Seventeenth Air Force Seventeenth Air Force ( 17 AF ) was a numbered air force of the United States Air Force located at Ramstein Air Base , Germany . The command served the United States Air Forces in Europe during ( 1953 – 1996 ) and United States Air Forces Africa during 2008 - 2012 . Upon reactivation on 1 October 2008 , it became the air and space component component of United States Africa Command . In this capacity , Seventeenth Air Force was referred to as U . S . Air Forces Africa ( AFAFRICA ) . 17 AF was inactivated in April 2012 . Seventeenth Air Force housed the traditional A - staff and special staff functions which are responsible for developing strategy and plans to execute air and space operations in support of U . S . Africa Command objectives . In addition , 17 AF housed the " tailored " 617th Air and Space Operations Center ( AOC ) which provided command and control capabilities for the planning and execution of aerial missions on the African continent . Seventeenth Air Force also had a collaborative relationship with the 110th Air Operations Group , Michigan Air National Guard . History . Cold War . The establishment of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO ) in 1949 , increased USAFE ' s responsibilities . Seventeenth Air Force was thus established on 17 April 1953 and then activated on 25 April 1953 at Rabat , Morocco . Seventeenth Air Force operated throughout North Africa , Portugal , Austria , the Middle East , Pakistan , India , Ceylon and the Mediterranean islands . Seventeenth Air Force had been solely assigned to U . S . Air Forces , Europe , throughout its existence . Seventeenth Air Force was moved to Wheelus Air Base , Libya , on 1 August 1956 as the command expanded into Italy , Greece , and Turkey . The command exchanged its support mission for the defensive and offensive air missions in Central Europe in 1959 . The headquarters was then relocated in November 1959 to Ramstein AB , West Germany . At Ramstein , Seventeenth Air Force exchanged its support mission in the southern region for the defensive and offensive air mission in central Europe . The command ' s inventory included more than 500 tactical and 150 support aircraft operating from bases in West Germany , France , the Netherlands and Italy . After the 1961 Berlin Crisis and a USAFE headquarters reorganization , 17 AF assumed responsibility for five bases in Great Britain from Third Air Force . During the 1972 USAFE reorganization , CINCUSAFE moved his headquarters across Germany from Lindsey Air Station to Ramstein Air Base . To accommodate USAFE HQ , 17 AF relocated to Sembach Air Base , West Germany , in October 1972 . In the 1980s , Seventeenth Air Force saw the number of its subordinate units almost double . Its area of responsibility included three of the Ground Launched Cruise Missile sites in Europe . In 1985 , for the first time ever , Seventeenth Air Force brought together all European - based electronic warfare aircraft under a single command when it activated the 65th Air Division and the 66th Electronic Combat Wing at Sembach Air Base . All of these units were inactivated in the early 1990s . Seventeenth Air Force was inactivated effective 30 September 1996 , due to reorganization and realignment in the wake of the end of the Cold War . Under AFRICOM . It was announced on 12 September 2008 that Seventeenth Air Force would be reactivated , to be headquartered at Ramstein Air Base , located west of Kaiserslautern in the German federal state of Rheinland - Palatinate . It was to form part of United States Africa Command . The stand - up ceremony occurred on 18 September 2008 , under the command of Major General Ron Ladnier . It was officially reactivated by the Air Force on 1 October 2008 . In this capacity , it was subordinate to the United States Air Forces in Europe , and be referred to by its componency name : Air Forces Africa ( AFAFRICA ) . Air Forces Africa conducts sustained security engagement and operations as directed to promote air safety , security and development on the African continent . Through Theater Security Cooperation ( TSC ) events , Air Forces Africa carries out U . S . Africa Command ' s policy of seeking long - term partnership with the African Union and regional organizations as well as individual nations on the continent . AFAFRICA works with the State Department and the U . S . Agency for International Development ( USAID ) , to assist African states in developing their national and regional security institutions to promote security and stability and facilitate development . AFAFRICA includes at least two air expeditionary groups . The 449th Air Expeditionary Group , Camp Lemonnier , Djibouti provides combat search and rescue for the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa . It consists of HC - 130Ps from the 81st Expeditionary Rescue Squadron , and pararescuemen from the 82nd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron . The 404th Air Expeditionary Group is co - located with AFAFRICA at Ramstein . During contingency operations , the group forward - deploys to facilitate air and support operations for varied missions on the continent , ranging from humanitarian airlift to presidential support . The 404 AEG deployed to Rwanda in January 2009 to provide airlift for peacekeeping equipment in support of the United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur . In July 2009 , the 404 AEG deployed to Ghana to provide aerial port and aircraft maintenance teams , along with forward communications , early warning and air domain safety and security elements for U . S . President Barack Obama ' s visit . In June 2010 , Brigadier General Margaret H . Woodward took command of Seventeenth Air Force . Seventeenth Air Force directed the U . S . air involvement in the 2011 military intervention in Libya , dubbed Operation Odyssey Dawn , before command of the whole operation was transferred to NATO . As of 13 January 2010 , the Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley announced that the 617th AOC will be consolidated with the 603d Air and Space Operations Center ( according to AFA reporting ) . 17th Air Force was inactivated in April 2012 as part of an Air Force cost savings effort . United States Air Forces in Europe ( USAFE ) assumed the former staff functions of 17th Air Force , while the 3rd Air Force and the 603rd Air and Space Operations Center ( 603 AOC ) assumed responsibility for USAFRICOM air operations , with the 603 AOC absorbing the former 617th Air Operations Center . Components . Divisions Wings