“When we assumed the Soldier, we did not lay aside the citizen.” — George Washington
Citizen-Soldiers have played a pivotal role in America’s defense since the first English colonists settled in North America some 400 years ago. Throughout our history, large standing forces in peacetime were considered unnecessary and overly expensive, so in wartime the American people have relied on volunteers, militia and the National Guard for the bulk of our military forces. That same philosophy holds true today.
After World War II, the National Security Act of 1947 created the U.S. Air Force, and with it a new kind of volunteer — the citizen Airman. In every conflict since, Reservists and Guardsmen have left their civilian lives behind to help fly, fight and win in the skies around the globe, either supporting their active-duty counterparts in combat, or participating in air combat themselves.
Today, citizen Airmen play a crucial role in supporting missions throughout the Air Force. Each component contributes to the total force in different ways, from dedicated peacetime roles to wartime support alongside their active-duty counterparts.
For most citizen Airmen serving in the KMC, military service is a temporary job. They’ve been called away from their families and full-time occupations back in the U.S. to help the active-duty corps in military operations around the world. Today, we have 144 individual mobilization augmentees, 88 Reservists and 240 Guardsmen deployed, predominantly serving as the backbone of the KMC component of the Department of Defense’s ground-breaking aeromedical evacuation mission. Citizen Airmen also add additional hands as controllers, porters and flight crews with the 721st Air Mobility Operations Group, and also back-fill for deployed active-duty Airmen at the 603rd Air and Space Operations Center or are part of the U.S. Air Forces in Europe staff. There are dozens of other areas in the KMC where citizen Airmen also serve.
Guardsmen have recently added a new full-time mission to their KMC repertoire, by deploying fully qualified critical care air transport team members to support our wounded warriors from Afghanistan and Iraq. These medical professionals are ready at a moment’s notice to fly to remote locations to transport critically injured service members home, while their stateside medical practices are on hold. Every day our Reservist and Guardsman partners are making great sacrifices and doing amazing things in support of military operations here in the KMC and around the world. Thank you to all our great citizen Airmen for being great wingmen. And thank you to your families for their sacrifice, too.
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News for the Ramstein, Kaiserslautern, Landstuhl & Baumholder military communities in Germany 
“When we assumed the Soldier, we did not lay aside the citizen.” — George Washington
Citizen-Soldiers have played a pivotal role in America’s defense since the first English colonists settled in North America some 400 years ago. Throughout our history, large standing forces in peacetime were considered unnecessary and overly expensive, so in wartime the American people have relied on volunteers, militia and the National Guard for the bulk of our military forces. That same philosophy holds true today.
After World War II, the National Security Act of 1947 created the U.S. Air Force, and with it a new kind of volunteer — the citizen Airman. In every conflict since, Reservists and Guardsmen have left their civilian lives behind to help fly, fight and win in the skies around the globe, either supporting their active-duty counterparts in combat, or participating in air combat themselves.
Today, citizen Airmen play a crucial role in supporting missions throughout the Air Force. Each component contributes to the total force in different ways, from dedicated peacetime roles to wartime support alongside their active-duty counterparts.
For most citizen Airmen serving in the KMC, military service is a temporary job. They’ve been called away from their families and full-time occupations back in the U.S. to help the active-duty corps in military operations around the world. Today, we have 144 individual mobilization augmentees, 88 Reservists and 240 Guardsmen deployed, predominantly serving as the backbone of the KMC component of the Department of Defense’s ground-breaking aeromedical evacuation mission. Citizen Airmen also add additional hands as controllers, porters and flight crews with the 721st Air Mobility Operations Group, and also back-fill for deployed active-duty Airmen at the 603rd Air and Space Operations Center or are part of the U.S. Air Forces in Europe staff. There are dozens of other areas in the KMC where citizen Airmen also serve.
Guardsmen have recently added a new full-time mission to their KMC repertoire, by deploying fully qualified critical care air transport team members to support our wounded warriors from Afghanistan and Iraq. These medical professionals are ready at a moment’s notice to fly to remote locations to transport critically injured service members home, while their stateside medical practices are on hold. Every day our Reservist and Guardsman partners are making great sacrifices and doing amazing things in support of military operations here in the KMC and around the world. Thank you to all our great citizen Airmen for being great wingmen. And thank you to your families for their sacrifice, too.