Sarge
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AF markings
Glenn, Crash_AF is right on the money.
Because I'm a know-it-all, I'll elaborate.
52FW is the 52nd Fighter Wing.
Every Air Base (AB) overseas, or every Air Force Base (AFB) stateside belongs to a Wing.
There are Fighter Wings, Bomber Wings and many other types of Wings. There are exceptions to this rule, but not too many.
The unit lower than a Wing is a Group. There are Supply Groups, Fighter Groups, etc.
The unit lower than a Group is a Squadron. Again, there are Fighter Squadrons, Sevices Squadrons, etc.
The smallest unit in the USAF is the Flight. The Flight is often reserved for small units belonging to a Squadron, but often at a remote location.
So, the general heirarchy is;
Major Command (MAJCOM)
Wing, Group, Squadron, Flight.
That is typical.
The markings you saw were 52FW (meaning the unit belongs to the 52nd Fighter Wing, also Spangdahlem AB)
52SF (as Crash_AF already said) is the 52nd Security Forces Squadron, they are pretty large because their duties include physical defense of the entire Spangdahlem Air Base, nearby the prior Bitburg Air Base (now called the Spangdahlem AB Annex) and several other outlying locations. 52SF also deploys with either Fighter Squadron as necessary.
The most interesting markings you mentioned were T101 on the trailer. The trailer should have a registration number similar to this; 06L233. I said similar, not exactly that number.
More interesting was the tan block on the trailer. Typically, this means that the trailer could have been stolen from the Army and re-marked. More likely, the trailer was destined for the Army through the supply system and a bunch of them got re-routed to the USAF. Whichever the answer is, the AF has failed to mark it correctly. If you could tell me the registration number from the data plate, I could tell you which scenario is most likely. If the data plate has been removed, the first scenario is correct.
A lot of (ah-hem) re-distribution of assets took place in the sand-box, but not normally in Germany where you are much more likely to get caught.
I would lean towards the second scenario simply because our professional security Forces personnel would not commit such a dastardly deed.
I do blather, don't I?
-Sarge
Glenn, Crash_AF is right on the money.
Because I'm a know-it-all, I'll elaborate.
52FW is the 52nd Fighter Wing.
Every Air Base (AB) overseas, or every Air Force Base (AFB) stateside belongs to a Wing.
There are Fighter Wings, Bomber Wings and many other types of Wings. There are exceptions to this rule, but not too many.
The unit lower than a Wing is a Group. There are Supply Groups, Fighter Groups, etc.
The unit lower than a Group is a Squadron. Again, there are Fighter Squadrons, Sevices Squadrons, etc.
The smallest unit in the USAF is the Flight. The Flight is often reserved for small units belonging to a Squadron, but often at a remote location.
So, the general heirarchy is;
Major Command (MAJCOM)
Wing, Group, Squadron, Flight.
That is typical.
The markings you saw were 52FW (meaning the unit belongs to the 52nd Fighter Wing, also Spangdahlem AB)
52SF (as Crash_AF already said) is the 52nd Security Forces Squadron, they are pretty large because their duties include physical defense of the entire Spangdahlem Air Base, nearby the prior Bitburg Air Base (now called the Spangdahlem AB Annex) and several other outlying locations. 52SF also deploys with either Fighter Squadron as necessary.
The most interesting markings you mentioned were T101 on the trailer. The trailer should have a registration number similar to this; 06L233. I said similar, not exactly that number.
More interesting was the tan block on the trailer. Typically, this means that the trailer could have been stolen from the Army and re-marked. More likely, the trailer was destined for the Army through the supply system and a bunch of them got re-routed to the USAF. Whichever the answer is, the AF has failed to mark it correctly. If you could tell me the registration number from the data plate, I could tell you which scenario is most likely. If the data plate has been removed, the first scenario is correct.
A lot of (ah-hem) re-distribution of assets took place in the sand-box, but not normally in Germany where you are much more likely to get caught.
I would lean towards the second scenario simply because our professional security Forces personnel would not commit such a dastardly deed.
I do blather, don't I?
-Sarge
