New Wing Deploys Airmen for First Time

A contingent of US Air Forces in Europe’s new 435th Air Ground Operations Wing from Ramstein AB, Germany, arrived in Nis, Serbia, Aug. 25 in support of the Medical Training Exercise in Central and Eastern Europe that runs through Sept. 13. It is the wing’s first deployment since it was activated in July, becoming USAFE’s first wing of this type. MEDCEUR 2009 is bringing together more than 600 medical personnel from 15 nations to practice in disaster-response and mass-casualty scenarios. The wing’s 32-member team arrived a few days in advance of the exercise participants to set up the command center and fully operational tent city. “We are the experts on how to build bases,” said Col. Tim Brown, commander of the 435th Expeditionary Air Ground Operations Group for the exercise. (Nis report by SSgt. Markus M. Maier)