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........... Frisbee radar, this is nato one four in the descent ........ Nato one four, Frisbee, goodafternoon, radar contact, north of the field, descent twothousand fivehundred, and right turn two seven five, we have message "kilo" and QNH is four four six five ......... Right turn two seven five, nato one four ......... Nato one four, what is your intention after this approach? ........ We would like to make an ILS full stop ........ Roger nato one four, descent to one point niner ......... Nato one four, clear to land, check gear down and locked, wind out of two eight zero, six knots ......... Nato one four, descending one point niner, clear to land, gear is down and locked ............................................ Nato one four contact tower on one two three point four five six, have a nice evening bye bye .......... Nato one four roger, thank you bye bye ................ Frisbee tower this is nato one four with you on the ground ........ Nato one four, welcome back, loud and clear, after roll-out next intersection to the left, and parkingspot is one alpha .............. One alpha, nato one four .............. Nato one four, after parking, shutdown is approved, have a nice evening bye bye ................ Thank you, same to you sir bye bye.
  
 

Geilenkirchen Air Base, Germany


NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Force E-3A Component is stationed at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen, Germany. The unit includes 3,000 military members and NATO civilians representing 13 nations of NATO as they fulfill the mission tasking of the Supreme Allied Commander Europe and the Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic. The E-3A component is NATO's only operational unit.

Geilenkirchen is the home of the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) Airborne Early Warning Force Command's E-3A Component. The Component's mission is to provide aircraft and trained aircrews to deliver a surveillance and/or control platform wherever and whenever directed by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Airborne Early Warning Force Commander on behalf of the three major North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Commanders: the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR), Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic (SACLANT) and Commander-in-Chief, Channel (CINCHAN).

The NATO Airborne Early Warning Force (NAEWF) was created in January 1980. The command was granted full status as a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Headquarters by North Atlantic Treaty Organization's Defense Planning Committee on 17 October l980. It is co-located with the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), Belgium. Executive agent for the program is the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), also one of the Command's primary "customers". The remaining two are the Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT) and the Allied Commander-in-Chief Channel (CINCHAN).

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization E-3A aircraft are flown by integrated multinational crews from 11 nations - Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Turkey and the United States. Geilenkirchen is the E-3A Component's Main Operating Base (MOB) in addition to being NATO's only multinational operational flying unit.

Surrounded by farmland and a natural woodland preserve, the base was originally built by the British Royal Air Force after World War II. Known as RAF Geilenkirchen (known locally as Flugplatz Teveren after the neighboring village), the British used the facilities as a fighter installation for various RAF fighter squadrons from May 1953 until January 1968. Meteors, F-86 Sabres, Swift Fighter Recces, Hunter day-fighters, and Javelins all operated out of Geilenkirchen. Eventually, Javelin FAW (Fighter All weather) Mk 4 & 5 of No. 11 Squadron were replaced by Javelin FAW Mk 9s and joined by a second Squadron of Javelin Mk 9s - No. 5(AC) Squadron. In the same period, the aerodrome was home to Canberra MkB(I)8's of No. 59 Squadron and was later renumbered as No. 3 Squadron.

NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen is located in Teveren which is four kilometers west of Geilenkirchen, adjacent to the Netherlands border. Geilenkirchen is 283 miles from Paris,France, 50 miles from Cologne (Koln), Germany and 142 miles from Amsterdam, the Netherlands. NATO AB Geilenkirchen is located 104 miles from Brussels Airport in Brussels, Belgium. Allied Joint Forces Command (JFC), located in Brunssum, the Netherlands, is a fifteen minute drive from Geilenkirchen, and Schinnen, 254th Base Support Battalion, the Netherlands is located approximately 25 minutes from Geilenkirchen. Geilenkirchen is a small town with a population of about 26,000 people. A moated castle stands in the village. The center of town offers a variety of shopping stores. Depending on the exchange rates, shopping in the centrum can be very expensive. Twice a week there is an outdoor market in the centrum that sells food and flowers.

E-3B airborne warning and control system aircraft from Tinker AFB, OK, flown by an AWACS crew from the Reserve's 513th Air Control Group, operate out of Geilenkirchen to support NATO exercises.

Crews and aircraft from the 141st Air National Guard (ANG) deploy to Geilenkirchen to provide aerial refueling support for NATO airborne warning and control system aircraft throughout the European theater. The Washington Air National Guard supports this mission once or twice a year as needed.

A Washington Air National Guard KC-135 tanker assigned to 141st Air Refueling Wing here crashed 13 January 1999 while landing at Geilenkirchen Air Base, Germany. The four crewmembers on board were killed. The aircraft was on a routine refueling mission as part of a NATO exercise when it crashed. The 141st ARW deployed 29 people and two aircraft to Geilenkirchen to participate in a normal rotation supporting the NATO mission. They left 03 January 1999 and were scheduled to return 15 January 1999. The accident investigation board concluded the aircraft's pitch up to a near vertical attitude and subsequent stall during a landing attempt were the cause of the crash. The pitch up was the direct result of the horizontal stabilizer trim being in a 7.5 nose-up trim condition when the aircraft was given power to complete a go around prior to landing. The investigation was unable to determine how the stabilizer trim came to be in the 7.5 nose up trim condition. (Click here to read about the crash)


Squadrons Based:


2 Squadron (1955-1957) operated the Gloster Meteor FR10 and later the Supermarine Swift FR5.
3 Squadron (1953-1957 and 1959-1961) operated the Hawker Hunter F4 and later the Gloster Javelin FAW4.
5 Squadron (1962-1965) operated the Gloster Javelin FAW9.
11 Squadron (1959-1961) operated the Gloster Meteor NF11 and later the Gloster Javelin FAW4, FAW5 and FAW9.
59 Squadron (1957-1961) operated the EE Canberra B2 and B(I)8.
92 Squadron (1965-1968) operated the EE Lighting F2 and F2A.
96 Squadron (1958-1959) operated the Gloster Javelin FAW4.
234 Squadron (1954-1957) operated the North American Sabre F4 and later the Hawker Hunter F4.
256 Squadron (1958-1958) operated the Gloster Meteor NF11.

Post-RAF History
The RAF handed over the station to German Air Force in March 1968. The Germans used the base as home for a Surface-to-Surface Missile Wing equipped with Pershing missiles with support from the U.S. Army.

In 1980 the base became NATO Airbase Geilenkirchen to house the main operating base for NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Force. This is a multinational organisation operating NATO Boeing E-3 Sentry aircraft.