Origins
USAF air base siting in French Morocco developed out of the Allied presence there at the close of World War II. In the early 1950s, SAC developed a reflex operation strategy between its southern bases and Morocco, with B-36 and B-47 wings rotating to North Africa for extended temporary duty as a staging area for bombers pointed at the Soviet Union.
Nouasseur Air Base was constructed by Atlas Constructors (A Joint Venture led by Morrison-Knudsen (M-K) which also included the Nello L. Teer Company, Bates & Rogers Construction Corp., Blythe Bros. Company, and Ralph R. Mills Co., Inc.), assisted by the 496th Air Installation Squadron (AIS) of the US Air Force from August 1951 to June 1952.
SAC's 5th Air Division was activated on 14 January 1951, at Offutt AFB, NE then moved without personnel and equipment, to Rabat/Sale in May 1951, absorbing the resources and responsibilities of the USAF Mission to Morocco. The division was assigned the task of manning, training and equipping assigned units and preparing installations in French Morocco for the support of deployed SAC units.
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