501st Tactical Missle Wing

The 501st Tactical Missile Wing (501st TMW) was a United States Air Force unit activated in 1982 at RAF Greenham Common, England, during the height of the Cold War. Its primary mission was the operation and maintenance of the BGM-109G Ground Launched Cruise Missiles (GLCM), providing a critical component of NATO’s nuclear deterrent against the Soviet Union. The wing played a key role in implementing the U.S. response to the Soviet SS-20 missile threat in Europe. Following the signing of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in 1987, which eliminated an entire class of nuclear missiles, the 501st TMW was inactivated in 1991, and its missiles were removed and destroyed.