Mark Welsh

The 36th Tactical Fighter Wing (TFW) was activated at Bitburg Air Base, Germany, in 1952 as part of the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) during the early years of the Cold War. Tasked with NATO defense responsibilities, the wing operated a variety of fighter aircraft over the years, including the F-86 Sabre, F-100 Super Sabre, F-105 Thunderchief, and most notably the F-15 Eagle from the 1970s onward. The 36th TFW played a key role in maintaining air superiority and deterrence in Western Europe, participating in numerous training exercises and NATO operations. The wing remained at Bitburg until 1994, when it was inactivated following the end of the Cold War, and the base was returned to German control.

62nd Airlift Wing

U.S. Air Force

The 62nd Airlift Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state. It is part of the Air Mobility Command and operates a fleet of C-17 Globemaster III aircraft for strategic airlift missions. The 62nd Airlift Wing provides global airlift capability to support military operations, humanitarian missions, and other national security objectives. Additionally, the wing is responsible for training and preparing airmen for future deployments and operations.

The Defense Language Institute (DLI) was established in 1941 as the Military Intelligence Service Language School at the Presidio of San Francisco to train linguists in Japanese during World War II. It later expanded to teach a wide variety of strategic languages critical to U.S. military and intelligence operations. In 1946, the school relocated to the Presidio of Monterey in California, where it became known as the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center. Today, DLI serves all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, providing intensive language instruction to support global military missions and national security efforts.