European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 30, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saying Adios to Zaragoza . Fighter operations end sept. 30 by j. King Cruger staff writer these Days apart from serving As an alternate Landing site for Nasa space shuttles Zaragoza a has Only one remaining task. That s Quot to leave As gracefully As possible Quot said col. Jeffrey s. Pilkington commander of the . Air forces 406th tac fighter training Wing. The Wing located on a Spanish air base 10 Miles West of the City of Zaragoza will leave the installation by sept. 30, a result of the military draw Down in Europe. Quot the closure of Zaragoza will not have a significant Impact on Safe considering How Safe is drawing Down Quot Pilkington said. And the closure is not related to the massive draw Down occurring at Torrejon a outside Madrid which he said is the result of the 1988 .-Spanish defense cooperation agreement. Currently 460 air Force personnel and nearly 700 american dependents Are assigned to Zaragoza for years a weapons training site for fighter squadrons deployed from Central Europe. That Mission took most of the Wing s time Energy and resources As deployed aircraft yearly flew More than 14,000 tactical training sorties to the nearby Bardenas Reales gunnery Range. A the majority of fighter training in Europe took place Here Quot Pilkington said. The american sector of Zaragoza a was officially activated in february 1956. The Mission of the base was to support the strategic air command b-47 Alert Force. From 1958 until 1964 the base also supported f-102 Delta Dagger lighters of the 431st fighter interceptor so. In 1964 the american sector the Southern part of the base was de Active and transferred from Sac to Safe. In 1970, following the closure of wheelus a in Libya the american sector of Zaragoza was reactivated Lor fighter weapons training. Use of the Bardenas Reales Range ceased in december Pilkington said. Spanish newspapers have reported that the Range and base May be used As a european training facility. Zaragoza formerly supported a deployed air refuelling task Force of anywhere from five to seven Kc-135 and two Kc-10 Tanker aircraft. The tankers yearly flew approximately 1,000 sorties from Zaragoza. Although occasional tankers still operate out of Zaragoza they will cease flying from there at the end of March Pilkington said. Zaragoza played a key role in the War against Iraq. The Active duty population soared to More than 1,500 personnel while the base was used As an important refuelling Stop for tankers and cargo aircraft bound for the Gulf War and for fighters returning to the Stales after the conflict. Quot prior to desert shield Zaragoza had about 100 transient aircraft per month. During the conflict the base had 700 transient planes per month Quot said tech. Sgt. Dale Warman a base spokesman. Pilkington said negotiations Are underway Between the United slates and spam to enable Zaragoza to continue to support America s space Effort. The base serves As a possible Landing site in Case a space shuttle has to abort a Mission and land in Europe. Quite a lot of Nasa equipment is Here Quot Pilkington said. 1 ire Spanish air Force uses the Northern part of the installation adjacent to Zaragoza s civilian Airport As a base for two squadrons of c-130 cargo and Tanker a modified aircraft plus two squadrons of f-18 floret fighters. The Spanish government has not announced its plans Tor the installation although there have been reports that the Headquarters of the Sparsh air Force s 3rd air div could Transfer from downtown Zaragoza a City of More than 600,000 people. Quot closing the base is considerably easier than closing other american installations because we Are turning so much Over to the spaniards Quot Pilkington said. The Spanish air Force is interested in buying a Large amount of air Force furniture and equipment. Quot we inventoried everything on base a from couches to Coffee cups. The Spanish identified what they would like to Purchase Quot Pilkington said sales will be handled by the . Office of defense cooperation in Madrid the items to be offered to Spain Are excess to air Force inventories said capt Hector f. Ramirez the base Laison officer to the Spanish air Force. Quot most of the furniture will stay Here on base. The spaniards Are also interested in tools medical equipment and computers Quot said Ramirez 40, a native of Colombia and a resident of Denver. Quot it s Good for us Selling to the spaniards because we Don t have to spend Money sending equipment All Over the place Quot Ramirez said. One of the biggest chores in closing a base like Zaragoza is emptying the bomb dump said chief master sgt Robert Corchado 37, the wings chief enlisted manager for maintenance. The base already has shipped several thousand tons of inert and live ammunition to other bases. The inert ammunition goes by truck and the live ammo is airlifted Corchado said. Quot ninety percent of the bomb dump has been shipped out. We were scheduled to Complete the shipping by june and now we figure we will have the Job done by april two months ahead of schedule Quot said Corchado a resident of Newark . Quot All three of the base s main hangars have already been cleared and cleaned and turned Over to civil engineers Quot Corchado added. Moving people out of Zaragoza has been slowed somewhat by a Lack of moving capacity in Spain. Quot the demands made by the olympics in Barcelona and expo 92, the Universal exposition in Seville have impacted on trucking Quot said Pilkington 45, a native of Gadsden Ala. Most of Zaragoza s personnel Are not being reassigned to other bases in Europe. Quot with the number of bases we Are closing and the Pace of closings there Are less and less bases to go to those who want to stay overseas Are finding it More difficult Quot said master sgt. Jose Oliveros 39, the Wing s chief of personnel utilization. Assignment teams visited the base in october and again in february. By the time the second team departed Zaragoza on feb. 5, every enlisted person on base knew where he or she was going next said Oliveros. Quot the closure business is so emotional because it adds so much turmoil to the lives of people Quot Pilkington said. He noted that people were particularly troubled about what kinds of services would be available As the draw Down continues. Quot we Are going to Cut Back on operations but keep things going Quot he vowed. The base commissary will close nearly three months before the americans officially vacate the base on july 3 Quot to allow us enough time to ship out equipment and stocks while we have enough workers left to do the Job Quot said master sgt. Mike p. Mena 35, the base commissary officer. After july 3, shoppers will have to buy fresh meat at Spanish markets and do other shopping a at higher prices a at an on base cafes convenience store. A jump in the Cost of living allowance for Zaragoza based personnel is expected to Lake effect in july to cover increased food costs according to Mena. Master sgt. George Disharoon an inspector at Zaragoza for the inspector general is planning on retiring from the air Force and remaining at Zaragoza. Quot i love Europe. That s the prime reason for staying Here Quot said Disharoon 41, a native of Philadelphia. Disharoon owns his Home outside Zaragoza and his Spanish wife Mayka works As a Secretary. Quot about 15 or 20 of us most with Spanish wives plan on staying in the Zaragoza area Quot he said. F. I the Zaragoza a bulletin Board la a Alan of the times there s not much going on thana Days. Maj. Roland e. Edwards Schlaf of transportation at Zaragoza a Talka with Susan l Algoa director of the family support Center. Cashier Sonia Banuchi checks a customer out of the commissary which Cloaca Sapt. 30. Lena pounds tha Coic for outbound assignments pauses briefly while processing her caseload. A amps photos by Dave Casey master sgt. George Disharoon 41, intends to retire in Zaragoza with his wit Mayka and daughter Diana Marla. It a 3 . Friday and the mein Street is deserted. View be from the operations Tower. Page 14 the stars and stripes monday March 30, 1992 inert Gravity Bomba Are trucked off the base in preparation for the air Force departure. The stars and stripes Page 15