Bipartisan lawmakers on Sept. 30 blasted the Pentagon for failing to provide details of its planned force structure changes in Europe, saying the proposed removal of almost 12,000 troops from Germany could harm U.S. alliances. Under the proposal, first announced in July, DOD would shift ...
Spangdahlem Air Base
The Pentagon’s decision to keep the 352nd Special Operations Wing at its current home of RAF Mildenhall, U.K., necessitates new military construction to update the base's neglected infrastructure for the Airmen, CV-22s, and MC-130s, though it also means the wing can stay in a familiar ...
About two months after the Pentagon announced the plan to pull thousands of troops from Germany, including the F-16 presence at Spangdahlem Air Base, the head of U.S. Air Forces in Europe said the move is still in the planning stages, with the goal to ...
F-16s and KC-135s deployed to two bases in Poland for an aviation rotation, shortly after the U.S. and Poland agreed to increase the amount of forces in the country. F-16s from the 52nd Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, deployed to Łask Air Base ...
RAF Mildenhall, U.K., will remain open and keep its American refueling and special operations missions through the 2020s, reversing the Pentagon’s original 2015 plan to consolidate bases and infrastructure across Europe. The Pentagon last week announced broad plans to downsize the troop presence in Germany, ...
U.S. European Command boss Gen. Tod D. Wolters issued a memo explaining the strategic rationale behind the Pentagon's proposed posture shift within the European theater, and cautioned that any moves will take time to implement. Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper said July 29 the U.S. ...
The end of the fighter mission at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, doesn’t mean the end of the base, 52nd Fighter Wing officials said, as uncertainty over the installation’s future lingers following the Pentagon’s proposed European restructuring announcement. As part of an overall reduction of forces ...
The Pentagon will begin to wind down the U.S. military presence at Germany's Spangdahlem Air Base, pulling out Air Force F-16s and canceling plans to move tankers and special-operations forces to the European hub, Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper announced July 29. The decision marks ...
A bipartisan group of senators are attempting to block the White House’s effort to reduce the number of U.S. troops in Germany, saying such a step would be a “gift” to Russia. On June 29, a group of senators led by Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) ...
Some of the U.S. forces withdrawing from Germany will go to Poland with the new host country paying to bring in the troops. However, the overall American footprint in Europe will drop, President Donald Trump said June 24 during an appearance with Polish President Andrzej ...
Agile Combat Employment, a push to expand Airmen's capabilities beyond their regular job so they can be more flexible in a fight, will quickly become second nature in U.S. Air Forces in Europe, as wings are tasked with practicing the idea multiple times per month. ...
The sky above the North Sea in Europe filled with dozens of USAF aircraft on May 27 as fighters from multiple bases joined together in red vs. blue teams to prove that U.S. Air Forces in Europe crews are ready for a high-end fight, even ...

