38th Combat Support Wing The 38th Combat Support Wing ( 38 CSW ) is an inactive wing of the United States Air Force . Its last assignment was with Third Air Force ( Air Forces Europe ) , being inactivated on 1 May 2007 at Ramstein Air Base , Germany . The mission of the 38 CSW was to enhance support to USAFE geographically separated units . The Wing ' s origins date to 1948 as the 38th Bombardment Wing . Its operational group , the 38th Bombardment Group , was one of the first U . S . Army Air Forces units to be deployed into the Pacific Theater after Pearl Harbor . History . The unit was established as 38th Bombardment Wing , Light on 10 August 1948 in Japan . It assisted in the air defense of Japan and participated in tactical exercises , August 1948 — March 1949 . It was inactivated in the Far East on 1 April 1949 . The 38th Tactical Bombardment Wing ( 38th TBW ) was reactivated as part of the United States Air Forces in Europe on 1 January 1953 , being assigned to Laon - Couvron Air Base , France . Upon activation , the wing absorbed the assets of the Air National Guard 126th Bomb Wing , which was inactivated and returned to the control of the Illinois Air National Guard . The 38th ' s squadrons were designated the 71st , 405th , and 822nd Bomb Squadrons . The wing flew the Douglas B - 26 Invader until 1955 . In April 1955 the 38th Bomb Wing converted to the Martin B - 57 " Canberra " . The B - 57 was a replacement for aging Douglas B - 26 " Invader " , and with their arrival , the B - 26 ' s were returned to CONUS . Because English Electric was unable to meet the USAF delivery schedule , the design was licensed to Martin for US manufacture . A total of 49 B - 57B and 8 2 - seat B - 57C models were deployed to Laon . The mission of the B - 57 was to provide a nuclear deterrent for NATO and to deliver nuclear weapons against pre - selected targets , day or night . The aircraft at Laon were painted a gloss black . An acrobatic team was organized and named the Black Knights using five B - 57 ' s . The Black Knights performed at several air shows around Western Europe , including the 1957 Paris Air Show . The Black Knights were the only tactical bomber show team in the world . In 1958 , General De Gaulle announced that all nuclear weapons and delivery aircraft had to be removed from French soil by July 1958 . Since NATO strategy had evolved into " massive nuclear retaliation " this meant all tactical fighter and bombing wings had to depart France . The 38th TBW was inactivated at Laon on 18 June 1958 and redesignated as the 38th Tactical Missile Wing at Hahn Air Base West Germany , operating and maintaining first the TM - 67A " Matador " and later the TM - 76A Mace cruise missiles . The wing was inactivated in September 1966 . Air Training Command . The 38th was reactivated as the 38th Flying Training Wing and replaced the 3640th Pilot Training Wing at Laredo Air Force Base , Texas , on 1 August 1972 . Its operational squadrons were the 40th and 41st Pilot Training Squadrons . The wing performed pilot training until 28 August 1973 when Laredo AFB was inactivated . The 38th Flying Training Wing was reassigned to Moody AFB , Georgia on 1 December 1973 , replacing the 3550th Pilot Training Wing . The 38th performed pilot training until 21 November 1975 . On 1 December 1975 the 347th Tactical Fighter Wing , a unit of Tactical Air Command ( TAC ) , relocated to Moody from Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base , Thailand and the mission of the base changed from pilot training under ATC to an active tactical fighter base under TAC . The 38th FTW was inactivated on 1 December 1975 . Ground Launched Cruise Missiles . In April 1985 , the 38th Tactical Missile Wing , was activated at Wueschheim AB , West Germany . The wing was assigned to tactical missile operations , equipped with Ground - Launched Cruise Missiles ( GLCM ) to counter Soviet intermediate - range ballistic missiles from 1986 – 1990 . The GLCMs ( and their strategic cousins , the Pershing IIs ) had a destabilizing effect on the Soviet Union , as NATO ' s ability to stand firm and carry out the deployments in the face of nerve - wracking Soviet threats convinced the Kremlin that NATO could not be intimidated . It was this realization that led to the opening of the Intermediate - range Nuclear Forces ( INF ) talks and an INF treaty that eventually removed an entire class of nuclear arms from the superpower arsenals . The Intermediate - Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with the Soviet Union which went into effect on 1 June 1988 , led to inactivation of the wing on 22 August 1990 . Post Cold War . The 38th went on to serve as the 38th Engineering Installation Wing wing from 8 November 1994 – 3 February 2000 at Tinker AFB , Oklahoma , to provide the Air Force with centralized management of worldwide engineering and installation ( E & I ) resources . The wing reorganized the Command and Control Systems Center and became the Communications Systems Center ( CSC ) . CSC leaders created a new structure , which accommodated a more effective business - management approach to satisfying the communications - computer software requirements of our Air Force and DoD customers . The 38 EIW was inactivated in February 2000 and downgraded to a group level . The transfer of responsibilities were assigned solely to the 38th Engineering Installation Group ( 38 EIG ) located at Tinker . The 38th Combat Support Wing was activated at Ramstein AB , Germany in 2004 to enhance support to the over 70 USAFE geographically separated units ( GSUs ) and units across Europe . But a review found the wing actually created an extra layer of bureaucracy and isolated units would be better served without it . Also studies showed that larger , neighboring bases could offer better support for airmen scattered across the continent . The 38th CSW was inactivated on 30 September 2007 . Components . Groups Squadrons Stations . Dispersed TM - 61 Matador / TM - 76 Mace missile locations Between 1958 – 1966 , the 38th TMW maintained eight separate launch facilities .