36th Wing

US Air Force unit

In September 1969, the 36th TFW took responsibility for Spangdahlem Air Base West Germany until December 1971. By 1976 a major modernization of USAFE was necessary. The Soviet Union's new generation of MiG and Sukhoi fighters made NATO military planners anxious. Indeed, intelligence reports about the MiG 25 left little room for comfort; the performance of this latest Russian combat aircraft was far superior to any NATO aircraft. The twin engined MiG 25 reached speeds of over 3,000 km/h even at high altitude (over 70,000 feet) and it could be armed with radar guided AA 6 Acrid air to air missiles. When the Soviets stationed large numbers in the Soviet Union and later in the GDR, NATO had to address this problem. The solution was provided by the McDonnell Douglas F 15 Eagle. Just like the MiG 25 it has two powerful engines and a double tail fin. The 23 aircraft for the first operational squadron (525th Tactical Fighter Squadron) with the 36th left Langley Air Force Base on 27 April 1977 for a mass Atlantic crossing. Over the following months the aircraft for two other squadrons (23d and 53d Tactical Fighter Squadrons) arrived. The 36th's full strength of 79 fully operational F 15As was reached in December 1977. In 1980 more advanced F 15Cs and F 15Ds would replace the original F 15As. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the 36th conducted routine training missions however the outbreak of the 1990–91 Gulf War put the F 15s of Bitburg into the heart of the conflict. The 36th's pilots and aircraft performed magnificently in Operation Desert Storm. Not a single F 15 aircraft was lost in combat during the war. On 13 March 1991, the deployed squadrons of the 36th returned in victory. The celebration was brief, however, as the 36th deployed back to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey to support Operation Provide Comfort. Between 5 April and 25 May 1991, the 36th flew 285 sorties over Iraq. Just as before, not a single aircraft was lost in Iraq due to hostile fire. On 1 October 1991 the wing was redesignated as the 36th Fighter Wing when the objective wing concept was implemented. The 525th Fighter Squadron was inactivated 31 March 1992 as part of the initial post Cold War drawdown. Bitburg Air Base was part of the 1993 Base Realignment and Closure (or BRAC) process that saw the drawdown of many military facilities in a series of post Cold War force reductions. In July 1993, HQ USAFE announced the closure of Bitburg Air Base and the pending inactivation of the 36th Fighter Wing. The 53d Fighter Squadron was transferred without personnel or equipment to the 52d Operations Group at Spangdahlem Air Base. Some squadron aircraft transferred to 22d Fighter Squadron. The 22d Fighter Squadron was also transferred without personnel or equipment to the 52d Operations Group at Spangdahlem Air Base. The wing's combat readiness was tested in Southwest Asia as part of Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm and Proven Force. While flying combat air patrols during the war, the F 15s of the 36th were a strong deterrent to the air forces of Iraq. During Operation Desert Storm, the 36th was credited with downing 17 enemy aircraft in air combat engagements. On 1 October 1994 the 36th Fighter Wing was inactivated and the final 36th Wing Commander, Brigadier General Roger E. Carleton, presented Bitburg Air Base to the German government.

The wing was reactivated at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam the same day as the 36th Air Base Wing, a non flying organization taking over as the host unit. The former host unit, the 633d Air Base Wing was inactivated in keeping with the Air Force Chief of Staff's policy of keeping the most highly decorated and longest serving Air Force units on active duty. The 36th Air Base Wing was activated at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, on 30 September 1994. Under that designation, the wing lived up to its mission several times. In September 1996, the wing provided around the clock forward deployment support to Air Combat Command Boeing B 52 Stratofortresses during their Operation Desert Strike missions over Iraq, and began hosting more than 6,600 Kurdish evacuees during the 8 month humanitarian assistance mission, Joint Task Force Pacific Haven. On 12 April 2006, the 36th Air Base Wing was redesignated as the 36th Wing. Prior to the redesignation, the wing had been using a temporary designation of air expeditionary wing. The change in the wing's official designation was meant to better align Andersen with its mission statement: "To provide a U. S. based lethal warfighting platform for the employment, deployment, reception, and throughput of air and space forces in the Asia Pacific region." In February 2007, the 36th Operations Group was reactivated as a permanent subordinate unit to the 36th Wing, replacing the temporary 36th Expeditionary Operations Group.

Brig Gen Thomas B. Palenske, 30 June 2023 present