RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany, Sept. 17 -- The U.S. Air Forces in Europe & Air Forces Africa issued the following press release:
Seventy years ago, the U.S. Air Force activated its first Tactical Missile Wing on September 15, 1956, at Hahn Air Base, Germany. That unit, the 701st Tactical Missile Wing, eventually evolved into U.S. Air Forces in Europe's modern 501st Combat Support Wing.
During the 1950s, USAFE faced a numerically superior adversary as the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies massed vast armies behind the Iron Curtain. Fiscal constraints and national security pressure led the Eisenhower administration to institute the "New Look" National Security Policy. This policy shifted military priority away from conventional ground an...