Aviano Air Base Aviano Air Base is a NATO base in northeastern Italy , in the Friuli - Venezia Giulia region . It is located in the Aviano municipality , at the foot of the Carnic Pre - Alps , or Southern Carnic Alps , about 15 kilometers from Pordenone . The Italian air force has administrative control of the base and hosts the U . S . Air Force ' s 31st Fighter Wing . The 31st FW is the only U . S . fighter wing south of the Alps . This strategic location makes the wing critical to operations in NATO ' s southern region . The 31st FW maintains two F - 16 fighter squadrons , the 555th Fighter Squadron and the 510th FS , allowing the wing to conduct offense and defensive combat air operations . In peacetime , the 31st FW prepares for its combat role by maintaining aircraft and personnel in a high state of readiness . History . Aviano Air Base was established by the Italian government in 1911 , and was used as training base for Italian pilots and construction facility for aircraft parts . During World War I , Italy used the airfield in missions against the Austro - Hungarian and German armies . At that time , two Italian aviators , Captain Maurizio Pagliano and Lieutenant Luigi Gori , conducted an unauthorized , but heroic and successful , air raid on the Austrian naval yards in Pula , in what is now Croatia . In their honor , the base ' s name was officially changed to " Aeroporto Pagliano e Gori , " in 1919 . During the war the airfield was also overrun by the Austro - German army in the months between November 1917 to November 1918 . Between the two wars the airfield was again used as a training base . During World War II , both the Italian Air Force and the German Luftwaffe flew missions from Aeroporto Pagliano e Gori . British forces captured the base in 1945 ; they conducted air operations there until 1947 , when the Italian Air Force resumed operational use of the airport . United States Air Force Use . Units . The 31st Fighter Wing is made up of four groups , each consisting of several squadrons . The 31st Operations Group ensures the combat readiness of two F - 16CG squadrons , one air control squadron , and one operational support squadron conducting and supporting worldwide air operations . The group prepares fighter pilots , controllers , and support personnel to execute U . S . and NATO war plans and contingency operations . It trains , equips , plans , and provides weather , intelligence , standardization / evaluation , and command and control sustaining global flying operations . The 31st Maintenance Group provides peacetime and combat maintenance and munitions control , and executive support for the 31st Fighter Wing , geographically separated units under the command and control of the wing , and units gained during advanced stages of readiness . The 31st MXG also responds to humanitarian and contingency logistics support requirements as directed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff through Headquarters U . S . Air Forces Europe to locations in Europe , Africa , and Southwest Asia . The 31st Mission Support Group ’ s goal is to provide infrastructure and service to support a premiere combat capability and quality of life to the 31st Fighter Wing , Aviano community and multiple geographically separated units . The 31st Medical Group supports the readiness of 31st Fighter Wing and associated units throughout the Southern Region , ensuring the health of its community by providing optimal patient - focused medical care from internal , Department of Defense and Host Nation resources . The unit employs medical resources and preventive initiatives to ensure Airmen remain mission ready to support the Expeditionary Air Force , U . S . and NATO objectives worldwide . Hurricane Andrew and Balkan Operations . As part of the most extensive restructuring since the Air Force became a separate service , the Tactical Air Command was inactivated and the Air Combat Command was activated and the 31st Tactical Fighter Wing was redesignated to its current name , the 31st Fighter Wing . On August 24 , 1992 , when Hurricane Andrew swept across southern Florida , leaving extensive damage in its wake . Every building of Homestead AFB received some damage , many buildings were destroyed . The fighter squadrons evacuated most of the planes before the storm but were unable to return . In the aftermath , the secretary of defense recommended complete closure of the base , but in June 1993 , the Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended realigning the base under the Air Force Reserve and inactivating the 31st Fighter Wing . The squadrons were assigned to other wings and the 31st FW began inactivation proceedings . To avoid losing the wing ’ s heritage and history as the highest scoring Army Air Force unit in the Mediterranean Theater in WWII , the impressive combat record in Vietnam and number of significant firsts they produced in the early years of the Air Force , the 31 FW was chosen to move rather than fade into obscurity . On April 1 , 1994 , the 31st Fighter Wing inactivated at Homestead AFB and subsequently activated at Aviano Air Base , Italy in place of the 401st Fighter Wing . The 31FW received two new squadrons at that time , the 555th and 510th Fighter Squadron s , along with their Block - 40 F - 16s . The wing immediately become involved with events in Bosnia , part of the former communist country of Yugoslavia , in May 1994 as part of Operation Deny Flight . A year later , a massive search and rescue operation took place to extract Capt . Scott O ’ Grady of the 555th FS from behind enemy lines . A U . S . Marine Corps HH - 53 picked him up after he evaded capture for six days . In August and September , Operation Deliberate Force began and the 31st FW conducted air strikes against Bosnian Serbs conducting ethnic purges among the Muslim population of the country . Peacekeeping operations continued in the Balkans through the end of 2004 , when the European Union assumed responsibility for the region . In 1999 , U . S . Air Forces in Europe activated the 31st Air Expeditionary Wing - NOBLE ANVIL at Aviano for Operation Allied Force , the NATO operation to stop Serbian atrocities in the Province of Kosovo . Assigned under a joint task force , the 31st AEW , flew from Aviano and joined NATO allies in a 78 - day air campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia ( Serbia ) . From March 24 to June 10 , 1999 , the 31st AEW , the largest expeditionary wing in Air Force history flew nearly 9 , 000 combat sorties and accumulated almost 40 , 000 hours of combat service over the skies of Kosovo , Serbia and the rest of the Balkans in support of NATO operations . The wing accomplished much during OAF as the two permanently assigned flying squadrons , the 510th and 555th , flew more than 2 , 400 combined sorties and more than 10 , 000 combat hours . Operations in Iraq , Afghanistan and Libya . In 2000 , the wing began deployments in support of the Expeditionary Air Force . From March to September 2000 , the 510th and 555th Fighter Squadrons conducted back - to - back deployments to Ahmed Al Jaber AB , Kuwait , in support of Operation Southern Watch . While at Al Jaber , the squadrons flew more than 400 combat sorties . From June through December 2001 , the fighter squadrons deployed combat search and rescue capabilities three times and helped enforce the no fly zone over Iraq . From August to December 2002 , the 510th Fighter Squadron and 603rd Air Control Squadron returned to Southwest Asia . The two squadrons supported Operation Enduring Freedom . Simultaneously , the 555th deployed personnel and aircraft to Decimomannu AB , Sardinia while the runway at Aviano closed for repairs . The wing ’ s support of Operation Iraqi Freedom began in late 2003 . Aviano served as the launch point for airborne / air - land insertion of airborne forces opening a second front in northern Iraq . During that time , the wing secured , bedded and fed more than 2 , 300 Army and Air Force personnel . The operation , the largest airborne operation since 1989 , constituted 62 missions , transporting 2 , 146 passengers and 2 , 433 . 7 tons of cargo . Since the beginning of combat operations in Iraq , forces from the wing have been on regular combat rotations into the region . In late 2003 , the wing ’ s 603rd Air Control Squadron became the first unit from the wing to deploy to Iraq . They also relocated their entire operation from Baghdad International Airport to Balad AB . Under combat conditions , the squadron transferred $ 73 million in equipment and more than 100 personnel with 20 convoys . On April 10 , 2004 , insurgents launched a mortar attack on Balad , killing Airman 1st Class Antoine Holt and injuring two other 603rd ACS members . Airman Holt ’ s death constituted the 31st FW ’ s first combat fatality since the Vietnam War . The 31st Fighter Wing continued deploying forces in support of OIF and OEF , with more than one - third of the wing deploying to support operations each year from 2003 to 2007 . In 2007 , the 555th FS deployed to Kunsan AB , Republic of Korea . Since arriving at Aviano , the wing has also participated in numerous training exercises with international partners , including training deployments to Latvia , the Czech Republic , Romania , Bulgaria , Spain , Slovenia and Poland . In March 2011 , the 31st FW played a major role in the United Nations ' response to the crisis in Libya , known as Operation Odyssey Dawn , in enforcing no - fly zone UNSR 1973 . The wing hosted four flying units and more than 1 , 350 personnel during the 15 - day operation , March 17 – 31 . It worked around the clock to launch 2 , 250 flying operations out of Aviano AB . As OOD came to an end on March 31 , so began Operation Unified Protector , with NATO taking the lead until the operation ' s conclusion Oct . 31 of that year . Cavalese cable - car disaster . In the Cavalese cable car disaster , on February 3 , 1998 , a U . S . Marine Corps jet flying too low on a training exercise from Aviano Air Base severed a cable car ' s cable over the Alps at Cavalese , Italy , causing 20 deaths . " Imam rapito " affair . On November 4 , 2009 , the conviction by an Italian court of 22 CIA agents , a U . S . Air Force colonel and two Italian SISMI secret agents confirmed the role of the Aviano Air Base in the kidnapping , on February 17 , 2003 , of Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr , in the so - called " extraordinary rendition " programme . The man , abducted in Milan by CIA agents , was taken to Aviano Air Base for interrogation before being transported via Ramstein Air Base ( Germany ) to Alexandria , Egypt , and turned over to the custody of Egypt ' s State Security Intelligence References . Some of this text in an early version of this article was taken from pages on the Aviano Air Base website , which as a work of the U . S . Government is presumed to be a public domain resource . That information was supplemented by :