USAF Patch Command USAFE Air Forces Iceland Guardians Of North 57 FIS c

USAF Patch USAFE 85 Group Air Forces Iceland Guardians Of The North 57 FIS Fighter Interceptor Squadron F 4 Phantom 1970s fully embroidered cut edge 90mm by 75mm three and one half inches by two and seven eighths 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. 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 activated 85 Group Guardians Of The North to operated Keflavik Airport and provided operational control of flying units including 57 Fighter Interceptor Squadron and base support for all US military forces in Iceland. F 89 Scorpion fighters from 57 FIS 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.  Air Forces Iceland was transferred from MATS to Air Defense Command on 1 July 1962. 57 FIS reequipped with F 4 Phantom fighters in 1973. AFI was reassigned to Tactical Air Command on 1 October 1979 when TAC absorbed ADC assets. 57 FIS reequipped with F 15 Eagle fighters in 1983. During the 1980s Keflavik hosted rotational E 3 Sentry AWACS aircraft and KC 135 Stratotanker aircraft from CONUS to support the air defense mission and rotational HC 130 Hercules aircraft from RAF Woodbridge based 67 Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron ARRS to support their Detachment 14 of Keflavik based HH 3 Jolly Green Giant helicopters in their search and rescue mission. Radar Operations Control Center at Keflavik was established in 1984 with long range radar inputs from five radar sites which coordinated 57 FIS interceptors to contacts. 56 Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron was activated at Keflavik on 1 May 1988 taking over SAR duties from Detachment 14 67 ARRS HH 3 redesignated 56 Air Rescue Squadron on 1 June 1989 later reequipping with HH 60G Pave Hawk helicopters  for combat rescue and reaction force insertion missions. 

Air Forces Iceland transferred from TAC to Air Combat Command on 1 June 1992. 57 FIS was redesignated 57 Fighter Squadron on 1 January 1993 and 56 ARS was redesignated 56 Rescue Squadron RQS on 1 February 1993. Air Forces Iceland was inactivated on 31 May 1993 when it was replaced by newly reactivated 35 Wing to continue combat capable surveillance air superiority and rescue forces. 35 Wing was consolidated with the 85 Tactical Fighter Training Wing and redesignated 85 Wing on 29 September 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 from CONUS and USAFE units on 90 day rotational TDY deployments to Iceland.  85 Operations Squadron was established to provide operational control for rotational F 15 interceptor aircraft KC 135 Iceland Tanker Task Force tanker aircraft and HC 130 SAR assets with total force management intelligence and maintenance of all USAF combat aircraft in Iceland.  

85 Wing was reduced to Group level on 1 July 1995 and redesignated as 85 Group. In 2002 Air Force units in Iceland were reassigned from Air Combat Command to United States Air Forces in Europe under Third 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 Third Air Force to 48 Fighter Wing on 8 October 2004 and continued to support rotational deployments. With further force reductions 56 RQS relocated to RAF Lakenheath England on 1 June 2006 and F 15 fighter rotational TDY deployments ceased. 85 Group was inactivated on 28 June 2006 when the USAF left Iceland. 

This patch dates from the late 1970s.