16th Air Expeditionary Task Force The 16th Air Expeditionary Task Force ( 16 AETF ) is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to the United States Air Forces in Europe . It was last activated at Izmir Air Base , Turkey on 1 December 2006 , and inactivated on 30 April 2008 . The 16 AETF may be activated or inactivated at any time . Formerly designated as Sixteenth Air Force , the command was the first newly established Numbered Air Force ( NAF ) by the USAF after World War II , It was activated in 1954 as a Joint Military Group to provide command and control of USAF activities in Spain , being designated a NAF in 1956 . In 1957 16th AF was realigned under Strategic Air Command to provide command and control of SAC bases and B - 47 Stratojet rotational units assigned and deployed to Spain and Morocco . In 1966 after SAC withdrew its forces from Europe , 16th AF became part of the United States Air Forces in Europe , providing command and control of USAFE forces initially in Spain and North Africa , and later in Italy and Turkey until 2006 . It later became a provisional Air Expeditionary Task Force under USAFE as part of the Global War on Terrorism . History . Cold War . Sixteenth Air Force served both Strategic Air Command and United States Air Forces in Europe . Established as Joint United States Military Group , Air Administration ( Spain ) , on 20 May 1954 . Activated on 20 May 1954 at Madrid , Spain , it was attached to the Joint U . S . Military Group , which oversaw implementation of the 1953 Spanish - American Defense Cooperation Agreement . In 1956 , the administration was re - designated as Headquarters , 16th AF , and aligned directly under Headquarters , U . S . Air Force . Existing Spanish air force bases were expanded near Madrid , Sevilla and Zaragoza . In 1957 , 16th AF was realigned under the Strategic Air Command . Main operating bases in Spain were used for SAC B - 47 rotational alert aircraft until April 1965 . 16th AF also operated SAC bases in Morocco from 1958 through 1963 . In 1966 , a year after SAC withdrew its B - 47 alert force from Spain , 16th AF was reassigned to U . S . Air Forces in Europe . The 401st Tactical Fighter Wing , with three squadrons of F - 100Ds , moved from the United States to Torrejon Air Base , Spain . The wing later converted to F - 4 Phantoms , and in 1983 , to F - 16 Fighting Falcons . Modern era . The 401st FW moved from Spain to Aviano AB , Italy , in May 1992 and was re - designated as the 31st FW in April 1994 . It has two squadrons of F - 16C / Ds . Headquarters , 16th AF moved to Aviano AB in August 1992 . During its time at Aviano AB , Sixteenth Air Force was the operational air force for USAF combat operations in the Balkans , supporting Operation Deny Flight , enforcing the U . N . ordered no - fly zone over Bosnia . Sixteenth Air Force aircraft participated in the raid on the Bosnian - Serb held airfield at Udbina in November 1994 . In the fall of 1995 , 16th AF supported Operation Deliberate Force , the U . N . - sanctioned / NATO executed attacks on Bosnian - Serb forces . In 1995 , 16th AF supported Operation Joint Endeavor , the NATO peacekeeping mission to the former Yugoslavia , through operations in Croatia , Hungary and Bosnia - Herzegovina . The years 1996 through 1998 saw continued high operations in 16th AF . It was the first Air Force organization to fully employ the Expeditionary Wing concept . The 16th Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force , consisting of the 16th and 31st Air Expeditionary Wings , activated in support of Operation Joint Guardian , and its air component , Operation Deliberate Guard , engaging air power for peace enforcement operations in Bosnia - Herzegovina . The 39th Air & Space Expeditionary Wing activated in support of Operation Northern Watch , engaging air power to enforce the no - fly zone over northern Iraq . Headquarters 16th AF formed the joint force air component command for Operation Silver Wake , the successful evacuation of Americans and allied noncombatants from Albania . The 31st Fighter Wing was the first F - 16 Falcon unit to fly combat missions utilizing night vision goggles , and wing aircraft provided close air support during Pope John Paul II ' s historic visit to Sarajevo . Today the wing remains a major participant in support of Balkan air operations . The 39th Wing at Incirlik AB , Turkey , deployed a flying ambulance surgical team to Dhahran AB , Saudi Arabia in response to the Khobar Towers bombing . The wing assisted in the evacuation of nearly 6 , 500 pro - U . S . Kurds from northern Iraq . Beginning in March 1999 , the 16th Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force grew to 10 air expeditionary wings and 480 Air Force aircraft in 10 countries supporting Operation Allied Force , NATO ' s air campaign in the Former Republic of Yugoslavia . Approximately 13 , 200 airmen , in addition to 32 , 000 airmen through Europe , deployed in support of the 78 - day air campaign that led to Serbian withdrawal of forces from the province of Kosovo . In 2005 , Sixteenth Air Force moved to Ramstein AB , Germany to become USAFE ' s new Warfighting Headquarters . Its mission was to execute aerospace operations through expeditionary force command and control in support of the U . S . European Command and NATO . Supporting this mission , 16th AF planned and executed combat air operations in southern Europe and portions of the Middle East and northern Africa as an air component or joint task force headquarters . It supported approximately 11 , 000 Air Force and civilian members at two main operating bases , four support bases and other sites in Spain , France , Germany , Italy , Croatia , Kosovo , Bosnia - Herzegovina , Hungary , Macedonia , Greece , Turkey and Israel ; and conducted peacetime engagement throughout the region . On 1 December 2006 , the Sixteenth Air Force was inactivated at Ramstein AB and simultaneously reconstituted as the Sixteenth Air Expeditionary Task Force at Izmir Air Base , Turkey . It was replaced at Ramstein by the Third Air Force . The 16th AETF was inactivated in April 2008 . Components . Air Divisions Wings