Bitburg Air Base - Post Cold War Era

Post Cold War Era

Bitburg Air Base was part of the 1993 Base Realignment and Closure (or BRAC) process that saw the drawdown of many military facilities. On 31 March 1992 the 525th "Bulldogs" retired their colors, while the 22nd "Stingers" and 53rd "Tigers" remained at Bitburg Air Base. On 1 November 1992, the 606th Air Control Squadron moved to Bitburg from Basdahl, Germany. In July 1993, HQ USAFE announced another in a series of post-Cold War force drawdowns in Europe which announced the closure of Bitburg Air Base and the pending inactivation of the 36th Fighter Wing.

With the announced closure of Bitburg, on 25 February 1994 the 53d Fighter Squadron was transferred to the 52d Operations Group at Spangdahlem Air Base, along with its F-15 fighters. The 22d Fighter Squadron was also moved to Spangdahlem on 1 April, however neither its personnel, nor its F-15s were transferred to the 52d TFW. The 22d became an F-16C/D Fighting Falcon squadron, replacing the 480th Fighter Squadron. The 606th Air Control Squadron was also assigned to the 52d Operations Group but remained at Bitburg until September 1995 before moving to Spangdahlem.

Along with its operational aircraft and squadrons, the 52d FW also gained Bitburg's 1,200 housing units, its base high school and hospital, and several exchange service and Defense Commissary Agency facilities.

On 1 October 1994 the 36th Fighter Wing was officially inactivated and the final 36th Wing Commander, Brigadier General Roger E. Carleton, returned Bitburg Air Base to the German government. The 36th Fighter Wing was inactivated in place, then reactivated without personnel or equipment at Andersen AFB, Guam the same day, taking over as the host unit there as the 36 Air Base Wing, a non-flying organization.

Bitburg Air Base Base Housing is currently serving as housing for part of the Spangdahlem Air Base and the Bitburg Annex contingents. The base housing is also provided for a nearby Army base in Butzweiler. Bitburg High School is the American high school located on the base, with the mascot being the Barons. There is also a middle school, with the Bobcat as its mascot.

As of August 2006, the remaining American facilities at Bitburg are in the process of being closed and returned to the German government. Americans living in Bitburg base housing are being relocated to Spangdahlem AB.

Temporary Reopening

Between June and September 1997 necessary repairs on the Spangdahlem Air Base runway called for a temporary location to accommodate the 52nd Fighter Wing's three squadrons of F-15s and F-16s. The closed Bitburg Air Base was the most logical place - only 10 miles (16 km) down the road.

The job entailed resurrecting the former U.S. Air Force flightline and associated fuel tanks that haven't seen multimillion dollar fighter aircraft in over three years. Since its closure, the Bitburg runway had been operated as a small commercial airport. However, it had seen enough flightline maintenance to sufficiently host flying activities, but the fuel tanks had long been separated from the NATO Central European Pipeline System.

A site survey conducted in November 1996 verified the air base would indeed be an ideal site to temporarily support the three fighter squadrons from Spangdahlem. But there was work to be done. The fuel tanks required more work than the flightline. An inspection done by the German Technical Inspection Company approved the use of two 660,000-gallon capacity fuel tanks, however improvements needed to be made which included splash guard dyke and oil water separators. These improvements were made and though the summer of 1997, operational military flying returned to Bitburg.

The USAF departed for the second time in September 1997, and the flightline at Bitburg was returned to the civil aircraft which now call it home.