[/BYLINE2]KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — U.S. Air Forces in Europe activated a new wing Tuesday to oversee more than 12 remote air bases in Europe, according to a news release issued Monday.

The 38th Combat Support Wing becomes the third wing at Ramstein Air Base. In January, USAFE Commander Gen. Robert H. Foglesong activated the 435th Air Base Wing to oversee support functions at the airlift base. Operational units fall under the 86th Airlift Wing.

The 38th Combat Support Wing, however, will operate independently from the 435th Air Base Wing, the release stated.

Col. Richard B. Weathers, currently USAFE comptroller, was to assume command of the new wing Tuesday.

Experts in the areas covered by the remote bases, known as geographically separated units, or GSUs, will be brought together in the new wing. In addition, the wing will improve the organization of GSUs within USAFE and the numbered Air Force, the release stated.

“The new wing makes sense,” Foglesong said in the release. “It streamlines GSU support functions and places them under one wing commander. This will provide an advocate to address support-related issues and a structure to focus on solutions for problems that affect geographically separated units.”

The lineage of the 38th Combat Support Wing can be traced back to the 38th Tactical Missile Wing of the 1960s. That wing was composed of launch and maintenance squadrons at Sembach, Hahn and Bitburg air bases in Germany, the release said.

Migrated