Ramstein Air Base


Ramstein Air Base 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 and NATO Allied Air Command. 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 the French Army and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Ramstein Air Base is part of the larger Kaiserslautern Military Community, 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 is located near the town of Ramstein-Miesenbach, with the east gate about from Kaiserslautern, commonly known as "K-Town" among Americans. Other nearby towns include Landstuhl, located from the base's west gate.

History

Development and establishment

In 1940, construction of today's Bundesautobahn 6 was stopped when a bridge that was being built across 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 WarII. The old autobahn section is still used as the access road to the east and west gates of 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. A train line was laid out from Einsiedlerhof-Kaiserslautern in a yoke shape around to the current base and back down to 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 on the north. From 1948 to the opening of 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 LandstuhlAB 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, Det1, 86th Fighter-Bomber Wing arrived at LandstuhlAB from Neubiberg Air Base near Munich.
On, Ramstein Air Station 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. 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 RamsteinAS and LandstuhlAB. On, Headquarters, Twelfth Air Force 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 HQTwelfth Air Force in close proximity to the Air Defense Operations Center Kindsbach, 'Kindsbach Cave'the site of NATO's underground combat operations center.

Operational history

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, 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 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 within the city limits of Landstuhl. The main gate was moved to the west side of the base which was located in the town of Ramstein. The two bases were joined and the current Kisling Memorial Drive cut off to the public which unified the bases. In 1961, 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 is APOAE09012, while the south side is APOAE09009. There existed separate Combat Support Groups, the 7030th for the north side, and the 86th for the south side until their consolidation in the 1980s, when both were merged into the 377th Combat Support Wing. There is still a north and south side Fitness Center. The current northside Community Center previously 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 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, 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 the medical facilities at LRMC, since they were established in 1953. The U.S. Department of Defense built a new Medical Center on the current U.S. Army Weilerbach Storage Installation just to the east of RamsteinAB. Construction is to be completed in and around 2024. It is a twelve-story facility to house all departments of LRMC and the current Ramstein AB Clinic along with Dental Clinic facilities for the whole KMC. In turn, the East Gate to RamsteinAB will be extended from its current location to just off the Autobahn 6 Einsiedlerhof exit to the base at what is known as the LVIS 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 the so-called Rhein-Main Transition Program which was initiated in support of the total closure of Rhein-Main Air Base on and transferring all its former capacities to Ramstein Air Base and Spangdahlem Air Base.
Ramstein served as temporary housing for the United States men's national soccer team during the 2006World Cup.

Name changes

  • Landstuhl Air Base,
  • Ramstein Air Base,
  • Ramstein–Landstuhl Air Base,
  • Ramstein Air Base, present

    Major USAF units assigned

Source: Fletcher, Air Force Bases, Volume II
Source: Fletcher, Air Force Bases, Volume II
  • 21st TSC / 39th Movement Control BN.
  • USAREUR Movement Control Team / AMC Logistic Center
  • USAREUR Overseas Replacement CenterContingency Operations / AMC Passenger Terminal

    Operational history

86th Wing

Reassigned from Neubiberg Air Base, West Germany in 1952, except for 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. The 86th AD was inactivated in 1968. Returning as an F-4 Phantom II Tactical Fighter Wing in 1973, the 86th TFW performed that mission until 1994, deploying components to the Middle East during the 1990 Gulf War.
On, 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.
In June 1985, 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, Ramstein Air Base was the site of the tragic Ramstein airshow disaster, which killed 72 spectators and three pilots, and injured hundreds.
After the Cold War, the 86th was realigned to become the 86th Airlift Wing. On, the 55th Aeromedical Airlift Squadron moved from the 435thAW 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 437thAW at Charleston AFB South Carolina, respectively. A year later on, the 37thAirlift 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, the 38th Combat Support Wing was activated to enhance support to USAFE geographically separated units. This wing was inactivated in 2007. The 521st Air Mobility Operations Wing was activated on. 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, the Kindsbach Cave had become too small and its cost for renovation too high. The USAFE vacated the facility and, on, 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, though 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., the commander of the 521st AMOW is Colonel Adrienne Williams.
In December 2023 a new Space Force component stands up at Ramstein Air Base.