USAF Patch Cmd USAFE b 16 AF Air Force Torrejon AB Spain F 100 Sabre a

USAF Patch USAFE 16 Air Force Air Defense Fighter F 100 1966 Torrejon AB Spain Japanese made Ace Novelty Fully embroidered cut edge 104mm by 99mm four and one eighth inches by three and fifteen sixteenth inches.

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History

16 Air Force was activated as Headquarters 16 Air Force on 15 July 1956 assigned directly to Headquarters USAF on the redesignation of Joint United States Military Group Air Administration Spain which oversaw implementation of the 1953 Spanish American Defense Cooperation Agreement. Spanish Air Force bases near Madrid Sevilla, and Zaragoza were expanded to accommodate 16 AF operational requirements taking over 3977 Support Wing at Moron AB and 7602 Support Wing at Zaragoza AB. 7602 Support Wing was inactivated on 10 May 1957.

16 AF was reassigned to Strategic Air Command SAC on 1 July 1957 with its main bases in Spain used for US based SAC B 47 Stratojet rotational TDY alert deployment operations. 16 AF also operated SAC bases in Morocco when it was assigned 5 Air Division on 1 July 1957 operating B 47 Stratojet rotational alert deployments from Sidi Slimane AB Ben Guerir AB and Nouasseur AB.

16 AF was assigned newly activated 65 Air Division Defense at Torrejon Air Base Spain on 1 October 1957 responsible for air defence operating US based fighter Squadrons on rotational TDY alert deployment operations at Torrejon AB and with radar stations at seven locations in Spain. 65 ADD sent its TDY deployed fighter Squadrons on 30 day rotations to Aviano Air Base Italy and Incirlik Air Base Turkey. 5 AD in Morocco was inactivated on 15 January 1958 with its responsibilities transferred to 4310 Air Division. 3977 Support Wing at Moron AB was inactivated on 1 April 1958.

16 AF began preparation of new bases in Spain to accommodate forces in anticipation of the possible loss of the air bases in Morocco with agreement renewal negotiations stalling. 4310 Air Division continued operations until 15 August 1963 when the USAF withdrew from Morocco at the request of the Moroccan government.

SAC B 47 Stratojet rotational alert force deployments to 16 Air Force bases in Spain were discontinued in April 1965. Rotational TDY alert deployment fighter operations at Torrejon AB ceased in June 1964 and 65 Air Division Defense inactivated on 1 January 1965.

16 AF was reassigned to US Air Forces in Europe USAFE on 15 April 1966 and was assigned 401 Tactical Fighter Wing with its three squadrons 612 613 and 614 TFS equipped with F 100D Super Sabres. 613 TFS moved to Torrejon AB with the Wing while 612 and 614 TFS were reassigned to Phan Rang AB and Phu Cat AB South Vietnam respectively for combat over Vietnam and were replaced at 401 TFW by 307 and 353 TFSs with F 100 Super Sabre fighter aircraft. The Wing continued to provide the rotational TDY deployments to Aviano AB Italy and Incirlik AB Turkey for NATO alerts.

16 Air Forces 401 TFW reequipped with F 4E Phantom II in 1970 and in 1972 following the withdrawal the USAF from South Vietnam 307 and 353 Tactical Fighter Squadrons returned to their home bases in the US and the 612 and 614 TFSs were reassigned to 401 TFW returning to Torrejon AB. In September 1973 Phantom F 4C were received and replaced in 1978 with the Phantom F 4D.

In 1983 the Wing upgraded to F 16AB Fighting Falcons which were replaced F 16CD in July 1988. With the Spanish Governments demands for the USAF withdrawal from Spain a new agreement was reached in January 1988 for an initial additional term of eight years with F 16 aircraft to be removed from Torrejon AB by mid 1991 however implementation was delayed by the 1990 91 crisis in Kuwait when 401 TFW was one of the first US fighter Wings to respond with the 612 TFS deploying to Incerlik AB Turkey as part of the 7440 Composite Wing Provisional and the 614 TFS Lucky Devils deploying to Doha Qatar as 401 Tactical Fight Wing Provisional.

Following the 1991 cease fire in Iraq plans to close Torrejon AB proceeded. On 1 October 1991 401 TFW was redesignated 401 Fighter Wing and was transferred to Aviano AB Italy without assigned fighter squadrons to support deployed rotating Squadrons. 16 AF moved to Aviano AB in August 1992 and its 401 FW was redesignated 31 Fighter Wing on 1 April 1994. 401 Air Expeditionary Wing was reactivated at Aviano AB replacing 16 AEW operating at Souda Bay Crete and Bourgas Sarafovo Bulgaria.  

From Aviano AB 16 Air Force was responsible for combat operations in the Balkans including Operation Deny Flight enforcing the no fly zone over Bosnia Operation Deliberate Force attacks on Bosnian Serb forces during 1994 Operation Joint Endeavor peacekeeping mission to the former Yugoslavia in 1995 with operations in Croatia Hungary and Bosnia Herzegovina.

16 AF was the first USAF organization to fully employ the Expeditionary Wing concept in 1996 with 16 Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force consisting of the 16 and 31 Air Expeditionary Wings activated in support of Operation Joint Guardian and its air component Operation Deliberate Guard for peace enforcement operations in Bosnia Herzegovina. 16 AF activated 39 Air and Space Expeditionary Wing in 1998 in support of Operation Northern Watch engaging air power to enforce the no-fly zone over northern Iraq.

In March 1999 16 Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force was expanded to 10 air expeditionary wings and 480 aircraft in 10 countries supporting Operation Allied Force NATOs 78 day air campaign which led to the Serbian withdrawal of forces from Kosovo.

401 Air Expeditionary Wing was inactivated in 2004. 16 AF relocated to Ramstein AB Germany in 2005 as USAFEs new Warfighting Headquarters to execute operations through expeditionary force command and control in support of the US European Command and NATO combat operations in the Middle East and northern Africa controlling two main operating bases four support bases and other sites in Spain France Germany Italy Croatia Kosovo Bosnia Herzegovina Hungary Macedonia Greece Turkey and Israel.

16 Air Force was inactivated at Ramstein AB on 1 December 2006 and was simultaneously reconstituted on provisional status as 16 Air Expeditionary Task Force at Izmir Air Base Turkey before being inactivated on 30 April 2008 to be reactivated or inactivated for expeditionary operations at any time.

This patch dates from 1966.