United States Air Forces in Europe

The United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) is the United States Air Force component of U.S. European Command, a Department of Defense unified command, and is one of two Air Force Major Commands outside of the continental United States, the other being the Pacific Air Forces. It is, however, the only USAF Major Command to be headquartered outside of the United States.

Overview

USAFE is headquartered at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. It is the oldest continuously active USAF major command, being constituted on January 19, 1942, as the 8 Air Force by the United States Army Air Forces. The command was activated on February 1, 1942, at Langley Field, Virginia.

As of March 2011, the commander of USAFE is General Mark A. Welsh III. The command has more than 39,000 active-duty, Reserve and civilian employees assigned.

Mission

The mission of the United States Air Forces in Europe is to be the air component for the U.S. European Command, directing air operations in a theater spanning three continents, covering more than , containing 91 countries and possessing one-fourth of the world's population and about one-third of the world's Gross Domestic Product.

As part of this mission, USAFE trains and equips U.S. Air Force units pledged to...
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