7217th Air Division
Encyclopedia
The 7217th Air Division (7217th AD) is an inactive United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

 organization. Its last assignment was with the United States Air Forces in Europe
United States Air Forces in Europe
The United States Air Forces in Europe is the United States Air Force component of U.S. European Command, a Department of Defense unified command, and is one of two Air Force Major Commands outside of the continental United States, the other being the Pacific Air Forces...

, being stationed at Ankara Air Station, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

. It was inactivated on 9 September 1970.

Lineage

  • Established as 7217 Air Division (Command), and organized, on 7 August 1959
Reduced in organization level to Detachment 1, HQ Sixteenth Air Force, 9 September 1970

Assignments

  • United States Air Forces in Europe
    United States Air Forces in Europe
    The United States Air Forces in Europe is the United States Air Force component of U.S. European Command, a Department of Defense unified command, and is one of two Air Force Major Commands outside of the continental United States, the other being the Pacific Air Forces...

Seventeenth Air Force
Seventeenth Air Force
Seventeenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force located at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. The command served the United States Air Forces in Europe during its years of active service...

, 7 August 1959
  • United States Air Forces in Europe
    United States Air Forces in Europe
    The United States Air Forces in Europe is the United States Air Force component of U.S. European Command, a Department of Defense unified command, and is one of two Air Force Major Commands outside of the continental United States, the other being the Pacific Air Forces...

    , 15 November 1959-9 September 1970.

Units/Stations

  • 39th Tactical Group, lncirlik Air Base, 1 May 1958
Redesignated 39th Wing, 1 October 1993
  • 7217th Air Base Group, Ankara Air Station, 7 August 1959-9 September 1970
  • 724lst Air Base Squadron, lzmir, 15 November 1955-30 September 1990
  • 7022d Air Base Squadron, Pirinclik, 5 August 1966-31 December 1994
  • 7391st Munitions Support Squadron, Balikesir, 1 October 1966-31 December 1994
  • 7392d Munitions Support Squadron, Eskisehir, 20 March 1962-30 September 1990
  • 7393d Munitions Support Squadron, Murted, 1 July 1965-31 December 1994
  • 7394th Munitions Support Squadron, Erhac, 1 June 1963
Re-designated as Detachment 1 of the 39th Tactical Group on 1 February 1972-31 December 1989

Operational history

The division provided logistical support for all American armed forces, and military activities in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

, and Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...

. Its area of responsibility extended from the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...

 to Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

 and from Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 to Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

.

The 7217th Air Division was established as a result of the "Lebanese Crisis" of 1958 during which the US sent aircraft and troops to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey in support of the Marines dispatched to Lebanon. At the same time the US Embassy and Its agencies were demanding more and more services. As a result, on 7 August 1959, USAFE reversed its position and elevated HQ TUSLOG to be the 7217th Air Division. The rank of the commander of HQ TUSLOG was then raised from colonel to brigadier general.

The 7217th provided facilities and training for rotational tactical fighter squadrons, maintenance for aircraft assigned to Military Aid and Assistance Groups (MAAGs) in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

, and logistical support for occasional unscheduled aerial operations.

By the mid-1960s, demands on the defense budget and manpower by the war in Southeast Asia forced the US to reconsider its military priorities in other parts of the world. In 1966, Senate majority leader Mike Mansfield began a campaign to reduce unilaterally US troop levels in Europe. Following this, Secretary of Defense Clark Clifford initiated a program for the Reduction of Costs and Forces in Europe (REDCOSTE) in 1968. Although a change in administrations occurred in the same year, this program conformed to the Nixon policy of lowering the profile of American forces abroad.

Consequently, the US began to eliminate or consolidate many of its operations in Turkey. Between 1969 and 1973, for instance, sites at Samsun and Trabzon were turned over to the Turkish government. In addition, Cigli Air Base, which since 1963 had been used by USAF rotational squadrons, was turned over to the Turkish Air Force in 1970. The US continued, however, to fund the maintenance of numerous facilities at that base. Altogether, between 1967 and 1970, the number of Americans in Turkey dropped from 24,000 to 15,000.

The cutbacks in forces in Turkey naturally had a major effect on TUSLOG. The headquarters in Ankara shrank to a fraction of its former size. On 9 September, it was inactivated as the 7217th Air Division and the next day reestablished as Detachment 1 of Headquarters Sixteen Air Force.

See also

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