36th Wing The United States Air Force ' s 36th Wing is the host wing for Andersen Air Force Base , Guam . It is part of United States Pacific Air Forces Thirteenth Air Force . The 36th Wing provides day - to - day mission support to more than 9 , 000 military , civilian , dependent and retired personnel and 15 associate units on the base . Mission . The 36th Wing ' s and Andersen Air Force Base ' s official mission statement is " . . . to employ , deploy , integrate and enable air and space forces from the most forward US sovereign Air Force Base in the Pacific . " More simply , the 36th Wing has three major missions : Operate Andersen AFB via its subordinate 36th Mission Support and 36th Medical Groups ; Provide power projection through an attached , rotational bomber force via its subordinate 36th Operations and 36th Maintenance Groups ; and provide rapid air base opening and initial air base operation ability via its subordinate 36th Contingency Response Group . Assisting the 36th Wing in accomplishing this mission is the 734th Air Mobility Squadron , which operates Andersen ' s air cargo terminal on behalf of Air Mobility Command . History . On 2 July 1948 the United States Air Force 36th Fighter Wing was activated at Howard Air Force Base . The former USAAF 36th Fighter Group became the operational component of the new Air Force wing . Active squadrons of the 36th were : United States Air Forces in Europe . As a result of the Berlin Blockade and other Cold War tensions in Europe , the 36th Fighter Wing was reassigned to USAFE . The squadron was assigned to Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base West Germany on 13 August 1948 , being the first USAFE unit to be jet - equipped with the Lockheed F - 80 " Shooting Star " . At Fürstenfeldbruck tactical operations included air defense , tactical exercises , maneuvers , and photographic reconnaissance . In May 1949 , the wing formed the Skyblazers aerial demonstration team , which it controlled until August 1952 , and again from October 1956 to January 1962 when it was disbanded . On 20 January 1950 , the wing was redesignated as the 36th Fighter - Bomber Wing ( FBW ) when 89 Republic F - 84E " Thunderjets " arrived . Existing USAFE bases in West Germany , however , were deemed very vulnerable to an attack by the Soviet Union , given their proximity to East Germany and other Warsaw Pact nations . Negotiations with other NATO nations were made to build new bases west of the Rhine River . The F - 80s were sent back to CONUS to equip Air National Guard units . In addition to its primary installation at Fürstenfeldbruck , the wing controlled Oberpfaffenhofen AB , West Germany , December 1949 – February 1950 . The 36th FBW remained at Fürstenfeldbruck until 1952 when it was reassigned to the new Bitburg Air Base , in the Eifel mountains west of the Rhine River . Throughout the summer , elements of the 36th FBW moved into Bitburg , with the wing officially arriving in November 1952 . Under various designations , the 36th would remain at Bitburg for the next 40 years . In August 1953 , the North American F - 86F " Sabre " was introduced to the wing , replacing the F - 84s . On 31 March 1954 , The 1st Pilotless Bomber Squadron , equipped with the B - 61A Matador , was assigned to the 36th Fighter Bomber Wing , Bitburg Air Base , Germany , making it the first operational U . S . missile unit . The 1st PBS eventually was renamed to Tactical Missile Squadron ( TMS ) , and in 1958 was renumbered to the 71st TMS and the unit was assigned to the 701st TMW at Hahn , although stationed at Bitburg Air Base . In August 1954 , the wing was redesignated as the 36th Fighter - Day Wing . In 1956 , the wing received the North American F - 100 " Super Sabre , " marking the first time a wing in USAFE flew supersonic jets . On 15 May 1958 , the 36th FDW was redesignated as the 36th Tactical Fighter Wing ( TFW ) , with its squadrons redesignated as Tactical Fighter Squadrons , because its missions had now grown to include delivery of tactical nuclear weapons . In May 1961 , the wing received the Republic F - 105 " Thunderchief " . Formal USAFE acceptance of the Mach 2 fighter - bombers was held at the Paris Air Show on 3 June 1961 . Deliveries of the F - 105D model were completed in 1963 , and the 36th carried on its Cold War mission of tactical nuclear weapons delivery . Twice in the early 1960s when Cold War tensions were elevated due to the 1961 Berlin Wall crisis and 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis the 36th TFW rose to a high level of alert . By 1966 the Thud was being phased out of NATO , being replaced by the McDonnell F - 4D " Phantom II " . The tactical nuclear deliver mission , still necessary , was being eclipsed by the ability of ICBMs and the primary mission of the 36th TFW changed to Tactical Air support of NATO ground units in West Germany . By December 1966 , all the 36th TFW Thuds had been ferried Stateside for combat crew training duties at McConnell AFB , Kansas , or on to warfighting glory in Southeast Asia after stateside refurbishment . In October 1965 , the 36th TFW accepted command of the 71st Tactical Missile Squadron from the inactivated 38th Tactical Missile Wing at Sembach Air Base . ( 36th TFW Special Order AA - 84 , 29 September 1965 ) . The 36th TFW maintained and operated two hardened launch sites ( at Rittersdorf , Site 7 , and at Idenheim , site 8 ) with a total of 16 VA CGM - 13B Mace tactical missiles until 30 April 1969 . In September 1969 , the 36th TFW took responsibility for Spangdahlem Air Base West Germany until December 1971 . By 1976 a major modernization of USAFE was necessary . The Soviet Union ' s new generation of MiG and Sukhoi fighters made NATO military planners anxious . Indeed , intelligence reports about the MiG - 25 left little room for comfort ; the performance of this latest Russian combat aircraft was far superior to any NATO aircraft . The twin - engined MiG - 25 reached speeds of over 3 , 000 km / h even at high altitude ( over 70 , 000 feet ) and it could be armed with radar - guided AA - 6 Acrid air - to - air missiles . When the Soviets stationed large numbers in the Soviet Union and later in the GDR , NATO had to address this problem . The solution was provided by the McDonnell Douglas F - 15 Eagle . Just like the MiG - 25 it has two powerful engines and a double tail fin . The 23 aircraft for the first operational squadron ( 525 TFS ) with the 36th TFW left Langley AFB on 27 April 1977 for a mass Atlantic crossing . Over the following months the aircraft for two other squadrons ( 22nd TFS and 53rd TFS ) arrived . The 36th TFW ' s full strength of 79 fully operational F - 15As was reached in December 1977 . In 1980 more advanced F - 15Cs and F - 15Ds would replace the original F - 15As . Throughout the 1970s and 1980s , the 36th TFW conducted routine training missions however the outbreak of the 1990 – 91 Gulf War put the F - 15s of Bitburg into the heart of the conflict . The 36th TFW ' s pilots and aircraft performed magnificently in Operation Desert Storm . Not a single F - 15 aircraft was lost in combat during the war . On 13 March 1991 , the deployed squadrons of the 36th TFW returned in victory . The celebration was brief , however , as the 36th TFW deployed back Incirlik Air Base , Turkey to support Operation PROVIDE COMFORT . Between 5 April and 25 May 1991 , the 36th TFW flew 285 sorties over Iraq . Just as before , not a single aircraft was lost in Iraq due to hostile fire . On 1 October 1991 the wing was redesignated as the 36th Fighter Wing when the objective wing concept was implemented . The 525th Fighter Squadron was inactivated 31 March 1992 as part of the initial post Cold - War drawdown . Bitburg Air Base was part of the 1993 Base Realignment and Closure ( or BRAC ) process that saw the drawdown of many military facilities in a series of post - Cold War force reductions . In July 1993 , HQ USAFE announced the closure of Bitburg Air Base and the pending inactivation of the 36th Fighter Wing . On 1 October 1994 the 36th Fighter Wing was inactivated and the final 36th Wing Commander , Brigadier General Roger E . Carleton , presented Bitburg Air Base to the German government . Pacific Air Forces . The Wing was reactivated without personnel or equipment at Andersen AFB , Guam the same day as the 36th Air Base Wing , a non - flying organization taking over as the host unit . The former host unit , 633d Air Base Wing was inactivated in keeping with the Air Force Chief of Staff ' s policy of keeping the most highly decorated and longest serving Air Force units on active duty . The wing ' s combat readiness was tested between December and March 1991 during a deployment to Southwest Asia as part of Operations Desert Shield , Desert Storm and Proven Force . While flying combat air patrols during the war , the F - 15s of the 36th were a strong deterrent to the air forces of Iraq . During Operation Desert Storm , the 36th was credited with downing 17 enemy aircraft in air - combat engagements . On 1 October 1991 , the 36th Tactical Fighter Wing was redesignated the 36th Fighter Wing , and in July 1994 , the 36th Fighter Wing was inactivated . The 36th Air Base Wing was activated at Andersen Air Force Base , Guam , on 30 September 1994 . Under that designation , the wing lived up to its mission several times . In September 1996 , the wing provided around - the - clock forward - deployment support to Air Combat Command B - 52 s during their Operation Desert Strike missions over Iraq , and began hosting more than 6 , 600 Kurdish evacuees during the 8 - month humanitarian assistance mission , Joint Task Force Pacific Haven . On 12 April 2006 , Andersen AFB ' s host unit , the 36th Air Base Wing was officially redesignated as the 36th Wing . Prior to the redesignation , the wing had been using a temporary designation of air expeditionary wing . The change in the wing ' s official designation was meant to better align Andersen with its mission statement : " To provide a U . S . - based lethal warfighting platform for the employment , deployment , reception , and throughput of air and space forces in the Asia - Pacific region . " In February 2007 , the 36th Operations Group was reactivated as a permanent subordinate unit to the 36th Wing , replacing the temporary 36th Expeditionary Operations Group . Components . Wings Group Squadrons