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Air Expeditionary Squadron (AES)

An Air Expeditionary Squadron (AES) is a contingent from a squadron that is attached to the Air Expeditionary Group (AEG). It is designed to configure and employ in support of crisis action requirements. They interact with other squadrons to conduct sustained and effective operations Smaller than the AEW, the AEG is the lowest command echelon of air expeditionary forces and is normally formed from one or more units.

USAFE F-15E Strike Eagles from RAF Lakenheath, England, and F-16 Fighting Falcons from Aviano Air Base, Italy, deployed to Spain as part of 4616th Air Expeditionary Squadron (Provisional). About 400 Air Force people were among the nearly 11,000 U.S. military members deployed to Matador '96. U.S. Army, Navy and Marine units played their exercise roles from several locations in Spain and afloat in the western Mediterranean Sea. Matador provided US and Spanish forces an opportunity for combined-joint training that also will help improve the two countries' ability to operate together on land, at sea, and in the air.

Numerous "historic firsts" occurred as the 347th Air Expeditionary Group stood up 13 July 1998 for the 1998 Rim of the Pacific exercise. The 347th AEG was made up of three expeditionary squadrons, each with an array of combat capability: The Lancers with their F-16s from Moody Air Force Base, Ga., formed the 68th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron. Aircrews and aircraft from Tinker AFB, Okla., flying E-3s optimized to conduct maritime operations, made up the 963rd Airborne Air Control Squadron. And the Bomber Barons -- with members from the 2nd, 5th and 7th Bomb Wings, from Barksdale AFB, La.; Minot AFB, N.D.; and Dyess AFB, Texas, respectively -- joined to form the 23rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron. This was the first time B-52s and B-1s had combined to form a single squadron.

During Operation Allied Force, the 50th Airlift Squadron (50 AS) deployed from Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas, to Ramstein Air Base, Germany, from 20 May through 21 July 1999. The 50 AS became the 38th Air Expeditionary Squadron, also known as "Delta Squadron," assigned to the 86th Airlift Wing (86 AW) at Ramstein, which was renamed the 86th Air Expeditionary Wing for Operation Allied Force.

The 39th Air Expeditionary Squadron spent five days looking at the needs of the more than 120,000 people affected by a 12 November 1999 tremor which struck the Bolu region, 115 miles east of Istanbul, Turkey. The team was composed of experts from public health, utilities, structures and electrical engineering, and disaster preparedness.