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The 435th Air Ground Operations Wing experienced massive change in 2023. Most notably, the 435th AGOW and 435th Air Expeditionary Wing were split into separate wings.
On June 9, 2023, the 435th AEW was inactivated and the 406th AEW was activated in its place with its own command team. On the same day, U.S. Air Force Col. Matthew A. Bartlett took over command of the 435th AGOW.
This historic split was a long-awaited change allowing the 435th AGOW leadership team to focus solely on the Airmen and its mission after a decade of operating two wings on two continents. The 435th AGOW’s subsequent remission and innovative change set the wing on a new path, enabling U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa’s strategic lines of efforts in Great Power Competition.
The 435th AGOW’s new mission focuses on its ability to deploy rapidly and adaptively throughout the European Command and African Command theaters, evolving from three distinct groups — each with a diverse historical mission —into a more integrated, lethal and threat-relevant wing.
Airmen assigned to the 435th AGOW now set and operate the theater; respond to crises; enhance Agile Combat Employment; implement and mobilize Battle Management, Command, Control, and Communications; and connect all warfare domains to integrate airpower and joint forces within a contested environment. Moreover, they shape the tactics and techniques of their professional communities to drive U.S. Air Force capabilities.
Exercises test 435 AGOW’s new mission, organizational structure
In 2023, the 435th AGOW executed several large-scale exercises that provided opportunities to hone its traditional skillset, refine its adaptive mission set, and validate the value of its new organizational concept.
In the spring of 2023, 435th AGOW Airmen participated in its most important exercise of 2023, Exercise NEPTUNE EAGLE.
Led by 4th Air Support Operations Group Special Warfare Airmen, the wing conducted a proof-of-concept approach to connect and integrate combat air power. In alignment with the Combined Force Air Component Commander’s operational and strategic mission objectives, the 435th AGOW deployed as a wing for the first time, utilizing the capabilities of all three groups, and leveraging new and emerging technologies and procedures to execute the mission. The tactical innovation and expertise of 435th AGOW Airmen enabled significant operational gains and made Exercise NEPTUNE EAGLE 23 the wing’s best execution to date.
The 435th AGOW also conducted an internal exercise, Exercise AGILE BISON, to validate the 435th Contingency Response Group’s ability to open and operate an air base in a simulated contested environment utilizing a small Contingency Response Team.
During the exercise, skilled Airmen conducted an airborne insertion into a partner nation to assess and open an austere airfield as an expeditionary air logistics hub, while maintaining force protection during high threat levels. Airmen of the 435th CRG validated the small CRT concept and capabilities for the 435th AGOW and the theater, which proved to be in high demand during multiple crises throughout 2023.
Exercise HEAVY RAIN 2023, hosted by the 435th Air and Space Communications Group, integrated 18 U.S. and NATO partners across combat and joint communications communities. This exercise integrated real-world space and terrestrial jamming effects to test their ability to sustain resilient Command, Control, and Communication in a highly contested environment.
Moreover, 435th AGOW Airmen validated its new Mobile-Digital Infrastructure systems to execute ACE maneuvers and provide BMC3 throughout Germany and France. The 435th AGOW’s 1st Combat Communications Squadron set the gold-standard for exercising communications in a contested environment, challenging its Airmen, as well as joint and NATO partners to establish and maintain nodal BMC3 resiliency.
AGOW Airmen showcase skills while executing exercises
In addition to executing exercises, 435th AGOW squadrons showcased their ingenuity and skills throughout the year in a variety of missions supporting the U.S. Air Force, sister services and NATO partners.
The 1st Air and Space Communication Operations Squadron’s BlackNet capability proved essential for USAFE-AFAFRICA with its ability to securely transport data across Europe and Africa — a challenge for many service providers, especially in Africa.
BlackNet combines any method of communication e.g., satellite, cellular or fiber optic to create a meshed network ensuring users remain connected if one or more communications methods fail.
Black networks are not new, but for USAFE-AFAFRICA, the speed to execute; proliferation across two continents; savings in circuit costs, equipment and manning; reliability; and now the Authority to Operate, make the 1st ACOS BlackNet an operational game-changer now being considered as a new Air Force standard.
Additionally, the 435th Contingency Response Support Squadron, home to Europe’s only Air Advisor unit, supported strategic efforts to build partner nation capacity throughout Europe and Africa.
Air Advisors worked with allied nations such as Lithuania, Serbia, Estonia and Slovakia to assess, advise, train and equip these partners, ultimately promoting and improving interoperability among the U.S. and NATO. The 435th CRSS, coupled with the 435th AGOW’s new capabilities, enabled USAFE-AFAFRICA’s strategic lines of efforts in Great Power Competition.
Additionally, Radar Airfield and Weather Systems Airmen from the 7th Combat Weather Squadron maintained equipment across Europe critical to provide environmental intelligence to both the Combined Force Air Component Commander and the Combined Force Land Component Commander. They demonstrated their readiness and resiliency after leading an emergency Army Radar Decommissioning project and not only closing a 12-year U.S. Army deficiency, but also simultaneously helping to certify German soldiers on critical skills.
AGOW Airmen set benchmark for 2024
“I’m immensely proud of the AGOW Airmen and their accomplishments over this historic year,” Bartlett said. “Time and again, they push the limits of known capability with creativity and tenacity. They create reliable and tested systems to deliver effects to the forward edge, ahead of demand. The FOLLOW ME Wing has hit the mark on every operation and exercise they were involved in, spanning three different continents. The dedication, professionalism, and unbelievable talent of our FOLLOW ME Airmen has resulted in 45 Major Command and U.S. Air Force-level award wins, as well as a promotion rate that is over 10 percent above the Air Force average this year. The Airmen of the AGOW prove every day that they are First to the Fight, leading the way in this theater!”
The 435th Air Ground Operations Wing, located at Ramstein Air Base, is comprised of three groups, nine permanent squadrons, three deployed squadrons, and more than 1,400 personnel across 25 locations in Europe. Their mission is to rapidly deploy in support of the Joint Force Commander by responding to crises & contingencies, providing limited fail-forward C2 with agile BMC3 nodes, forward-edge joint fires integration, and niche capabilities to enable pulsed operations in contested environments.
