U.S. Air Forces in Europe, headquartered at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, is the air component of the U.S. European Command, a Department of Defense unified command and the U.S. component of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Beginning with the Berlin Airlift, USAFE was a major part of the cold war deterrence. Designed as a fight in place force, the USAF had bases all over western europe at the height of the cold war.
In the 1970's and 80's the USAF deployed tactical nuclear weapons at bases to provide a more active deterrent. The Ground Launch Cruise Missile program was based at six locations throughout Europe; in the United Kingdom (at RAF Greenham Common and RAF Molesworth), Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, and Comiso Air Station in Italy beginning in 1983. GLCM was removed from Europe in 1988 after the INF Treaty was signed. Despite initial fears of greater instability, the deployment of GLCM ultimately caused Soviet leaders to enter into negotiations for, and finally signature of, the INF treaty.
At the height of the cold war there were more than 50 bases within USAFE.