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Lajes Field

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Lajes Field is located near Lajes on Terceira Island in the Azores Islands, which is part of Portugal. This base is located in a very strategic place as it lies midway between North America and Europe in the North Atlantic Ocean.

Lajes Field is the home of the 65th Air Base Wing. This United States Air Forces in Europe unit is the largest U.S. military organization in the Azores. The wing commander reports to the commander, United States Air Forces in Europe, Ramstein AB, Germany, through the commander, 3rd Air Force, RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom.

The wing provides base and en route support for United States Department of Defense, allied nations, and other authorized aircraft transiting the installation. Aircraft supported by 65th Air Mobility Wing come from various nations, including the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, Colombia, Germany, Venezuela and Great Britain.

In addition to the 65th Air Base Wing, other units at Lajes Field include U.S. Army Military Traffic Management Command’s 1324th Military Port Command, U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command’s 729th Air Mobility Support Squadron, Detachment 6 of the Air Force News Agency, Det. 250 Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Defense Property Disposal Office, and the Defense Commissary Agency.

Lajes Field is also the home of the 1936th Communication Squadron, which provides communication in the form of ground radio, radio relay, satcom (Satellite Communications), and crypto to the base.


Importance of Lajes Field

Lajes Field has played an important role during war time, from World War II to the Global War on Terrorism. Lajes provides support to 3,000 aircrafts including fighters from the US and 20 other allied nations each year. The geographical position has made this air base the Grand Central Station of the Atlantic.

The importance of this military base has shaped the relations between the US and Portugal for a long time. Especially during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Cold War. At that point Portugal was living under the dictatorship of Oliveira Salazar and it was the wish of the US government to remove him from power. When the Missile Crisis set in, the United Stated understood the importance of Lajes Field and remained a close friend of the Portuguese Government at the time.

United States Air Forces in Europe Ramstein Air Base RAF Mildenhall Air Mobility Command Air Force News Agency 65th Air Base Wing Global Security

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