News
Air Force marks 60 years in Germany's Rhineland-Pfalz
By
Stars and Stripes March 2, 2012
demottsj@estripes.osd.mil Joshua L. DeMotts
Stars and Stripes March 2, 2012
Minister President of Rheinland-Pfalz Kurt Beck, left, attaches the Rheinland-Pfalz streamer to the 86th Airlift Wing's guidon with Brig. Gen. Charles K. Hyde, Commander, 86th Airlift Wing, Ramstein Air Base, Germany, to commemorate 60 years of the U.S. Air Force in Rheinland-Pfalz. Joshua L. DeMotts/Stars and Stripes ()
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany — U.S. Air Forces in Europe celebrated 60 years of the U.S. Air Force in Rhineland-Pfalz on Friday at Ramstein Air Base.
A ceremony was held in a massive double bay hangar on the flight line of the air base with a formation of several squadrons and groups representing the 86th Airlift Wing in service dress uniforms.
German residents from the area, civic and military leaders also attended the celebration.
Among those speaking were Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, USAFE commander; Kurt Beck, minister president of Rhineland-Pfalz; Brig. Gen. Charles K. Hyde, commander of the 86th Airlift Wing and U.S. Ambassador Philip D. Murphy.
"There is hardly a German citizen who does not have an American neighbor, tenant or co-worker," Hyde said. "Personal relationships between Germans and Americans span decades and are where the friendships we experience today have their roots."
"Citizens of Rhineland-Pfalz, thank you for hosting the U.S. Air Force. Our airmen and the thousands of families which call you friends and neighbors and your villages home, thank you."
Minister President of Rheinland-Pfalz Kurt Beck, left, attaches the Rheinland-Pfalz streamer to the 86th Airlift Wing's guidon with Brig. Gen. Charles K. Hyde, Commander, 86th Airlift Wing, Ramstein Air Base, Germany, to commemorate 60 years of the U.S. Air Force in Rheinland-Pfalz. Joshua L. DeMotts/Stars and Stripes ()
A German woman translates remarks by Gen. Mark A. Welsh, III, Commander, U.S. Air Forces in Europe, during a celebration on Ramstein Air Base, Germany, to commemorate 60 years of the U.S. Air Force in Rheinland-Pfalz. Joshua L. DeMotts/Stars and Stripes ()
Airmen of the 86th Airlift Wing, Ramstein Air Base, Germany, stand in formation during a celebration to commemorate 60 years of the U.S. Air Force in Rheinland-Pfalz. Joshua L. DeMotts/Stars and Stripes ()