The United States currently has three military bases in Turkey. Though this isn’t a large number of military bases, each base in Turkey plays an important and essential role.
The bases in Turkey work to protect the United States and its allies through a variety of missions, including combat, support, and missile defense.
Their history varies, as two were started in the 1950s and one was just recently founded in 2012.
Each of the US bases in this country is outlined below, so you can learn a bit more about them and what they do:
US Air Force Bases in Turkey
Incirlik Air Base
Location: Incirlik, Turkey
In Use: 1951- Present
Overall Mission: This is the largest US military base in Turkey. It has many different squadrons with varying purposes, as shown by the stationed units listed below.
The base has a cohesive mission of defending NATO’s Southern Flank and projecting global power through deterrence, combat support, and partnerships.
They seek to defend US allies as well as NATO.
Units Stationed:
- 425th Air Base Squadron
- 717th Air Base Squadron
- 728th Air Mobility Squadron
- 39th Civil Engineer Squadron
- 39th Communications Squadron
- 39th Comptroller Squadron
- 39th Contracting Squadron
- 39th Forse Support Squadron
- 39th Logistics Readiness Squadron
- 39th Maintenance Squadron
- 39th Medical Group
- 39th Mission Support Group
- 39th Operations Support Squadron
- 39th Security Forces Squadron
- 39th Weapon Security Squadron
Official Site: https://www.incirlik.af.mil/
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Izmir Air Station
Location: Near Istanbul, Turkey
In Use: 1952- Present
Overall Mission: This base runs under the same command, though in a different location, as Incirlik Air Base (shown above).
It runs under the same mission and operation plan and even has many tenants from the same units as well.
Units Stationed:
- 39th Air Base Wing
- 425th Air Base Squadron
- NATO Land Command Headquarters
Official Site: N/A
US Army Bases in Turkey
Kürecik Radar Station
Location: Kürecik, Turkey
In Use: 2012- Present
Overall Mission: Kürecik Radar Station is the only US Army installation in Turkey, and they often partner with the US Air Force and Navy.
Its main mission is related to missile interception and defense, with the goal of keeping the United States and its allies safe from missile and nuclear threats.
The site it is built on was a missile detection site in the 1960s, though the technology and capabilities were greatly enhanced at the time of the creation of this US base.
Units Stationed:
- NATO Missile Defense
- US Army Europe troops
Official Site: N/A
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