A complete overview of USAFE-AFAFRICA

This January, US Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa commemorated its 80th anniversary. The command is the oldest in the USAF, having been originally established as the Eighth Air Force under the US Army during World War Two.

For 70 years, US Air Forces in Europe was responsible for activities solely within the continent upon which the command was located. Due to a gradual overlap of operations into Africa, all that changed on April 20, 2012, when the organisation was retitled US Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) and headquartered at Ramstein Air Base (AB) in Germany. The United States Air Force (USAF) decide that, as this expansion was limited in composition, it did not warrant a dedicated command.

Lockheed Martin F-16CJ/DJ Fighting Falcons from the 52nd FW perform an elephant walk at Spangdahlem AB, Germany, on October 1, 2019, to demonstrate the wing’s rapid deployment capabilities
USAF/Staff Sgt Joshua Dewberry

USAFE-AFAFRICA is the air component of both US European Command (USECOM) and US Africa Command (AFRICOM), which are each headquartered in the Stuttgart area of Germany. These two organisations are multi-service administrations that both determine government policy and designate it to the appropriate users.

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