39th becomes part of Incirlik past, present

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Rose Richeson
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  The U.S. Air Force manned Cigli Air Base, Turkey, a site for SM-78 Jupiter intermediate range ballistic missiles, side-by-side with Turkish Air Force members until Turkish crews took control of the site in 1962 click here. In an effort to bring units with combat history into the theater, U.S. Air Forces in Europe inactivated Incirlik's 7126th Air Base Group, the base's original host unit, and activated the 39th and 41st Tactical Groups at Incirlik and Cigli, respectively, effective April 1, 1966.

The 39th TG assumed control of permanent support units and hosted rotational squadrons conducting training and maintaining a North Atlantic Treaty Organization alert mission at Incirlik. Members of the group participated in humanitarian missions following natural disasters in Turkey including floods and earthquakes.

Tactical Air Command continued to deploy F-100 fighter squadrons on 100-day rotations to Incirlik from the U.S. In April 1966, when TAC transferred the 401st Tactical Fighter Wing to USAFE, the responsibility to deploy fighter squadrons to Incirlik became USAFE's as part of the effort to bring units with combat history into the theater. The 401st TFW and its F-100s moved from England Air Force Base, Louisiana, to Torrejon AB, Spain, and assumed alert duty at Aviano AB, Italy. The rotational squadron deployments supported NATO plans and forces.

Demands on the defense budget and manpower by the Vietnam War forced the U.S. to reconsider its military priorities in different parts of the world. Consequently, the U.S. began to eliminate or consolidate many of its operations in Turkey.

In 1970, for instance, Cigli, which since 1963 had been used by U.S. Air Force RSDs, was turned over to the Turkish Air Force. The U.S. continued, however, to fund the maintenance of numerous facilities at Cigli. Altogether, between 1967 and 1970, the number of Americans in Turkey dropped from 24,000 to 15,000.

During these cutbacks, USAFE's major subordinate commands completed a realignment of area responsibilities. This reorganization shifted the alignment to an east-west axis versus the previous north-south axis. Units in Turkey now fell under the operational control of the 16th Air Force.

The U.S. and Turkey mutually agreed it was time to provide a formal framework for security cooperation and signed a Defense Cooperation Agreement in 1969 consolidating various bilateral accords governing the U.S. military presence in Turkey. The agreement authorized Turkish armed forces' installations to continue under Turkish command and clearly provided for U.S. command and control authority over all U.S. armed forces, other members of the U.S. national element at each installation and U.S. equipment and support facilities. Turkish-U.S. relations improved noticeably thereafter, and a new Defense and Economic Cooperation Agreement between the two countries was signed about 10 years later, which remains in effect today.

(Editor's note: Over the eight months leading up to the Air Force's 60th birthday monumental milestones in Incirlik's history will be uncovered. You can read about Incirlik's coming of age during the last week each month either in the printed paper or online at www.incirlik.af.mil.)

(The 39th Air Base Wing history office contributed to this story)