521st Air Mobility Operations Wing
Members of the Wing's 721st Aerial Port Squadron load luggage onto an aircraft at Ramstein AB, Germany duringOperation Allies Refuge in 2021
Active	4 July 1942 – 25 September 1947 10 June 1949 – 18 November 1960 4 September 2008 – present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Type	Logistics Coordination
Size	1800 airmen permanently assigned plus 900 deployed to wing
Part of	Air Mobility Command United States Air Force Expeditionary Center
Garrison/HQ	Ramstein Air Base, Germany
Engagements	European theater of World War II
Decorations	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Commanders
Current commander	Col Charles D. Cooley
Command Chief	CCM Jeremiah F. Grisham
Insignia
521st Air Mobility Operations Wing emblem

The521st Air Mobility Operations Wing (521 AMOW) is part ofAir Mobility Command and is stationed atRamstein Air Base,Germany. It coordinates logistical air movements into, out of, and throughEurope.

The 521st AMOW expedites warfighting and humanitarian efforts by theUnited States Air Force throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. It provides allcommand and control, en route maintenance support, aeromedical evacuation and air transportation services for air mobility operations in its area of responsibility.^[1] It performs this through aircraft maintenance units, maintenance operations centers, quality assurance, regional training center, fuel cell, aerospace ground equipment, forward supply location, and maintenance recovery teams. It operates air terminal operations centers, providing passenger and fleet services, cargo processing, special handling, ramp services, and load planning.^[1]

The Wing is composed of twogroups.^[2] These groups are assigned ninesquadrons and fourteen other geographically separated units.^[1]

The wing was originally constituted as the555th Signal Aircraft Warning Battalion. The unit served as an aircraft warning unit in defense of thecontinental United States from 1942 to 1943. Thebattalion moved to England in 1944 where it provided communications support until the day after theNormandy landings when it moved to support the invading forces in France. It moved frequently to support elements ofNinth Air Force, arriving in Belgium in September and Germany in March 1945. It continued it mission during theoccupation of Germany from 1945.^[3] At the end of 1945, the battalion was converted to anAir Corps unit, redesignated the501st Tactical Control Group^[3] and its component companies replaced by Aircraft Control and Warning Squadrons. It providedradar coverage and navigational aid toallied aircraft flying over the U.S. Zone of Occupied Germany in 1946 and 1947. It was inactivated in 1947.

The unit was reactivated as the501st Aircraft Control and Warning Group in 1949 to replace the7402d Aircraft Control and Warning Group.^[4] Between 1949 and 1960, it provided tactical control systems, including aircraft control and warning facilities, passive detection devices and guidance units in central Europe.^[3] In 1952, it became a tactical control group again. In 1954, the group moved toLandstuhl Air Base. Starting in 1955, it and the526th Tactical Control Group provided personnel for a provisional Tactical Control Wing, which it replaced as the501st Tactical Control Wing in 1957 to provide radar and aircraft control for all ofTwelfth Air Force.^[5] It operated the Tactical Control System to exercise operational control of offensive and defensive units in Europe.^[6] In the 1960s, its mission, personnel, and equipment were combined with those of the86th Fighter-Interceptor Wing, which was redesignated the86th Air Division (Defense).^[7]

Today the two subordinate groups include:

• The521st Air Mobility Operations Group (Naval Station Rota, Spain)^[8]
  • 724th Air Mobility Squadron (Aviano AB, Italy)
  • 725th Air Mobility Squadron (Naval Station Rota, Spain)^[9]
  • 728th Air Mobility Squadron (Incirlik Air Base, Turkey)^[10]
  • 8th Expeditionary Air Mobility Squadron
• The721st Air Mobility Operations Group (Ramstein AB, Germany)
  • 721st Aerial Port Squadron
  • 721st Mobility Support Squadron
  • 721st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
  • 726th Air Mobility Squadron (Spangdahlem AB, Germany)
  • 727th Air Mobility Squadron (RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom)

• Constituted as the555th Signal Aircraft Warning Battalion (Separate) on 28 February 1942

Activated on 4 July 1942

Redesignated as555th Signal Aircraft Warning Battalion on 11 March 1943

Converted from theSignal Corps to theAir Corps and redesignated501st Tactical Control Group on 31 December 1945

Inactivated on 25 September 1947

• Redesignated501st Aircraft Control and Warning Group on 11 May 1949

Activated on 10 June 1949

Redesignated501st Tactical Control Group on 16 March 1952

Redesignated 501st Tactical Control Wing on 18 December 1957

Inactivated on 18 November 1960

• Redesignated521st Tactical Control Wing 31 July 1985 (remained inactive)
• Redesignated521st Air Mobility Operations Wing on 18 August 2008

Activated on 4 September 2008^[3]

Groups

• 521st Air Mobility Operations Group, 4 September 2008 – present^[11]
• 721st Air Mobility Operations Group, 4 September 2008 – present^[12]

Squadrons

• 3d SHORAN Beacon Squadron,^[5] 18 December 1957 – 1 May 1958

Bremerhaven, Germany

• 6th SHORAN Beacon Squadron,^[5] 18 December 1957 – 1 May 1958
• 601st Tactical Control Squadron (Formed from Company A, 555th Signal Aircraft Warning Battalion, later 601st Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron),^[5] 31 December 1945 – 25 September 1947, 10 June 1949 – 18 November 1960 (detached to Tactical Control Wing, Provisional 1955–1957)

Rothwesten AB, Germany

• 602d Tactical Control Squadron (Formed from Company B, 555th Signal Aircraft Warning Battalion, later 602d Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron),^[5] 31 December 1945 – 25 September 1947, 10 June 1949 – 18 November 1960 (detached to Tactical Control Wing, Provisional 1955–1957)

Giebelstadt AB, Germany

• 603d Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron (Formed from Company C, 555th Signal Aircraft Warning Battalion, later 603d Tactical Control Squadron, 603d Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron),^[5] 31 December 1945 – 25 September 1947, 10 June 1949 – 18 November 1960 (detached to Tactical Control Wing, Provisional 1955–1957)

Langerkopf, Germany

• 604th Tactical Control Squadron (Formed from Company D, 555th Signal Aircraft Warning Battalion, later 604th Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron),^[5] 31 December 1945 – 25 September 1947, 10 June 1949 – 18 November 1960 (detached to Tactical Control Wing, Provisional 1955–1957)

Freising AB, Germany

• 615th Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron, Fixed,^[5] 18 December 1957 – 18 November 1960

Schonfeld, Germany^[5]

• 616th Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron, 18 December 1957 – 18 November 1960

Ulm, Germany;Turkheim, Germany^[13]

• 619th Tactical Control Squadron,^[5] 18 December 1957 – 18 January 1959

Birkenfeld, Germany

• 807th Tactical Control Squadron,^[5] 1 August 1951 – 18 November 1960

• 
• Air Force Outstanding Unit Award^[14]

1 October 2008 – 30 September 2009

• 
• American Theater of World War II^[3]
• 
• European theater of World War II
• Campaigns:^[3]

• 
• World War II Army of Occupation^[3]

 This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• Anderson, Capt. Barry (1985).Army Air Forces Stations: A Guide to the Stations Where U.S. Army Air Forces Personnel Served in the United Kingdom During World War II(PDF). Maxwell AFB, AL: Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved7 July 2012. (for designation of airfields in the United Kingdom)
• Johnson, 1st Lt. David C. (1988).U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO) D-Day to V-E Day(PDF). Maxwell AFB, AL: Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 17 September 2016.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) (for designation of airfields in France, Belgium, and Germany)
• Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984).Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947–1977. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.ISBN 0-912799-12-9. (86th Air Division organization)

• Craven, Wesley F; Cate, James L, eds. (1955). "Introduction".The Army Air Forces in World War II. Vol. III, Argument to V-E Day. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press. p. xxxvi.LCCN 48-3657. (Ninth Air Force operations in Europe)
• Fletcher, Harry R (1993).Air Force Bases, Vol. II, Air Bases Outside the United States of America(PDF). Washington, DC: Center for Air Force History.ISBN 0-912799-53-6. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 20 December 2016.

• Air mobility wings of the United States Air Force
• Military units and formations established in 2008
• Military units and formations established in 1942
• Military units and formations disestablished in 1947
• Military units and formations established in 1949
• Military units and formations disestablished in 1960

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from March 2020
• Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
• CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list
• CS1: long volume value