USAF Patch GLCM USAFE b 38 TMW Tactical Missile Wing a Mace 1960

USAF Patch USAFE GLCM 38 TMW Tactical Missile Wing 1960 Mace Cruise Missile Era Sembach AB fully embroidered cut edge 102mm by 98mm four inches by three and seven eighth inches. 

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Wing History

38 Tactical Missile Wing was activated on 18 June 1958 on the renaming of 701 Tactical Missile Wing at Hahn Air Base West Germany under 17 Air Force to operate and maintain 701 TMWs TM-67A Matador Missiles until decommissioned in 1962 and from 1960 TM-76A Mace cruise missiles.

38 TMW maintained eight separate launch facilities three around Sembach AB – Site I Chargirl 822 Tactical Missile Squadron of 587 Tactical Missile Group, Site II Invent 823 TMS 587 TMG and Site III Hacksaw 887 TMS 587 TMG three around Hahn AB – Site IV Veronica 89 TMS 586 TMG, Site V Pot Fuse 405 TMS 586 TMG and Site VI Heroin 405 TMS 586 TMG and three around Bitburg AB – Site VII B Pad 71 TMS 585 TMG, Site VIII C Pad 71 TMS 585 TMG and Missile Support Area. On 20 August 1959 38 TMW headquarters moved to Sembach AB and the wing was deactivated on 25 September 1966.

The Wing was reactivated as 38 Flying Training Wing at Laredo Air Force Base Texas on 1 August 1972 for pilot training deactivating on 1  December 1975.

38 Tactical Missile Wing, was activated in April 1985 at Wueschheim Air Station Cruise Missile Ground Alert Maintenance Area previously Launch Facility Site VI Heroin to operate BGM-109G Ground Launched Cruise Missile GLCMs introduced to counteract the threat of the Soviet SS 20 mobile missiles deployed in the Soviet Block from 1975. Under the command of 17 Air Force the Wing controlled 89 Tactical Missile Squadron which had 80 missiles held by five Flights each having 2 Launch Control Vehicles and 4 Transporter Erector Launchers with four missiles each providing 16 missiles per flight. The Wing provided support with 38th Tactical Missile Maintenance Squadron.

During periods of increased tension the flights would be deployed with additional security and support vehicles to one of a number of pre-surveyed classified locations in the countryside away from the base. The flight would dig in erect camouflage to hide the vehicles set up special intrusion detection radar and prepare for launch.

The Reykjavík summit in Iceland on 11 October 1986 between US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev agreed in principle to removing Intermediate Range Nuclear Force systems from Europe and to equal global limits of 100 INF missile warheads. The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was signed on 8 December 1987 coming into force on 1 June 1988 leading to the removal of all nuclear missiles from Western Europe. 38 TMW was inactivated on 22 August 1990 following the decommissioning of the BGM-109G in Germany.

This patch dates from 1960.