The 57th converted to the F-15
Eagle, which is still used today. TAC assigned AFI to
First Air Force on 6 December 1985. Through all these changes, AFI remained
under the operational control of IDF. In May 1988, the 56th Aerospace Rescue
and Recovery Squadron (now, the 56th Rescue Squadron) assumed the air rescue
function from Det 14.
Air Forces Iceland was inactivated on
31 May 1993. Activated in its place, assuming the mission previously carried
out by AFI, was the 35th Wing. The change was part of the Air Force's
"objective wing" plan that was to carry on the history of World War II
flying units. On 1 October 1993, an ACC realignment transferred
administrative control of the 35th Wing from First Air Force to Eighth Air
Force. However, the 35th would go through another major change less than two
years after it was activated at Keflavik.
Because the 35th garnered the majority
of its history in the Pacific theater during World War II, and in California
since 1971 until its move to Iceland, it was decided to relocate the unit
back to that area. Consequently, the 35th Wing was relieved of its
assignment to ACC and transferred to Misawa Air Base (AB), Japan, on 1
October 1994. To assume the mission at Keflavik, the 85th Wing was activated
on the same day. The 85th Wing was a combination of the lineages and
histories of the 85th Tactical Fighter Training Wing and the former Air
Forces Iceland (AFI). This allowed the Air Force contingent in Iceland to
keep alive its distinguished history in the foreign nation, while also
retaining the history of an honored World War II flying unit.
Air Force reductions and a new
agreement with the Government of Iceland continued to affect Keflavik
organizations. On 1 March 1995, the 57th Fighter Squadron was inactivated
and their 18 assigned F-15 fighter aircraft departed. However, the vital air
defense mission continues to be carried out by F-15s through deployed TDY
units on a rotational basis under the control of the 85th Operations
Squadron. The draw-down led to the 85th Wing being redesignated the 85th
Group on 1 July 1995.
Today, the men and women of the 85th
Group remain combat ready to deter aggression in the North Atlantic region,
protect Iceland's airspace, and support contingency operations through world
class surveillance, air superiority, and rescue forces.
