which was initiated in support of the total closure of Rhein-Main Air Base on 30 December 2005 and transferring all its former capacities to Ramstein Air Base (70%) and Spangdahlem Air Base (30%). Ramstein served as temporary housing for the United States men's national soccer team during the 2006   World Cup . Source: Fletcher, Air Force Bases, Volume II Source: Fletcher, Air Force Bases, Volume II Reassigned from Neubiberg Air Base , West Germany in 1952 and except for

8118-497: The station code of Malton, Mississauga , where it is located). YUL is used for Montréal–Trudeau (UL was the ID code for the beacon in the city of Kirkland , now the location of Montréal–Trudeau). While these codes make it difficult for the public to associate them with a particular Canadian city, some codes have become popular in usage despite their cryptic nature, particularly at the largest airports. Toronto's code has entered pop culture in

8217-529: The summer and fall of 1992, the 2nd Armored Division was inactivated. Lucius D. Clay Kaserne was turned back over to the German government and was later to become home of the German Army Logistics and Supply School (Logistikschule der Bundeswehr) as well as the seat of General der Nachschubtruppe. Lucius D. Clay's name was later reused for the Wiesbaden Army Airfield. Until summer 2011, WAAF

8316-553: The two-letter code of the radio beacons that were the closest to the actual airport, such as YQX in Gander or YXS in Prince George . Four of the ten provincial capital airports in Canada have ended up with codes beginning with YY, including: Canada's largest airport is YYZ for Toronto Pearson (as YTZ was already allocated to Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport , the airport was given

8415-529: The use of two letters allowed only a few hundred combinations; a three-letter system of airport codes was implemented. This system allowed for 17,576 permutations, assuming all letters can be used in conjunction with each other. Since the U.S. Navy reserved "N" codes, and to prevent confusion with Federal Communications Commission broadcast call signs , which begin with "W" or "K", the airports of certain U.S. cities whose name begins with one of these letters had to adopt "irregular" airport codes: This practice

8514-543: 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 West German Civil Defense. All three offices had

8613-472: Was activated on Ramstein Air Base, having moved from its joint facilities with HQ USAFE at Wiesbaden AB . What was not generally known at the time and not made public until after the end of the Cold War in 1993, was the desire to have HQ   Twelfth Air Force in close proximity to the Air Defense Operations Center (ADOC)  —  Kindsbach, a.k.a. 'Kindsbach Cave'  — 

8712-480: 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 and the 86th Tactical Fighter Wing was reassigned from Zweibrücken to Ramstein on 31 January 1973. From its inception, Ramstein

8811-423: 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 on 10 November 1957 upon the closure of that facility. Also on that date, HQ Twelfth Air Force was transferred to Bergstrom Air Force Base , Texas, and was assigned to Tactical Air Command . It was replaced by HQ Seventeenth Air Force (USAFE) which

8910-422: Was established as an Army Air Force installation on 13 November 1946, having previously been a German Army facility named Gersdorff Kaserne . Lindsey Air Station achieved its greatest prominence between December 1953 and 14 March 1973 when it was the host base for Headquarters, USAFE. After the transfer of Wiesbaden Air Base to the Army in 1976, Lindsey Air Station provided support for various Air Force units in

9009-458: Was home to the headquarters of 1st Armored Division and a number of subordinate units. As American forces draw down in Europe, 2017 plans called for Wiesbaden to remain one of six geographic hubs for U.S. forces in Europe. After the closure of US facilities in Frankfurt, Germany, the headquarters of American Forces Network (AFN) was moved from its old AFN Frankfurt location to Mannheim. AFN opened

9108-501: Was inactivated in 2007. The 521st Air Mobility Operations Wing was activated on 4 September 2008. The wing is the headquarters for the existing 721st Air Mobility Operations Group at Ramstein and the 521st AMOG at Naval Station Rota, Spain . 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. By 1984,

9207-639: Was moved from North Africa. In turn, the 17th AF was replaced by its mother unit HQ USAFE from Lindsey Air Station, Wiesbaden, West 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 31 January 1973, several headquarters were relocated into and out of Ramstein, when Seventeenth   AF moved to Sembach Air Base to make room for

9306-561: Was officially designated as 2nd Armored Division (Forward) during ceremonies at Grafenwöhr, FRG on 25 July 1978. The Garlstedt facilities were officially turned over to the United States by the German government in October. At that time the Garlstedt kaserne (camp) was named after General Lucius D. Clay, the American military commander during the Allied occupation of Germany after World War II . His son,

9405-545: 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 Ramstein   AS and Landstuhl   AB. On 27 April 1953, Headquarters, Twelfth Air Force

9504-399: Was originally built in 1910 as a race track for horses. In 1929, the race track was converted into a regional airport . The Luftwaffe took over operations in 1936. One unit stationed at the airfield was Jagdgruppe 50 , a fighter group of Messerschmitt Bf 109s . On August 17, 1943, Jagdgruppe 50 intercepted American bombers taking part in the ill-fated Regensburg Strike targeting

9603-713: Was replaced by 1–41st Infantry. In 1987, 4–41st Infantry returned to Fort Hood and was replaced by 3–66th Armor (Burt's Knights, named for Captain James M. Burt who was awarded the Medal of Honor as a company commander in the 66th Armored Regiment in the Battle of Aachen during World War II). Now an armor-heavy brigade, 2nd Armored Division (Forward) fielded 116 M-1A1 Abrams tanks and nearly 70 M2/3 Bradley Fighting Vehicles. The division participated in numerous major NATO training exercises, including "Trutzige Sachsen" (1985), "Crossed Swords" (1986) and

9702-607: Was replaced by the 3d Corps Support Command and 12th Aviation Brigade in the mid-1980s. In the mid-1980s, the base served as a landing point for the F-117 "Nighthawk" "Stealth Fighter". Although not officially acknowledged by the Air Force until 1988, the F-117 became operational in 1983. The Wiesbaden Air Base would "go dark", turning off all airfield and perimeter lights, whenever "stealth" flights were landing or taking off. From 1975 to 1993,

9801-502: 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

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