Third Air Force The Third Air Force ( 3 AF ) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe ( USAFE ) and United States Air Forces Africa . It is headquartered at Ramstein Air Base , Germany . It is responsible for all United States Air Forces in Europe and United States Air Forces Africa ( AFAFRICA ) operations and support activities in the U . S . European Command and U . S . Africa Command areas of responsibility . One of the four original pre – World War II numbered air forces , it was established on 26 March 1941 , at Tampa , Florida with a mission of air defense of the Southeastern United States and Gulf Coast regions . During the war , its primary mission became the organization and training of combat units prior to their deployment to the overseas combat air forces . It is commanded by Lt Gen Craig A . Franklin . Its Command Chief Master Sergeant is Chief Master Sergeant Craig A . Adams . Overview . The command directs all USAFE and AFAFRICA forces engaged in contingency and wartime operations in the United States European Command ( EUCOM ) and United States Africa Command ( AFRICOM ) areas of responsibility . It also has a unique mission as the U . S . military ' s primary liaison to the British government , which is conducted through the command ' s 3 AF - UK headquarters at Royal Air Force Station Mildenhall , England . As an integral part of America ' s commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO ) , Third Air Force ' s area of responsibility includes missions and personnel in the United Kingdom , Germany , the Netherlands , Norway , Belgium , Denmark , Luxembourg , and portions of France . The command also serves as Headquarters United States European Command ' s " single point of contact " for representing U . S . forces in negotiations with the British government , Third Air Force oversees host nation support agreements for all American military forces based in the United Kingdom through the command ' s 3 AF - UK headquarters at RAF Mildenhall . Through the Partnership for Peace program , Third Air Force manages military contact and assistance programs for a number of countries in Eastern Europe . Third Air Force is also responsible for contingency planning and support of American security interests in Africa . It is composed of more than 25 , 000 military people , and more than 35 , 000 family members . Third Air Force is assigned more than 200 aircraft , while tasked to provide support servicing to thousands of other transient aircraft that visit its bases each year . Units . Major operational units under Third Air Force are : In addition , there are numerous minor units assigned to Third Air Force by HQ USAFE . History . Major components . Commands Division History . One of the four original numbered air forces , Third Air Force was activated as the Southeast Air District of the GHQ Air Force on 18 December 1940 , at MacDill Field , Florida . It was redesignated Third Air Force on 26 March 1941 with a mission for the defense of the Southeast and Gulf of Mexico regions of the United States . World War II . Headquartered at MacDill Army Airfield , Florida during World War II , Third Air Force initially provided air defense for the southeastern United States ( 1940 – 1941 ) and flew antisubmarine patrols along coastal areas of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico from after Pearl Harbor until October 1942 . In addition , the command performed training through Army Air Forces Training Command of units , crews , and individuals for bombardment , fighter , and reconnaissance operations . In 1942 , the antisubmarine patrols were turned over to the Coast Guard and other agencies and the command was engaged primarily in training replacements for combat units . It supported Army Air Forces Training Command ' s mission of training of units , crews , and individuals for bombardment , fighter , and reconnaissance operations . After personnel graduated from AAFTC flight schools ; navigator training ; flexible gunnery schools and various technical schools , Third Air Force organized the personnel , aircraft and equipment into combat groups and squadrons . The newly formed units received secondary training prior to their assignment to the deployed combat air forces in the various overseas theaters . Third Air Force primarily trained B - 25 Mitchell and B - 26 Marauder medium bomber groups and A - 20 Havoc and A - 36 Apache light bomber groups . It also trained replacement fighter pilots , initially using P - 39 Aircobra and P - 40 Warhawk s in 1942 , later with P - 47 Thunderbolt s and P - 51 Mustang s beginning in 1943 and 1944 as they became available . Third Air Force also provided support to the Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics operated by Army Air Forces Training Command in Florida . By 1944 , most of the Operational Training of groups ended , with the command concentrating on the training of replacement personnel , using Army Air Force Base Units ( AAFBU ) as training organizations at the airfields controlled by Third Air Force . Also by 1944 , the majority of the Numbered Air Force s of the USAAF were fighting in various parts of the world , such as the Eighth Air Force in Europe and the Twentieth Air Force in the Pacific . They were supported by four numbered air forces located within the United States ( known as the Zone of the Interior , or " ZI " . ) On 13 December 1944 , First , Second , Third and Fourth Air Force were all were placed under the unified command of the Continental Air Forces , the predecessor of the later established Strategic Air Command , Tactical Air Command , and Air Defense Command , which were all established in 1946 . Postwar era . When the Army Air Forces reorganized in 1946 , Tactical Air Command ( TAC ) was established as one of its three major commands . The USAAF Troop Carrier Command ( TCC ) was inactivated as part of this reorganization and Third Air Force was reassigned to TAC to control the troop carrier units formerly part of TCC . It was headquartered at Greenville AAF , South Carolina . The C - 46 Commando and C - 47 Skytrain were the primary troop carrier aircraft , but surplus C - 54 Skymaster s that had been originally purchased for the Air Transport Command ( ATC ) were made available for troop carrier use . Third Air Force was inactivated on 1 November 1946 and TAC ' s troop carrier mission was reassigned to Ninth Air Force with its return from Europe and reassignment to Donaldson . Cold War . In August 1948 , in response to the Berlin blockade , the U . S . deployed long - range B - 29 Superfortress strategic bombers to four East Anglian bases . The USAFE 3d Air Division was activated to receive , support and operationally control the B - 29 units deployed in England for training . It also provided aircraft maintenance support at RAF Burtonwood for C - 54 Skymaster aircraft used in the Berlin Airlift . When the Berlin Airlift ended in 1949 , the division participated in the Military Assistance Program in England and began an extensive air base construction program through May 1951 Briefly elevated to the Major Command level from 3 January 1949 – 21 January 1951 , the 3d Air Division controlled large numbers of USAF organizations based in the United Kingdom and supervised a tremendous airfield construction program . However With the advent of the Korean War and the growing Cold War threat of the Soviet Union , the U . S . and UK agreed to an even greater U . S . military presence in the United Kingdom . The resulting growing size and complexity of the American military presence required a larger command and organizational structure that could meet the needs of the increased operations . Reactivation of Third Air Force . The 3d Air Division was discontinued on 1 May 1951 , and in its place the USAFE Third Air Force was activated to oversee tactical air operations . Strategic Air Command ' s 7th Air Division controlled deployed bombardment and reconnaissance forces with Third Air Force providing its logistical support . From its headquarters at South Ruislip Air Station near London , Third Air Force carried out that mission basically unchanged through 1966 , when the 7th Air Division was inactivated . Tactical Air Operations . The first tactical unit to come to England under Third Air Force was the 81st Fighter Bomber Wing based at RAF Bentwaters on 6 September 1951 . The next assigned unit was the 20th Fighter Bomber Wing , assigned to RAF Wethersfield . These Republic F - 84 Thunderjet / Thunderchief and North American F - 86 Sabre units worked with Royal Air Force Fighter Command providing air defense for England . In addition , the attached Tactical Air Command 47th Bombardment Wing flew B - 45 Tornado and B - 66 Destroyer tactical bombers from RAF Sculthorpe and RAF Alconbury . Initially the 49th Air Division functioned as the intermediate - level command authority for USAFE ' s wings in the UK , no operational combat groups were attached . The division supervised and participated in numerous training missions such as Quick Shot , Kingpin , and Bear Claw . it was inactivated on 1 July 1956 During the 1960s , Third Air Force has four to five combat wings and major changes occurred in the types of aircraft deployed in the United Kingdom . North American F - 100 Super Sabres , McDonnell F - 101 Voodoos , and McDonnell Douglas F - 4 Phantom IIs replaced older fighter aircraft . Boeing KC - 135 Stratotankers replaced older refueling aircraft . In June 1972 , daily operational control of tactical units in the United Kingdom was transferred to Headquarters USAFE at Wiesbaden Air Base , West Germany . Third Air Force still retained command of the units , but as a result of the change , the headquarters was reorganized , reduced in personnel strength , and moved to RAF Mildenhall , United Kingdom . In 1979 , NATO ministers decided to deploy BGM - 109G Gryphon Ground Launched Cruise and Pershing II IRBM missiles to counter the growing Soviet SS - 20 intermediate range ballistic missile threat . RAF Greenham Common and RAF Molesworth were selected as the beddown sites for the GLCM . The 501st Tactical Missile Wing ( TMW ) was activated at RAF Greenham Common in July 1982 and the 303d Tactical Missile Wing at RAF Molesworth in December 1986 . In June 1987 , Headquarters USAFE delegated tactical control of Third Air Force units to the Third Air Force commander . On 15 April 1986 , General Dynamics F - 111 aircraft based at RAF Lakenheath and RAF Upper Heyford were launched against suspected terrorist targets in Libya , as part of Operation Eldorado Canyon . With the signing of the Intermediate - Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in December 1987 , GLCMs deployed to RAF Molesworth were removed to the U . S . and the 303rd TMW inactivated 30 January 1989 . The last GLCMs at RAF Greenham Common were removed in March 1991 , and the 501st TMW inactivated 4 June 1991 . When Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990 , Third Air Force , like many other U . S . military units , received their trial by fire . However , for Third Air Force , the scenario was not similar to any which had been practiced in the past . Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm were not classic East - West confrontations in Europe that Third Air Force had been trained for . Thousands of miles removed from the Kuwait theater of operations , Third Air Force played a major support role , deploying half its combat aircraft , several thousand vehicles , approximately 50 , 000 tons of munitions , and many more tons of supplies and material . Third Air Force also provided 2 , 250 hospital beds by activating three of its contingency hospitals and was ready in the event of a large number of casualties were received . Post Cold War . The end of the Cold War with the former Soviet Union left in its wake many new military challenges , tensions and emerging conflicts . It also drew attention to the need for American military forces to operate in ways and locations outside the traditional NATO construct . The shift in East - West relations and the increasing focus toward Eastern Europe , the southern region and the Middle East led to a changing of the focus of Third Air Force as well . Recognizing that the threat to NATO was significantly reduced with the end of the Cold War , the U . S . Congress mandated large reductions in the American military budget and American military troop strength based in Europe . From a Cold War high of 450 , 000 in the late 1980s , American troop strength in Europe was reduced to 100 , 000 by the mid - 1990s . During the 1990s the USAF restructured itself to meet the emerging needs of the new world order . Several Third Air Force units returned to the U . S . , and several more were inactivated . Third Air Force returned many of its bases to the British Ministry of Defence , and scaled down operations at other places . In March 1996 , Headquarters USAFE announced a major reorganization of its numbered air forces . The announcement included news of the inactivation of Seventeenth Air Force at Sembach Air Base Germany , transferring its responsibility for overseeing all U . S . Air Force units north of the Alps to Third Air Force . As a result of the changes , Third Air Force grew substantially , taking on two main operating bases , Ramstein Air Base and Spangdahlem Air Base , both in Germany , and five geographically separated units . With this 1996 reorganization , Third Air Force was composed of more than 25 , 000 military people , and more than 35 , 000 family members . In terms of numbers of aircraft , Third Air Force had more than 200 , including KC - 135 and F - 15 aircraft at bases in England , and A - 10 , F - 16 , C - 9 , C - 20 , C - 21 and C - 130E aircraft in Germany . In addition to a larger area of responsibility , the command reorganization also brought about a subtle change in the mission of the Third Air Force headquarters element . Third Air Force was tasked to take a more active role in the leadership of operational contingencies , and provide trained staff to lead or augment joint and combined task force headquarters elements . In 2005 , USAFE once again realigned its numbered air forces . Sixteenth Air Force was aligned as the command ' s new Warfighting Headquarters . Third Air Force was inactivated on 1 November , ending the unit ' s prestigious 50 - plus year legacy in the UK . Current Status . Just over a year after inactivation , Third Air Force was reactivated on 1 December 2006 , at Ramstein AB , Germany , as USAFE ' s Air and Space Operations supporting U . S . European Command . Its new mission was to support the EUCOM commander ' s strategic objectives across the full range of military operations . When a joint task force is created in EUCOM , the Third Air Force commander is ready to assume the roles of Joint Forces Air Component Commander and Commander Air Force Forces , or lead the JTF as a Joint Force Commander . Upon the inactivation of the Seventeenth Air Force in 2012 , Third Air Forces became the numbered air force supporting United States Air Forces Africa .