The 717th Air Base Squadron, “The Pulse of Ankara,” is a geographically separated unit of the 39th Air Base Wing, Incirlik Air Base, Türkiye.
The facility has a base Exchange, Commissary, DoDEA school, fitness center, community center, multiple picnic areas, library, laundromat, chapel, and barbershop. In short, the squadron provides various support functions as a standard wing.
The 717th’s mission is “We exist to support the military and diplomatic missions of ODC-T, DAO, and the U.S. Embassy, improving U.S.- Turkiye relations and furthering U.S. Strategic interests in the region.” As the most diverse squadron in the 39th Air Base Wing, the 717th supports the U.S. Embassy, Office of Defense Cooperation-Türkiye (ODC-T), and our tenant organizations on the Ankara Support Facility. They also support partner nations, including 30 members of NATO, 22 members of the Partnership for Peace (PfP), and many others.
The 717th ABS’s physical footprint in Ankara is essential to its mission. The squadron is staffed with active duty, local, national, and contract team members who maintain many of the same capabilities at larger installations. These include a Commissary, Base Exchange, Traffic Management and Housing Offices, Post Office, a gym on the 18-acre facility, and an active Air Terminal at Esenboga International Airport. The base also has a top-rated DoDEA K-12 school with nearly 200 students from 30 countries. Furthermore, the squadron enables combat operations by providing communication support to two theaters. These functions, including the last one, require a physical presence in Ankara and cannot be performed remotely.
Through close integration and cooperation with the U.S. Embassy, the ODC-T, the office of the Senior Defense Official/Defense Attaché (SDO/DATT), the 717th ABS can extend many of the services they provide, such as Commissary and BX shopping privileges, to diplomats and military personnel from allies and partners. This facilitates the development of closer ties with partner nations’ military and diplomatic personnel and improves U.S. diplomatic access to their respective embassies.
History
Turkish-U.S. Logistics Headquarters, Detachment 30, was established in 1965. The unit was established as the 7217th Air Base Group and activated Nov. 15, 1982.
The 717th Air Base Squadron was re-designated on June 15, 1993, and inactivated on Jan. 30, 1994.
The 717th was re-designated as the 717th Expeditionary Air Base Group, converted to provisional status, and assigned to the United States Air Forces in Europe to activate any time after Feb. 5, 2001.
It was established as the 39th Air Base Wing, Detachment 1, in May 2002.
It was established as the 425th Air Base Group, Detachment 1, on Oct. 3, 2005.
Withdrawn as a provisional unit, re-designated as the 717th Air Base Squadron on July 18, 2008, and activated on July 24, 2008.
(Current as of August 2024)