USAF Patch Cmd USAFE 3 AF Third Air Force Sergeant First RAF Mildenhall

USAF Patch USAFE US Air Force Europe 3 Air Force First Sergeant Patch 1980s RAF Mildenhall British made Embroidered on twill merrowed edge 116mm four and nine sixteenth inches diameter.

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Command History

In May 1951 Third Air Force was activated at South Ruislip UK overseeing tactical air operations while SACs 7 Air Division controlled deployed bombardment and reconnaissance forces. Third Air Force was responsible for 81 Fighter Bomber Wing at RAF Bentwaters, and 20 Fighter
Bomber Wing at RAF Wethersfield both with F 84 Thunderchief and F 86 Sabres and 47 Bombardment Wing RAF Sculthorpe and RAF Alconbury with B 45s and B 66s. New aircraft arrived in the early 1960s with F 100 Super Sabres, F 101 Voodoos and F 4 Phantom IIs while KC 135 arrived for air to air refueling. F 111s arrived at 48 TFW and 20 TFW at RAF Lakenheath and RAF Upper Heyford in 1977.

Headquarters USAFE at Wiesbaden took control of UK based tactical units in June 1972 with Third Air Force retaining command of the units with a reduced headquarters strength and relocated to RAF Mildenhall. Ground Launched Cruise Missile GLCM units joined Third Air Force with 501 Tactical Missile Wing TMW activated at RAF Greenham Common in July 1982 and 303 TMW at RAF Molesworth December 1986. HQ USAFE delegated tactical control of Third Air Force units back to Third Air Force in June 1987.With the signing of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in December 1987 RAF Molesworths GLCMs were returned to the U.S. and 303rd TMW disbanded on 30 January 1989. The last GLCMs at RAF Greenham Common were removed in March 1991 and 501st TMW inactivated 4 June 1991.

Third Air Force played a major support role for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, deploying half its combat aircraft with vehicles, munitions, supplies and material. Third Air Force also activated three of its contingency hospitals.

The end of the Cold War led to large reductions budget and European based troop strength from 450,000 late 1980s to 100,000 by the mid-1990s. Several Third Air Force units returned to US and a number inactivated. Third Air Force returned many of its bases back to the MOD. Third Air Force took responsibility for all U.S. Air Force units north of the Alps on the inactivation of Seventeenth Air Force at Sembach and grew substantially with new operating bases at Ramstein and Spangdahlem with F 15, F 16 A 10 C 9 C 20 C 21 and C 130 aircraft.

Further USAFE re-organization led to the inactivation Third Air Force on 1 November 2005 and reactivation on 1 December 2006 at Ramstein as USAFEs Air and Space Operations Command supporting U.S. European Command. In 2012 Third Air Forces became the numbered air force supporting United States Air Forces Africa.

This patch dates from the 1980s.