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“Friends of the Air Force" association visits Spangdahlem

Members from the Freundeskreis der Luftwaffe e.V. Association and Bernhard Schaefer, a 52nd Fighter Wing Community Relations advisor, watch as a C-17 Cargo aircraft takes off from the flightline during the association’s tour of Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, July 13, 2015.The tour included sections of the 726th Air Mobility Squadron as well as sites from the 52nd FW. (U.S. Air Force photo by Iris Reiff/Released)

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“Friends of the Air Force" association visits Spangdahlem

Members from the Freundeskreis der Luftwaffe e.V. Association watch a Tunner Loader as it rises up during the association’s visit at the 726th Air Mobility Squadron at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, July 13, 2015. The tour included sections of the 726th Air Mobility Squadron as well as sites from the 52nd Fighter Wing. (U.S. Air Force photo by Iris Reiff/Released)

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“Friends of the Air Force" association visits Spangdahlem

Members from the Freundeskreis der Luftwaffe e.V. Association look up at Tunner Loader as it rises for a demonstration during the association’s tour stop at the 726th Air Mobility Squadron at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, July 13, 2015. The tour also included sites from the 52nd Fighter Wing. (U.S. Air Force photo by Iris Reiff/Released)

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“Friends of the Air Force" association visits Spangdahlem

Members from the Freunde der Luftwaffe e.V. Association pose for a group shot on the ramp at the 726th Air Mobility Squadron with a C-17 Cargo aircraft during the association’s visit of the 726th Air Mobility Squadron at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, July 13, 2015. The tour included sections of the 726th Air Mobility Squadron as well as sites from the 52nd Fighter Wing. (U.S. Air Force photo by Iris Reiff/Released)

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“Friends of the Air Force" association visits Spangdahlem

Werner Cordes, a member of the Freundeskreis der Luftwaffe e.V. Association, shows historical aircraft photos from past visits to U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Robert Herren, a 726th Air Mobility Squadron maintenance flight chief, during the association’s tour of Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, July 13, 2015. The tour also included sites from the 52nd Fighter Wing. (U.S. Air Force photo by Iris Reiff/Released)

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“Friends of the Air Force" association visits Spangdahlem

Hans Fries, a member of the Freundeskreis der Luftwaffe e.V. Association, shakes hands with Bernhard Schaefer, 52nd Fighter Wing community relations advisor, during the association’s tour of Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, July 13, 2015. The tour included sections of the 726th Air Mobility Squadron as well as sites from the 52nd FW. (U.S. Air Force photo by Iris Reiff/Released)

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“Friends of the Air Force" association visits Spangdahlem

Weapons are on display at a Hangar One during a visit by members from the Freundeskreis der Luftwaffe e.V. Association to Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, July 13, 2015.The tour included sections of the 726th Air Mobility Squadron as well as sites from the 52nd Fighter Wing. (U.S. Air Force photo by Iris Reiff/Released)

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“Friends of the Air Force" association visits Spangdahlem

U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Mandingo P. Alfred, 52nd Maintenance Group, talks to a group of members from the Freundeskreis der Luftwaffe e.V. Association about his job as a weapons loader during the association’s visit at Hangar One at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, July 13, 2015. The association’s tour included sections of the 726th Air Mobility Squadron as well as various sites from the 52nd Fighter Wing. (U.S. Air Force photo by Iris Reiff/Released)

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“Friends of the Air Force" association visits Spangdahlem

Members from the Freundeskreis der Luftwaffe e.V. Association pose with Airmen assigned to the 52nd Maintenance Group and their tour guides in front of an F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter aircraft during the association’s visit of Hangar One at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, July 13, 2015. The tour included sections of the 726th Air Mobility Squadron as well as sites from the 52nd Fighter Wing. (U.S. Air Force photo by Iris Reiff/Released)

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“Friends of the Air Force" association visits Spangdahlem

Philipp Recktenwald, a German fire inspector, welcomes the Freundeskreis der Luftwaffe e.V. Association and gives an overview of the base fire department during the association’s visit at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, July 13, 2015. The tour included sections of the 726th Air Mobility Squadron as well as sites from the 52nd Fighter Wing. (U.S. Air Force photo by Iris Reiff/Released)

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“Friends of the Air Force" association visits Spangdahlem

Philipp Recktenwald, a German fire inspector, presents the structures of a base fire truck to a group of members from the Freundeskreis der Luftwaffe e.V. Association during the association’s visit at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, July 13, 2015.The tour included sections of the 726th Air Mobility Squadron as well as sites from the 52nd Fighter Wing. (U.S. Air Force photo by Iris Reiff/Released)

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“Friends of the Air Force" association visits Spangdahlem

A 52nd Civil Engineer Squadron firetruck pulls out of a fire department garage during the Freundeskreis der Luftwaffe e.V. Association’s visit to Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, July 13, 2015. The tour included sections of the 726th Air Mobility Squadron as well as sites from the 52nd Fighter Wing. (U.S. Air Force photo by Iris Reiff/Released)

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"Friends of the Air Force" association visits Spangdahlem

Published Aug. 5, 2015
By Iris Reiff
52nd Fighter WIng Public Affairs

SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany -- Nearly 70 members of the Freundeskreis-Luftwaffe e.V. or "Friends of the Air Force" Association visited Sapngdahlem Air Base, Germany, July 14.

The association intended to increase their knowledge on the 52nd Fighter Wing's mission, exchange information and see military aircraft.

The visitor split up into two groups and received a welcome from Bernhard Schaefer and Kornelia Pitsch, 52nd FW community relations advisors, upon their arrival. Schaefer and Pitsch offered a bus tour of the installation, providing an overview with the most current information on the base's expansion.

"We have been hosting the members of the Freundeskreis-Luftwaffe e.V. for decades at Spangdahlem," Pitsch said. "There are always new faces, but some visitors have already become friends of our wing. They always come back and occasionally bring us historical photos of our aircraft and which they proudly present to our young Airmen."

The bus then stopped at the 726th Air Mobility Squadron, where visitors viewed the passenger terminal and a C-130 cargo aircraft as it took off from the runway. They also learned about cargo-lifting procedures and posed for a group photo in front of heavy aircraft parked on the large ramp.

Other stops included the weapons' standardization section at Hangar One, the base fire department and the Airpark. An informal exchange of information continued during a lunch break at a restaurant near the base's Welcome Center.

"It's always a highlight to come back to Spangdahlem, talk to the Airmen and meet Herr Schaefer again," said Hans Fries, a long-term member of the association.

The Freundeskreis-Luftwaffe e.V. association was founded in 1984 in Bonn, Germany, to foster interest for civilian and military aviation. The association has more than 1,200 members who come from all over Germany.