52nd Fighter Wing Mission Statement:
Deliver Airpower options to deter and combat aggression
52 FW Pillars:
Mission, Airmen and Community
52 FW Priorities:
-Deterrence
-Agile Combat Employment
-Integrated Base Defense
The 52d Fighter Wing, Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, provides Airpower options to deter and combat aggression. The wing is comprised of approximately 5,000 military and civilian personnel spread across nine geographically separated units and thirteen real property sites in five different nations. The five groups within the wing are responsible for operations, maintenance, mission support, medical operations, and munitions maintenance. Specifically, the wing maintains and employs F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter aircraft and $6 billion of United States Protection Level 1 assets in support of NATO and national defense directives. The wing enables U.S. power projection sustaining AMC's air mobility operations throughout Europe, Africa and Southwest Asia. Ultimately, the wing supports the Supreme Allied Commander by providing credible deterrence, delivering combat capabilities, executing joint reception, staging, onward movement, and integration, facilitating inter-theater airlift, and building partnership capacity.
Organization
The 52d Operations Group consists of a fighter squadron, an operations support squadron and two geographically separated aviation detachments, both located in Poland. The 480th Fighter Squadron operates over two dozen block 50 F-16 aircraft in the most challenging air-to-air and air-to-ground mission sets. In addition to air interdiction and counter air operations, the 480th is capable of performing the "Wild Weasel" mission of suppression and destruction of enemy air defenses (SEAD). The 52d Operations Support Squadron maintains and oversees all airfield management, air traffic control and ancillary services necessary to conduct more than 5,000 annual flight hours. The 52d Operations Group Detachment 1, based at Łask AB, Poland, represents the United States Air Force's first permanent presence in Poland and continues to foster bilateral defense ties, enhance interoperability and increase capacity to conduct military operations with Allied nations. The 52d Operations Group Detachment 2, located at Miroslawiec AB, Poland, operates MQ-9 aircraft and delivers persistent airborne ISR capabilities throughout the theater.
The 52d Maintenance Group provides peacetime and combat maintenance support for the 52d Fighter Wing. The group consists of the 480th Fighter Generation Squadron, and the 52 Maintenance Squadron, which together provide safe, reliable maintenance for F-16 C/D Fighting Falcons, and a variety of other combat and support aircraft transiting the region. The group is also responsible for the safe storage, maintenance, buildup, and delivery of a combat ready munitions stockpile valued in excess of $275 million. Additionally, the Maintenance Group operates a centralized jet engine repair facility and hydrazine servicing facility supporting locations within Europe and the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. The group consistently proves its combat effectiveness and versatility while supporting operations at home station, and at temporary duty and deployed locations throughout Europe, Africa, and Southwest Asia.
The 52d Mission Support Group delivers world class mission support ensuring the wing is able to conduct wartime and contingency missions. The group consists of seven squadrons providing communications, security, contracting, transportation, supply, deployment planning and execution, education, lodging, food services, recreation, personnel support, fitness programs, engineering, housing, disaster response, explosive ordnance disposal, fire and environmental protection for more than 11,500 personnel in the local community and geographically separated units; all while preparing combat ready forces for US and NATO missions.
The 52d Medical Group consists of Operational Medical Readiness and Health Care Operations Squadrons. The medical group operates an outpatient clinic at Spangdahlem which includes family practice, pediatrics, women's health, psychiatry, aerospace medicine and optometry with exceptional clinical laboratory, radiology, pharmacy and physical therapy support. Group dental services include general dentistry, oral surgery, periodontics, orthodontics and prosthodontics. Additionally, the medical group provides wide-spread support to nineteen Geographically Separated Units throughout five countries and to one Limited Scope Medical Treatment Facility. This support ensures ready medics and a medically-ready force capable of providing full spectrum airpower to joint and allied commanders.
The 52nd Munitions Maintenance Group provides four fully capable U.S. munitions support squadrons responsible for the ownership, custody, accountability and release of war reserve munitions supporting Belgian, Dutch, German and Italian air forces. The MMG receives, stores, maintains, controls and employs $6 billion of U.S. protection level 1 assets in direct support of NATO contingency, wartime and strike missions. The 52nd MMG maintains a 15-person staff that provides command leadership and support for more than 620 active-duty personnel from 26 Air Force specialty codes at their four geographically separated units.
All five 52d FW groups directly support the mission to provide strategic, theater and contract commercial air mobility capability for Europe, Africa and Southwest Asia. Spangdahlem's 726th Air Mobility Squadron provides logistics, and aerial port capabilities to Air Mobility Command aircraft transiting through Spangdahlem AB. The base primarily handles C-17 and C-5 aircraft that carry fully equipped, combat-ready military units to any point in the world on short notice and provide field support to sustain the fighting force.
Whether employing fighter and intelligence, reconnaissance, and surveillance aircraft or supporting strategic mobility operations, the wing continues to be a key asset to European security and NATO, providing domineering expeditionary air power.