With its staggering scope and scale, Ramstein Air Base in Germany is one of America's most important and fascinating military facilities.
Located in southwestern Germany, it serves not only as the headquarters of the US Air Force in Europe and a NATO installation but also as a gateway to American military operations around the globe.
The base is part of a conglomeration of 12 Army and Air Force installations that make up the Kaiserslautern Military Community (KMC). This community, also known as K-Town, hosts almost 54,000 Americans across 300 neighboring German towns and cities, turning the Rhineland-Palatinate state of Germany into a tiny slice of America. The area has the largest concentration of Americans outside of the US, though it's also notably multicultural, including personnel from many countries.
Over two days in September, Business Insider was given an extensive and breathtaking tour of the base and its operations.
Ramstein Air Base is a central hub of international US operations ranging from West Africa and Europe to Afghanistan, with almost 33,000 aircraft passing through the base in 2013 alone. After spending some days on base, we were blown away by how much happens there.
Ramstein is run by the 86th Airlift Wing, which is composed of six groups and 27 squadrons. The 37th Blue Tail Flies Airlift Squadron, which is part of the 86th, is a dedicated airlift unit that moves everything from hurricane evacuees to firetrucks to pieces of artillery.
The 37th flies the C-130J "Super" Hercules transport plane. The 86th has 14 of these aircraft.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider