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'''NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen (E-3A Component)''' {{Airport codes|GKE|ETNG}} is located near [[Geilenkirchen]], [[North Rhine-Westphalia]], [[Germany]]. It is the Mainmain Operatingoperating Basebase of the [[NATO]] [[Boeing E-3 Sentry]] Component, one of two operational elements of the NATO Airborne Early Warning & Control Force.
== Location and history ==
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In January 1980 the first E-3A Component personnel started arriving at the base, and in October 1980 the NATO Defense Planning Committee (DPC) granted the E-3A Component the status of a NATO International Military Headquarters. By the end of 1981, the German Pershing Wing had left the base and moved to Niederheid, north of Geilenkirchen, while the U.S. 85th Field Artillery Detachment remained on base until July 1991 and was then de-activated.
E-3A Component flying operations began in February 1982 after delivery of the first E-3A aircraft. Germany formally handed over the Mainmain Operatingoperating Basebase to NATO on 31 March 1982. The Componentcomponent was officially activated on 28 June 1982 and reached Fullfull Operationaloperational Capabilitycapability by the end of 1988.
Major construction on the base initially included a new {{convert|3000|m|ft|adj=on}} runway with a width of {{convert|45|m|ft}}, as well as aprons and taxiways, a control tower, an Informationinformation Technologytechnology Wingwing building (which also houses flight simulator and mission simulator facilities), on-base accommodation and major renovation of the four existing hangars.
Since that time, most of the buildings on base have been renovated to present day standards and several new buildings have been erected.
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== NATO E-3A Component ==
[[File:Boeing E-3A Sentry, NATO - Airborne Early Warning Force JP6633909.jpg|left|thumb|A [[Boeing E-3 Sentry|Boeing E-3A Sentry]] of the NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Force]]
The E-3A Component is [[NATO]]'s first operational flying unit with multinational manning.<ref>http://www.e3a.nato.int/eng/home.htm NATO E-3A Component home page</ref> The Component commander's position is of Brigadier General rank and is held alternately by Germany and the USA. The Component's organizationalorganisational structure comprises a Headquartersheadquarters staff and five major functional elements (Operations Wing, Logistics Wing, Base Support Wing, Training Wing and Information Technology Wing). Each Wing is commanded by a Colonelcolonel, each from a different NATO member nation.
The Componentcomponent's multinational, fully integrated workforce consists of more than 3,000 military and civilian personnel from 16 NATO member nations. This figure includes personnel assigned to support functions, such as the engineering support teams of the Bundeswehr Service Centre, National Support Unit personnel, and morale and welfare activities staff.
== Operations ==
The Componentcomponent operates fourteen (out of an original order for 18) [[Boeing]] [[E-3 Sentry|E-3A]] AWACS aircraft all of which are based on the Boeing 707 airframe (the component also operated three (3) Boeing 707 Trainer Cargo Aircraft, but these have been retired since 2011). These 14 aircraft of the NATO E-3A Component are all registered in [[Luxembourg]] as part of that country's contribution to the NATO AWACS programme.
[[File:E-3 Sentry system operator of NATO.jpg|thumb|Personnel aboard a [[NATO]] [[Boeing E-3 Sentry|E-3A Sentry]]]]
Since coming into service in the early 1980s, the aircraft and their onboard systems and associated ground-based equipment have undergone regular upgrading. Two major modernizationmodernisation programmes have been accomplished since the early 1990s. The more recent of these, the MidTerm Modernization Programme, was completed in December 2018. It included the retrofitting of 14 E-3As with improved navigation systems, digital communication systems and five additional workstations, as well as the enhancement of two Missionmission Simulatorssimulators. As a result of this project the NATO AWACS will be able to continue to fulfill its intended role as an important NATO asset for maintaining peace and security.
The Component's two operational E-3A squadrons and its former TCA squadron have a total of thirty multinational aircrews from 17 of NATO's 29 nations: [[Belgium]], [[Denmark]], [[Germany]], [[Greece]], [[Hungary]], [[Italy]], the [[Netherlands]], [[Norway]], [[Poland]], [[Portugal]], [[Spain]], [[Turkey]], [[Romania]], and the [[United States]]. [[Canada]] withdrew its participation from the AWACS program in 2014, but rejoined in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/trudeau-government-reverses-conservative-decision-on-awacs-canada-now-contributing-again|title = Trudeau government reverses Conservative decision on AWACS - Canada now contributing again}}</ref> In addition, the Aircrew Training Squadron operates on an equally multinational basis under the direction of Training Wing.
Normally, only a certain number of the E-3As are present at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen at any given time. The remainder are deployed to the Componentcomponent's Forwardforward Operatingoperating Basesbases in Greece, Italy, Turkey, and the Forwardforward Operatingoperating Locationlocation in Norway, or to locations elsewhere. Each of these forward operating facilities is located on a national airbase. The Componentcomponent has approximately thirty military and civilian assigned personnel at each site; these are NATO personnel, but all are from the respective host nation.
== Economic significance ==
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The E-3A Component directly employs more than 3,000 personnel at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen and therefore has a significant economic impact in the surrounding communities.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{Cite web|url=http://www.e3a.nato.int/eng/html/economic_impact_en.htm|title = Home}}</ref>
An Economiceconomic Impactimpact Studystudy compiled by the NATO E-3A Component shows a 2008 economic impact of 275.8 million [[euroEuro]] within a 200-kilometer radius of the base (expenditure of €150.7 million on staff payroll and €81.3 million on base-related expenditures, plus a further €43.8 million impact through indirect creation of jobs in the region surrounding the base). This marks an increase of 10.7 million euro locally. The 2008 overall economic impact was 447.3 million euroEuro, an increase of 22.8 million euroEuro as compared to 2007. These numbers are under the assumption that the economic impact models used for bases located within the US transfer without modification to the EU situation.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
==Noise pollution controversy==
The fleet of E-3's3s has remained in operation since the [[Cold War]] and has adapted its mission to emerging security threats, primarily in European airspace. Despite stringent self-imposed flight restrictions, including conducting a significant portion of training flights at different airfields throughout Europe and North America, E-3A operations in Geilenkirchen cause [[noise pollution]],<ref>[http://rivm.nl/Images/Concept%20Belevingsonderzoek%20Vlgb%20Geilenkirchen%20630310%2008-04-28_tcm4-51744.pdf#%20class= draft RIVM report]</ref> according to a recent study by the [[Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment]], affecting over 40,000 citizens of [[Parkstad Limburg]] across the nearby German-Dutch border,<ref>[http://www.trouw.nl/laatstenieuws/laatstenieuws/article960504.ece/Tienduizenden_Limburgers_ervaren_overlast_Awacs/Klacht_tegen_staat_bij_Europese_Hof_om_AWACS Tienduizenden Limburgers ervaren overlast Awacs]</ref><ref>[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C02E1D61439F934A35752C1A9659C8B63 Deafening Din of the Awacs Rouses the Folk Next Door]</ref> who have formed an NGO aiming to [[vereniging STOP awacs|stop AWACS flights]]. The Dutch government has asked for a mid-life upgrade of the AWACS fleet to include upgrading the engines to make the fleet meet the maximum noise levels allowed for civilian air traffic.<ref>[http://www.stopawacs.nl/pdf/Nederland%20wil%20strengere%20geluidsregels%20voor%20AWACS%2027-02-2008.pdf Request of Dutch government to EU concerning noise nuisance of AWACS] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081003031434/http://www.stopawacs.nl/pdf/Nederland%20wil%20strengere%20geluidsregels%20voor%20AWACS%2027-02-2008.pdf |date=2008-10-03 }}</ref> However, NATO has not yet committed to the expensive investment.<ref>[http://www.depers.nl/binnenland/150176/Kamer-Awacs-moeten-stiller.html Kamer: Awacs moeten stiller]</ref> Despite its economic importance to the region and the strategic importance for NATO of the base, the Dutch House of Parliament has adopted a [[Motion (parliamentary procedure)|motion]] to restrict the AWACS from Dutch airspace unless new engines are installed. However, the Dutch government decided not to implement this motion.<ref>[http://www.limburger.nl/article/20071211/DOSSIERS/882500656/1045 AWACS-dossier]</ref>
==References==
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