Staggering in its 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 major 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 and includes personnel from many countries.
Over two days in September of 2014, Business Insider was given an extensive tour of the base and its operations.
Ramstein Air Base is a central hub of international US military 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's been used to move 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 enormous aircraft.
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