USAF Patch Command USAFE Air Forces Iceland 57 FIS F 4 Phantom b

USAF Patch USAFE 57 FIS Fighter Interceptor Squadron Air Forces Iceland F 4 Phantom 1970s Embroidered on twill cut edge 80mm by 76mm three and one eighth inches by three inches.

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History

Iceland Air Defense Force replaced the Iceland Base Command on 1 April 1952 which had been the headquarters for Air Force units stationed in Iceland since 1942 and was assigned to Military Air Transport Service. Between 1952 and 1961 the Iceland Air Defense Force responsible for deterring aggression in the North Atlantic protecting Icelands airspace and supporting contingency operations through surveillance air superiority and rescue forces under NATO. The Force operated Keflavik Airport and provided base support for all US military forces in Iceland via 85 Group Guardians Of The North. F 89 Scorpion fighters from 57 Fighter Interceptor Squadron assigned to 85 Group routinely intercepted Soviet aircraft
flying into the Iceland area.

Iceland Air Defense Force was redesignated Air Forces Iceland on 1 January 1960 and Keflavik Airport was transferred to the US Navy on 30 June 1961 which undertook the base support activities. 57 FIS reequipped with F 105 Delta Daggers in 1962 and to Phantom F 4s in 1973. Air Forces Iceland was transferred from MATS to Air Defense Command to Tactical Air Command in 1978 and 57 FIS received F 15s in 1983. Air Forces Iceland transferred from TAC to Air Combat Command in 1992.

Air Forces Iceland was inactivated in 1993 and replaced by 35 Wing which consolidated with the 85 Tactical Fighter Training Wing to be activated as 85 Wing in 1994.

Post Cold War Air Force reduction and a new agreement with the Government of Iceland led to the inactivation of 57 Fighter Squadron on 1 March 1995 with the interceptor force provided by regular Air Force and Air National Guard F 15 Eagle fighter aircraft on 90 day rotational TDY deployments to Iceland and 85 Wing reduced to Group level redesignated as 85 Group on 1 July 1995.

In 2002 Air Force units in Iceland was reassigned from Air Combat Command to United States Air Forces in Europe under 3 Air Force. In 2003 85 Groups 56 Rescue Squadron deployed to Liberia to support Joint Task Force Liberia providing peacekeeping over Monrovia during civil unrest and saved lives by extracting people from the US Embassy. 85 Group was reassigned from 3 Air Force to 48 Fighter Wing on 8 October 2004 and continued to support rotational deployments until inactivated on 28 June 2006 when the USAF left Iceland. 

This patch dates from the 1970s.