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109-579: The channel was founded in 2004 as The Pentagon Channel . On July 8, 2014, The Pentagon Channel was rebranded as the DoD News Channel . The channel ceased operations on April 17, 2015. However, content will still be produced for the American Forces Network and the website Defense.gov. The network’s programming included Department of Defense news briefings, Military news, Interviews with top Defense officials, Short stories about

218-521: A Medal of Honor recipient during the Korean War . During the morning of 22 November 1952, he led a flight of F-80 Shooting Stars on patrol over Kunwha . After beginning a dive bombing run and getting hit, he entered into a controlled dive and destroyed a Chinese gun emplacement on Sniper Ridge that was harassing United Nations troops. Limestone Air Force Base was renamed in his honor. Designations of Loring Air Force Base: Major commands to which

327-422: A 10,000-foot (3,000 m) runway. Loring was built on 14,300 acres (58 km ) of land, making it the biggest SAC base in the country. This in turn allowed for it to have the largest capacity for weapon storage and for fuel storage in all of SAC. (Its overall capacity ranked second among all 21 SAC bases). The weapons storage capacity was the highest in all of SAC, 10,247,882 NEW (Net Explosive Weight), and it

436-641: A 250-person barracks (which would later become Building 6000), a water supply system, and a railroad spur to the base from the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad ). One of the first structures was the Arch Hangar. At the time, it was the largest monolithic arch roof structure in the US, and one of the largest hangars in the world. The construction of the hangar was also groundbreaking, including a foundation set on bedrock, extensive footing structures, intricate formwork, and

545-555: A 340-foot arch span. The runway was another major construction task. The airfield in northern Maine was subject to freeze-thaw cycles and had bogs and various types of groundcover; 2.1 million cubic yards of material was removed. The foundation of the runway was constructed to a depth of 70 inches (1.78 m) of a flexible bituminous-concrete pavement. This was all done on a runway that was 10,000 feet (3,050 m) in length and 300 feet (90 m) wide. The month of June 1950 began 44 years of constant activity at Limestone. On 10 June,

654-513: A Top 40 hits format, combined with programming from AFRTS Hollywood-sourced stateside shows such as American Top 40. Programming broadcast over AFCN broadcast radio and television transmitter antennas also reached some local civilian markets across Puerto Rico, such as San Juan. Radio, and later television, to U.S. troops stationed in the Panama Canal Zone was provided initially by Armed Forces Radio (AFN) at Albrook Field and later as

763-649: A change of the AFRTS organizational title from Armed Forces Radio and Television Service to American Forces Radio and Television Service. A timeline of the history of AFN is available online. The first station to be under the control of the U.S. Armed Forces was KGEI in San Francisco, whose origins come from a GE exhibit, which in February 1939 started shortwave broadcasts aimed at the Philippines, which at

872-481: A few weeks later with its first radio broadcast occurring on Saturday, 28 July 1945. (In 1949, the station moved from the city of Bremen north to the port city of Bremerhaven and became AFN Bremerhaven .) On 31 December 1945, AFN London signed off the air, and in 1948 AFN closed all its stations in France . This started the cycle of AFN stations where they would be built up during wartime, then torn down or moved after

981-443: A home for airmen and their families. January 1954 brought the declaration of the 42nd being capable of implementing its Emergency War Plan . On 1 October, the base was renamed after Charles Loring Jr., and became "Loring Air Force Base". One week later, the 45th Air Division was activated at Loring and designated the primary base unit. It was also designated that month as the primary staging location for fighter aircraft flying out of

1090-481: A lesser extent, Denmark . Many Dutch households switched to the program, also because of their positive experiences with the American liberators. Also featured were live performances of classical music and jazz by Samuel Hans Adler 's Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra in support of America's cultural diplomacy initiatives in the post war period. In France, about a dozen AFN stations operated, with AFN Orléans as

1199-513: A major Communication Zone Signal Corps agency, served Army depots and installations in Southwestern France with locally originated programs and network feeds from AFN Orléans via Frankfurt, Germany. It was the only other studio station affiliate of AFN Orléans because of the large American military presence and its resident Department of Defense dorm school for children of American military and civilian families assigned to Poitiers, and

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1308-438: A new organization named DOD News. DOD News was in turn shuttered during a 2018 internal realignment. DOD-level reporting of the type formerly done by AFPS and DOD News reporters is now credited to Defense.gov. AFPS, DOD News and Defense.gov reporting uses a modified version of Associated Press style. American Forces Network The American Forces Network ( AFN ) is a government television and radio broadcast service

1417-400: A school, an officers club, a bakery, and a briefing and training building. The base was one of the first constructed after World War II and also one of the first to retain as much surrounding vegetation as possible in case there was a need to camouflage the airfield and surrounding facilities. It avoided the traditional grid system for roads. Hangars were built for the additional aircraft at

1526-807: A severance pay (in French francs and taxable) of one month per year of service, paid by the U.S. Army to the French government, in dollars (all the French employees were managed by a specially created service: le Bureau d'Aide aux Armées Alliées or AAA). When war broke out in Korea , Army broadcasters set up in Seoul in the Banto Hotel (the old American Embassy Hotel). When the Chinese entered Seoul in December 1950,

1635-553: A small island just off the harbor at New Rochelle. At its peak in 1965, the Army Chaplain school was also located there. In 1963 the campus operated in a "university" setting with a relaxed military environment. The Army ran the Information School although training was offered to members of all military branches. Radio types took a rather severe audition written by CBS for their network announcers. Those who survived

1744-510: A technical director, a program director, several military American broadcast professionals, and some French studio operators, record librarians, secretaries and maintenance technicians. The Frankfurt network programming was received, then re-fed from AFN Orléans studios to another studio-equipped affiliate, AFN Poitiers and its repeater transmitters via modulation lines rented from the French postal service. AFN Poitiers, based at Aboville Caserne, Poitiers, France, home of an Army logistical command and

1853-507: Is archived at Rock Radio Scrapbook: AFVN: The GI's Companion. Beginning in 1971, AFVN began to close some stations in Vietnam. The last station to close was the key station in Saigon in 1973. Broadcasting continued under civilian leadership on FM only and using the name American Radio Service (ARS). The civilian engineers were provided by Pacific Architects and Engineers (PAE). ARS stayed on

1962-695: Is by the Department of Defense , whereas the British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) , for example, is independent of the Ministry of Defence and the British armed forces. AFN employs military broadcasters as well as Defense Department civilians and contractors. Service personnel hold broadcasting occupational specialties for their military branch. Since 1997, all of AFN's military personnel receive primary training at

2071-769: Is headquartered at Yokota Air Base in Japan and consists of nine stations in Diego Garcia , Japan, and South Korea . Stations under AFN Europe and AFN Pacific broadcast live local radio shows 12 hours a day Monday through Friday, with the exception of U.S. federal holidays. Stateside, AFN's broadcast operations, which include global radio and television satellite feeds, emanate from the AFN Broadcast Center/Defense Media Center at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside, California . What

2180-565: Is located at DMA headquarters at Fort Meade. Day-to-day AFN broadcast operations are conducted at the AFN Broadcast Center/Defense Media Center in Riverside , California, from where all global radio and television satellite feeds emanate. Until the early 1970s, U.S. military television service was provided in Western Europe by Air Force Television at Ramstein Air Base , Germany. In the early 1970s, AFN assumed this responsibility for

2289-849: Is today the Maryland-based headquarters of the American Forces Network began on 26 May 1942 when the War Department established the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) in Los Angeles, California with U.S. Army Colonel Tom Lewis in command. The original American Forces Network began on 4 July 1943 when AFRS established what is today AFN Europe in London , England with U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Charles Gurney in command. A television service

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2398-766: The Alert Area , which operated as a separate facility within Loring, due to crews being constantly stationed on alert. The Double Cantilever Hangar was the largest hangar at the facility, with the capacity to hold six parked B-52s, or five B-36s. Another nearby installation was the GLOBECOM Communications Annex #2, located in Perham, Maine . From 1955 to 1962, it was run by the 2192nd Communications Squadron , which operated from Loring AFB. One of Loring's major secondary missions included serving as

2507-682: The Allied Expeditionary Forces . Mobile stations, complete with personnel, broadcasting equipment and a record library, were deployed to broadcast music and news to troops in the field. The mobile stations reported on front-line activities and fed the news reports back to studio locations in London . Although the network's administrative headquarters remained in London , its operational headquarters soon moved to Paris . As Allied forces continued to push German troops back into their homeland, AFN moved east as well. The liberation of most of Western Europe saw AFN stations serving

2616-930: The American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei and the ROC government . Today, ICRT is the only English-language radio service in Taiwan. Then still known as the American Forces (or Armed Forces) Radio and Television Service, military bases and facilities throughout Puerto Rico received original radio programming from Army studios at Ft. Brooke in San Juan, Air Force studios at Ramey Air Force Base, and radio and television originating from Navy studios at Roosevelt Roads, in addition to local playback of stateside entertainment radio and television shows. This broadcast service

2725-505: The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The first transmission to U.S. troops began at 5:45 p.m. 4 July 1943, and included less than five hours of recorded shows, including a BBC News and sports broadcast. That day, T5 Syl Binkin became the first U.S. military broadcaster heard over the air. The signal was sent from London via telephone lines to five regional transmitters to reach U.S. troops in

2834-737: The Caribbean Forces Network at Fort Clayton with translators on the Atlantic side of the Canal Zone. In the early 1960s with reorganization of the command located in the Canal Zone, CFN became the Southern Command Network (SCN). SCN also broadcast to U.S. troops stationed in Honduras starting in 1987. SCN discontinued broadcasting on 1 July 1999 just before the 31 December turnover of the Canal Zone to

2943-654: The Cold War , new U.S. Air Force bases were constructed along the northern border of the continental U.S.; their most direct route to the Soviet Union was through the Arctic Circle . These sites were high-importance strategic bases for hosting long-range missiles and aircraft. In 1947, the New England Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers chose a site in northeastern Maine, within both

3052-671: The Defense Information School (DINFOS) at Fort George G. Meade in Maryland . Before 1997, DINFOS was located at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis , Indiana . In 1997, Fort Benjamin Harrison was largely closed as a function of the 1991 Base Closure and Realignment Commission . Additional/Advanced training is also available at Fort George G. Meade. In the 1960s, DINFOS was located at Fort Slocum, NY on

3161-575: The Limestone Township and Caswell Plantation . The remote site consisted mostly of dense forest, shallow marshes , and wild blueberry bogs, on a slight plateau over the town, which helped keep it above the fog most of the time. Only a small part of the base was suitable for farming, so there was little impact on Aroostook County 's agricultural community. Additionally, Loring was not far from sources of materials for runway, taxiway, and parking apron construction. The most important benefit of

3270-577: The North River Depot , the remote area to the northeast of Loring's property was the first U.S. operational site specifically constructed for the storage, assembly, and testing of atomic weapons. In 1951, the Department of Defense (DOD) allocated funds for the construction of an ordnance storage site at Loring AFB. The designs called for a self-sufficient "maximum security storage area for the most advanced weapons of mankind". The mission of

3379-592: The Republic of Panama when U.S. troops were removed from that country under the Torrijos-Carter Treaties . AFN Honduras , which began in 1987 as SCN Honduras, now broadcasts from Soto Cano Air Base on 106.3 FM, and serves more than 600 American service members stationed at the installation, as well as numerous civilian employees and contractors. The station's primary mission is radio, originating programming including two daily live shows following

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3488-502: The U.S. military provides to those stationed or assigned overseas, and is headquartered at Fort Meade in Maryland . AFN comprises two subordinate overseas commands and one directorate in the continental United States. Overseas, AFN Europe is headquartered at Sembach Kaserne in Germany and consists of 15 subordinate stations in the countries of Bahrain , Belgium , Cuba , Germany, Greece , Italy , Spain , and Turkey . AFN Pacific

3597-580: The U.S. national anthem : Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm Chief Master Sergeant Bob Woodruff Station Manager of the American Forces Radio and Television Service in Tehran . After 22 years of radio broadcasting and 17 years of telecasting in Tehran, AFRTS Radio 1555 and TV Channel 7 cease all operations in this country at this time. I bid you all goodbye and thank you for letting us serve you. And now

3706-632: The United Kingdom as they made preparations for the invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe . Fearing competition for civilian audiences, the BBC initially tried to impose restrictions on AFN broadcasts within Britain (transmissions were allowed only from American bases outside London and were limited to 50 watts of transmission power) and a minimum quota of British produced programming had to be carried. Nevertheless, AFN programs were widely enjoyed by

3815-616: The United States Department of Defense . It supplied news stories pertaining to the activities of the U.S. military around the world. The New York Times has described it as the Pentagon's "media branch" or "internal news service". AFPS was shuttered in a 2015 internal realignment of the Defense Media Activity and its reporting was merged with that of other DMA DOD-level production activities into

3924-408: The "Eagle" format. Personnel also occasionally produce video news packages. As of 15 January 2013, AFN Honduras is one of 18 stations under the operational control of AFN Europe. With the advent of satellite broadcasting , AFRTS has shifted its emphasis away from shortwave . Currently, the U.S. Navy provides the only shortwave single sideband shortwave AFN radio broadcasts via relay sites around

4033-860: The "State of Maine", was permanently stationed at Loring. In November 1956, the Air Force used the base for publicity. On 10 November, the Soviet Union threatened to oust British and French troops from the Middle East, days after the end of the Suez Crisis . After a response by president Dwight D. Eisenhower to the United Nations, a reporter with the Associated Press visited Castle Air Force Base in California after SAC

4142-650: The 42d Bombardment Wing from 1 April 1953 to 6 September 1956; the KC-97G Stratotanker, which was assigned from 15 February 1955 to 16 December 1957; the B-52C Stratofortress, which was assigned 16 June 1956 to January 1957; the |KC-135A Stratotanker, which was assigned from 16 October 1957 to 7 May 1990; the B-52G, which was assigned from January 1957 to 16 November 1993; and the KC-135R, which

4251-474: The 42nd OG, other components of the 42nd Bomb Wing were: Upon Loring's 1994 closure, the 42nd was moved to Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama, where it became the 42nd Air Base Wing . All other squadrons of the wing were inactivated and have remained inactive, except for the 69th, which was reactivated in 2009 at Minot Air Force Base . Loring AFB was named in 1954 for Major Charles J. Loring, Jr. , USAF,

4360-427: The 69th Bomb Squadron from Minot Air Force Base landed at Loring after some 30 years since the ceasation of B-52 operations from the base and to honor the 42nd Bomber Wing. The event on this occations was to celebrate not only the history of the 42nd Bomber Wing but a Loring Open House Event that was being held. The Nuclear Weapons Storage Area at Loring once operated as a separate, top secret facility. Originally called

4469-486: The 7 officers and 78 airmen of the Limestone Detachment arrived, as the tenant unit during construction. Two days later, an aircraft from Oklahoma arrived. On the 15th, limited operations began at Limestone, as Cold War tensions began to heat up. The next day, a B-36 Peacemaker arrived and later departed. 1 July brought the re-designation of the Limestone Detachment as the 4215th Base Service Squadron . After

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4578-730: The AFN branch in Taiwan was Armed Forces Network Taiwan (AFNT), which had a main station in Yangmingshan American Military Housing , Taipei . After the U.S. armed forces withdrew all its troops stationed in Taiwan (including the United States Taiwan Defense Command ) as Washington, D.C. , recognizes Beijing and broke ties with Taipei, the station was reorganized under the name of International Community Radio Taipei (ICRT) by

4687-721: The AFTN station, killing 9 Air Force broadcasters. Pilot Leaphart and Navigator Bernholz ejected from their battle damaged plane when it went out of control on final approach. Both crewmen were injured but survived. The incident was the single worst catastrophe in the history of military broadcasting killing: TSGT Jack A Hawley, Wakeman, OH; SSGT James A. Howard, Denver, CO; A1C Andrew C. McCartney, Lakewood, OH; SSGT Alfred N. Potter, Forest Grove, OR; SGT John Charles Rose, Bloomfield, NJ; TSGT Frank D. Ryan Jr., Mercer Island, WA; SSGT Edward W. Strain, Myrtle Beach, SC; TSGT Roy Walker, Albuquerque, NM and A1C Thomas L. Waterman, Roanoke, VA. AFTN became

4796-735: The American Forces Thailand Network in the summer of 1969, and continued operations until the spring of 1976 when the remaining U.S. troops in Thailand were withdrawn at the request of the Thai government. More than 600 broadcasters from the Air Force, Navy and Army had served during the ten years that AFTN operated. Before the United States and the People's Republic of China established diplomatic relations in 1979,

4905-488: The American installations located throughout Southwestern France. Children living in outlying American military installations and communities commuted to Poitiers once a week for daily classes and departed for home by bus and train. AFN France was dismantled in 1967, when U.S. forces left France due to the French government's decision of President (General) Charles de Gaulle to withdraw its forces from NATO 's military command. The French employees were dismissed but were granted

5014-409: The Armed Forces Korea Network, under his birthname of Jim Dooley, spending one year in Korea before attending the University of Pennsylvania to further his education. An AFRTS radio station became operational in Tehran , Iran in 1959. This was followed by a television station in 1960, known as AFTV. It broadcast a radio service on 1555 kHz and a television service on Channel 7 in Tehran and

5123-489: The Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS). AFN Bremerhaven was the first AFN television station in Europe to broadcast its programming in color. The U.S. European Edition of Stars and Stripes ( S&S ) reported in its Thursday, 21 August 1975, edition that the AFN-Europe Commander, Lt. Col. Floyd A. McBride, announced that AFN's first color TV broadcast would begin in Bremerhaven on Monday 25 August 1975. As S&S reported, because Bremerhaven's TV operation

5232-419: The Army Corps of Engineers managed the construction of these sites. The sites were manned by men from the 3rd Missile Battalion, 61st Air Defense Artillery Regiment , and provided defense for Loring and the northeastern approaches to the United States. In 1960, sites L-13 and L-58 underwent conversion from Ajax missiles to the MIM-14 Nike-Hercules missiles. These sites remained operational until 1966, although

5341-430: The British civilian listeners who could receive them, and once AFN operations transferred to continental Europe (shortly after D-Day ) AFN was able to broadcast with little restriction with programs available to civilian audiences across most of Europe , (including Britain), after dark. As D-Day approached, the network joined with the BBC and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to develop programs especially for

5450-407: The Continental United States to and from Europe. Loring had 63 permanent aircraft assigned, and air traffic was significantly increased. As the Cold War progressed, so did the need for new aircraft and techniques. The first KC-97 Stratofreighter arrived at Loring with the activation of the 42d Air Refueling Squadron in January 1955. The B-36s were not actually equipped to perform aerial refueling, so

5559-406: The Korean War broke out, the decision was made to increase the squadron's size to 28 officers, 340 airmen, and 20 civilians. August brought the first permanently assigned aircraft, a C-47 Skytrain , and more aircraft using the base as a stopover between the States and Europe. The war brought increased funding to Limestone in 1951. Eight additional hangars were constructed at the southwestern end of

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5668-414: The SAC bomber force went to full alert status. SAC's overall goal was achieved in 1960. On 11 March 1958, base personnel were the first members of the Air Force to land a B-52 in a wheels-up configuration at Westover AFB near Springfield, Massachusetts . After being lifted up and onto its wheels, the plane was flown to Kelly AFB at San Antonio, Texas , for a complete overhaul and inspection, before it

5777-426: The West. Also, unlike stations such as Radio Free Europe , which broadcast in Eastern European languages, AFN was not jammed by the Soviets. Especially popular was Music in the Air , which aired on the full European network at 19:00 CET. The host was AFN Frankfurt (civilian) manager John Vrotsos, who had an especially warm baritone voice. He began each program by saying (after an introductory piano phrase from

5886-419: The ability to deploy at any time to support both SAC, and later, ACC missions. It was operational at Loring from 1953 to 1994. The 42nd Operations Group (OG) formerly supported national security objectives, as directed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, utilizing B-52 and KC-135 aircraft. Operational squadrons during the time of its operation at Loring included: All B-52s carried the "LZ" Tailcode. In addition to

5995-772: The adjacent Loring Air Force Base. To provide air defense of the base, four United States Army Nike-Hercules surface-to-air missile sites were constructed during 1956. Sites were located near Caribou (L-58) 46°53′02″N 068°00′32″W  /  46.88389°N 68.00889°W  / 46.88389; -68.00889 ; Caswell (L-13) 47°01′42″N 067°48′35″W  /  47.02833°N 67.80972°W  / 47.02833; -67.80972 ; Connor Twp. (L-85) 47°00′29″N 068°01′06″W  /  47.00806°N 68.01833°W  / 47.00806; -68.01833 , and Limestone (L-31) 46°55′04″N 067°47′32″W  /  46.91778°N 67.79222°W  / 46.91778; -67.79222 Maine. The New England Division of

6104-501: The air until the Fall of Saigon in April 1975. It was to play Bing Crosby 's version of Irving Berlin 's " White Christmas " as a signal for Americans that the final evacuation of Saigon had begun. The Crosby version of the record could not be found so Tennessee Ernie Ford 's record from 1968 was played. In Thailand , the Department of Defense began the planning for the Armed Forces Thailand Network in 1964 with Project Lamplighter and Project Limelight. By late 1966, implementation of

6213-453: The audition became "Broadcast Specialists" with a 703 MOS and went on to an AFRTS assignment. Some of AFN's broadcasters have previous commercial broadcasting experience before enlisting in the military, but it is not a prerequisite for enlistment in the military as a broadcaster. During their training, the broadcasters are taught to use state-of-the-art audio and visual editing equipment similar to their civilian counterparts. AFN management

6322-406: The base was assigned: Major units which were assigned to Loring: Loring AFB was carved out of the woods of Maine beginning in the late forties and officially dedicated in 1953, named after Charles J. Loring, Jr., who was killed in the Korean War. The closest Air Force base on the east coast to Europe, it was originally built with a capacity of 100 B-36 Peacemaker bombers and equipped with

6431-490: The base, including the 250-by-600-foot (80 by 180 m) double cantilever hangar, one of the first built by the Air Force in response to a demand for more efficient maintenance space. It could house five B-36 Peacemakers and six B-52 Stratofortresses, and nine planned concrete arch hangars were no longer needed. The runway was resurfaced in 1955 in anticipation of the arrival of the B-52 Stratofortress in 1956. Eighteen additional "nose-dock" hangars (hangars which could contain

6540-421: The change to DoD News Channel, most of the non-news programming was either dropped or de-emphasized. In April 2006, the Pentagon Channel launched its podcasting initiative, having offered up to 27 podcasts via the iTunes Store and its website. The American Forces Press Service ( AFPS ) was the news service provided by the Defense Media Activity (formerly the American Forces Information Service ), part of

6649-453: The country. As the U.S. military presence in South Vietnam increased, AFRTS opened radio and later television stations there. AFRTS stations in Vietnam were initially known by the name "AFRS" (Armed Forces Radio Saigon), but as the number of stations quickly expanded throughout South Vietnam became known as "AFVN" (American Forces Vietnam Network) and had several stations, including Qui Nhơn , Nha Trang , Pleiku , Da Nang and Huế ,

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6758-525: The crew moved to a mobile unit that was just completed and retreated to Daegu . Due to the large number of American troops in Korea, a number of stations were started. Mobile units followed combat units to provide news and entertainment on the radio. By the time the 1953 armistice was signed, these mobile units became buildings with transmitters, and a network, American Forces Korea Network, was born. Canadian and American television personality Jim Perry began his broadcasting career fresh out of high school with

6867-410: The facility would be the protection and maintenance of the weapons used by SAC. The facility was in the northeast corner of the base, and construction began on 4 August 1951. In addition to 28 storage igloos and other weapons storage structures, the facility included weapons maintenance buildings, barracks, recreational facilities, a warehouse, and offices. A parallel series of four fences, one of which

6976-513: The first few months, the wing was not assigned any aircraft, and thus worked with other units who were in possession of the B-36 Peacemaker. In March and April, the base began preparing for operations of the B-36, which arrived later in April. This gave the newly activated 69th Bombardment Squadron a full complement of aircraft. By the end of August, the number had increased to 27 bombers, 322 officers, 313 airmen, and 350 civilians. Additionally, more buildings were constructed on base, making it more of

7085-433: The flight time could have been reduced by 5 to 6 hours if the four inflight refuelings had been done by fast jet-powered tanker aircraft rather than propeller-driven KC-97 Stratofreighters. After the flight ended, the planes landed at Friendship International Airport . The operation distracted public attention from the reporter's story. The base was also the location of an experimental system of steam pipes in 1957, to test

7194-401: The forces liberating Biarritz , Cannes , Le Havre , Marseille , Nice , Paris and Reims . During the period between 1943 and 1949 the AFN also broadcast programs developed through a collaboration of the Department of State 's Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs and the CBS network while supporting America's cultural diplomacy initiatives. Included among the programs

7303-406: The headquarters for the 45th Air Division from 8 October 1954 to 18 January 1958, and on 20 November 1958. Loring's host wing was the 42d Bombardment Wing except for a small portion of its early existence. Loring was primarily home to active duty units, although this changed in the 1980s, when the Massachusetts Air National Guard 's 101st Fighter Squadron sent a detachment to Loring. As the base

7412-442: The height of American involvement in the war, Armed Forces Vietnam Network served more than 500,000 fighting men and women at one time. AFVN developed a program along the lines of " GI Jive " from World War II. A number of local disc jockeys helped make hourlong music programs for broadcast. Perhaps the best-known program became the morning "Dawn Buster" program, (the brainchild of Chief Petty Officer Bryant Arbuckle in 1962) thanks to

7521-440: The latter being overrun by the People's Army of Vietnam during the Battle of Hue in January/February 1968 and replaced by a station in Quảng Trị . AFVN's headquarters station was located in Saigon . In Vietnam, AFVN had a number of war-related casualties. After a fierce fire fight that killed two soldiers and a civilian contractor, the remaining AFVN station staff at Huế was captured and spent five years as prisoners of war. At

7630-510: The nation. The base was closed in September 1994 after over 40 years of service. It was redeveloped by the Loring Development Authority as the Loring Commerce Centre , an industrial and aviation park; the airfield is operated as Loring International Airport . For the majority of its operational lifetime, Loring was a heavy bomber , aerial refueling , and interception facility for military aircraft, equipment, and supplies first as part of Strategic Air Command (SAC) (1947–1992), then as part of

7739-405: The national anthem of the United States of America." The following day, AFRTS radio and television services in Iran were replaced by those operated by the state broadcaster National Iranian Radio and Television (NIRT), which were similar in content, appealing to the 60 000 U.S. Army and civilian personnel then stationed in Iran, as well as the wider population of foreign nationals resident in

7848-500: The network began by the U.S. Air Force with stations on the air at Korat , U-Tapao , Ubon , Udorn , Takhli and Nahkon Phanom . In addition, there were more than 20 satellite stations that rebroadcast one or more of the primary stations, and that included one or more clandestine locations in Laos . In April 1970, a battle-damaged RF-4C Phantom II #65-0863 returning to Udorn from a reconnaissance mission in northwest Laos, crashed into

7957-436: The nose and wings of the aircraft, allowing for maintenance to the cockpit area by the crew, without the need to use the larger hangars) were built in 1956 to the northwest of the runway, near the main parking area, along with parking areas and taxiways for these hangars. On 8 February 1953, Curtis E. Lemay , Commander of SAC, visited the base to review the construction's progress. During this visit, he indicated that Limestone

8066-456: The planes supported other units until the arrival of the B-52 in 1956. Eventually, 21 tankers were based at Loring, along with 30 air crews. By 1955, the base consisted of the 42d , 69th, 70th , and the 75th Bombardment Squadrons . A hospital became operational. The next January, a B-52 landed at the airfield as part of a cold weather testing program. Five months later, the first Stratofortress,

8175-476: The popularity of the sign-on slogan "Gooooood Morning, Vietnam" (which was initiated by Adrian Cronauer and later became the basis for the film Good Morning, Vietnam starring Robin Williams ). Among the notable people who were AFVN disc jockeys were Don L. "Scotty" Brink, Lee Hansen , Les Coleman and Pat Sajak , Chris Noel , John Allgood, Joe Huser, and Dennis Woytek. Army Spec. 5 Robert Morecook announced

8284-471: The program's theme music) "Listen ... [pause for more piano] ... there's music in the air". The theme was "Music Everywhere" in an arrangement by Victor Young . Later in the 1950s, Leroy Anderson 's Belle of the ball was used. The program was popular throughout Northern Europe , especially in the liberated countries such as the Netherlands , Belgium , France (the northern part), Luxembourg and, to

8393-489: The radio service operated for around 18 hours a day. In deference to Iranian sensitivities, AFRTS avoided carrying programming that might be construed as offensive on political or religious grounds, instead carrying cowboy or detective movies. Following the nationalization of the privately owned Television Iran network in 1969, AFTV was the only television service not in the Iranian government's hands. However, in 1976, it

8502-414: The runway, as well as a 2,100-foot (640 m) addition to the northern end of the runway. The Department of Defense allocated funds for the North River Depot , a weapons storage facility to the northwest of the base. It later became Caribou Air Force Station and was absorbed into the facility in the 1960s. The end of the year brought the completion of a communications facility, a hospital, three barracks,

8611-428: The sentence "Good morning! This is AFN Munich, the voice of the 7th Army!". General George S. Patton , commander of the 3rd Army, was furious with the opening as his army had taken control over Munich the previous night, and demanded that the responsible person be court-martialed . Soon after AFN Munich signed on the air in the southern part of occupied Germany , in northern Germany , AFN Bremen begin broadcasting

8720-546: The site was that it was a few hundred miles closer than any other base to potential targets in Europe. On 15 April 1947, construction commenced on Limestone Army Air Field, the first Strategic Air Command base designed and built to host high-speed aircraft, including the new B-36 Peacemaker. Original plans for Limestone called for two parallel north−south runways, a 12,000-foot (3,660 m) east−west runway, and accommodations for over 100 aircraft. The multimillion-dollar project

8829-545: The station's transmission tower was in the glide path to the airfield and was not jammed by the Soviets . During the 1950s and 1960s, AFN had large civilian audiences in Europe , as European radio stations rarely played American music. In Communist countries, all radio stations were state-operated, and never played American music. Despite the language barrier, the people in those countries saw AFN as an alternative connection to

8938-637: The studio control station. The network broadcast music, shows, and news relayed from AFN Frankfurt, locally produced shows, and other features aimed at the American soldiers and their families stationed in France. In particular, a whole team of reporters and technicians was sent to cover the 24-hour auto race at Le Mans , at a time when Ford was doing its best to beat the Ferraris, and finally succeeded. AFN France broadcast with 50 watt FM transmitters made by French manufacturer TRT, type OZ 305. The network employed

9047-591: The succeeding Air Combat Command (ACC) (1992–1994). Loring was planned in 1947 as Limestone Army Air Field and was designed with a capacity of over 100 B-36 Peacemaker strategic bombers. This plan was only partially completed due to budget constraints. Loring later became one of the largest air bases of SAC. After the B-36 was phased out, the B-52 Stratofortress was based at Loring, first with D models, then with B-52Gs. The Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter

9156-561: The surrounding area from its studios in the city. Its listeners (and viewers) were American military personnel stationed in Iran as part of ARMISH (the US Army mission) and Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) programs. AFTV was also popular with Iranian viewers, particularly children. As the TV service only had a power of 1000 watts, it was only on air for a few hours each day, whereas

9265-642: The time were under American control. The station was used as a counterpoint to Radio Tokyo and ultimately became a model for the army network following the invasion of Pearl Harbor in late 1941. The first radio station began in Delta Junction, Alaska , on what was then known as Fort Greely . It was called KODK and was operated by on base personnel. In the years just before World War II , there were several radio stations based in American military bases , but none were officially recognized until 1942. The success of these individual radio stations helped pave

9374-699: The upcoming end of the Vietnam War on AFVN-TV news in February, 1973, which followed 30 days later. Army Spec 4 Tom Fowlston was first to announce the war end on radio news. Harry Simons hosted the GO Show at both AFVN Saigon and Danang in 1968 and 1969. Simons along with broadcaster Mike Bates created and produced a 10-hour radio documentary ( AFVN: The GI's Companion ) as a tribute to AFVN and to honor all Vietnam Veterans. It aired and streamed on Veterans Day 2015 on WEBY Radio in Pensacola, Florida. The documentary

9483-525: The viability of using steam to melt the snow on the runways. Pipes were spaced at different intervals in the experiment. That same year, the first KC-135 Stratotanker, christened the "Aroostook Queen", arrived at Loring. By December, all of the KC-97s had left, and by April 1958, 20 KC-135s had arrived, allowing the 42nd Air Refueling Squadron to reach full operational capacity in May. Later that year, an alert force

9592-557: The war was over. Of the 300 stations in operation worldwide in 1945, only 60 remained in 1949. A large number of AFN stations continued broadcasting from American bases in Europe (particularly Germany ) after World War II . (Eight remain on the air today. See article on German Misplaced Pages .) During the Berlin Blockade of 1948–1949, planes headed for Tempelhof in West Berlin tuned their radios to AFN- Berlin because

9701-619: The way for the AFN. As such, there was no single station that could be called the "first" to sign on as an AFN station. About two months before the formal establishment of AFN, however, a station called "PCAN" began regular broadcast information service in the Panama Canal Zone , primarily for troops on jungle bivouac . The station, located at Fort Clayton , was later to become part of AFRS, first simply as "Armed Forces Network" located at Albrook Field . The original AFN - present day AFN Europe - began broadcasting from London during World War II , using equipment and studio facilities borrowed from

9810-536: The work of the United States military, and Military Lifestyle programming. As The Pentagon Channel , the channel carried: The Pentagon Channel also showed programming direct from the services such as, Freedom Journal Iraq , Freedom Watch Afghanistan , Army Newswatch , AFN Korea Nightly News , AFN Europe Report , Pacific Report , Eye on Nellis , The American Veteran , Air Force Space Today , In Step with Fort Riley and On Track with Ft. Hood , as well as live Department of Defense briefings and roundtables. With

9919-710: The world to provide service to ships, including Diego Garcia , Guam , Naval Air Station Sigonella in Italy, Puerto Rico , Hawaii and others. The American Forces Network (AFN) is the operational arm of the American Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS), an office of the Defense Media Activity (DMA). AFN falls under the operational control of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs (OASD-PA). Editorial control

10028-410: Was Viva America which showcased leading musical talents from both North and South America and was transmitted for the benefit of armed forces throughout Europe and to South America over CBS's short wave network "La Cadena de Las Americas". On 10 July 1945, the first AFN station in occupied Germany started broadcasting: AFN Munich . Its first broadcast was however incorrect as it began with

10137-525: Was alerted to support whatever action the U.S. might take. The reporter was unable to find classified information, and instead invented maintenance records of the fleet that painted a dismal picture. On 24 and 25 November, four B-52s of the 93rd Bombardment Wing and the 42nd flew nonstop around the perimeter of North America in Operation Quick Kick , which covered 15,530 mi (13,500 nmi; 24,990 km) in 31 hours, 30 minutes. SAC noted

10246-529: Was also based there for a number of years, until it was replaced by the KC-135A Stratotanker . Loring was home to many facilities that were a part of the base, or were nearby. Caribou Air Force Station was the weapons storage area that operated separately from Loring until it was absorbed in 1961. Caswell Air Force Station operated to the east, but had a unit associated with Loring before it became fully operational. On-base facilities included

10355-498: Was assigned from 1990 to March 1994. Fighter aircraft were also assigned to the base during its operation. The F-102 Delta Dagger , which was assigned to the 27th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron , was located on base from 1957 to 1960 while the F-106 Delta Dart was assigned from 16 October 1959 to 1 July 1971, and to the 83d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron from July 1971 to June 1972. On July 31st, 2024 B-52 60-0012 from

10464-451: Was co-located next to Caribou Air Force Station . Loring was home to a civilian population, many of whom were employed alongside active duty service members. The base included many amenities, such as a hospital, school, and ski hill, which facilitated the adjustment to Maine life by the civilians. The 1991 Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended that Loring be closed and its aircraft and mission be distributed to other bases in

10573-732: Was created at Loring, consisting of six B-52s. The following year, in response to a conflict in Lebanon , the entire wing was placed on alert. An Alert Force was established at Loring AFB in October 1957. The wing began supporting the force with six B-52s in January 1958. In response to a conflict in Lebanon, the Alert Force was expanded to include the entire bombardment wing in July 1958, when

10682-475: Was decided by the Iranian government that AFRTS should close down its radio and TV services, which it did on 25 October of that year, the day before the Shah 's 57th birthday. Radio 1555 closed with presenter Air Force Staff Sergeant Barry Cantor playing Roger Whittaker 's " Durham Town (The Leavin') ". This was followed by a closing announcement by Chief Master Sergeant and Station Manager Bob Woodruff, ending with

10791-480: Was electrified, surrounded the heart of the storage area. This area was nicknamed the "Q" Area, which denoted the Department of Energy's Q clearance required to have access to Restricted Data. In June 1962, the Atomic Energy Commission released its custody and ownership of the weapons to the Air Force. The personnel and property of the later named Caribou Air Force Station were absorbed into

10900-476: Was first in all of SAC in fuel storage capacity (9,193,374 gallons). Fuel was delivered to the base via a 200-mile pipeline to Searsport, Maine . Ramp space at Loring exceeded 1.1 million square yards, which made it second among all SAC bases in total ramp space, and first in excess ramp space. Furthermore, it was one of two fully capable conventional weapons storage facilities in CONUS maintained by SAC. During

11009-579: Was first introduced in 1954 with a pilot station at Limestone Air Force Base , Maine . In 1954, the television mission of AFRS was officially recognized and AFRS (Armed Forces Radio Service) became AFRTS (Armed Forces Radio and Television Service). All the Armed Forces broadcasting affiliates worldwide merged under the AFN banner on 1 January 1998. On 21 November 2000, the American Forces Information Service directed

11118-836: Was known as AFCN, the American Forces Caribbean Network in the 1970s (later as the Armed Forces Caribbean Network) served military bases and facilities throughout Puerto Rico from transmitters in San Juan (Fort Brooke, Fort Buchanan), Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, and Ramey Air Force Base. Each of these bases also had their own television transmitters or cable systems that played back stateside TV programming delivered to each location in weekly "packages" of 16mm film, kinescope recordings, video tape, and satellite news programming feeds. AFCN Roosevelt Roads also produced live radio programming featuring Navy Journalist/Broadcaster disc jockeys in

11227-466: Was not built to the specifications of the original Army Corps of Engineers plan, and only one north−south runway was constructed. On 23 May, a $ 17 million contract was awarded to two companies to complete the first phase of construction. This included the north−south runway, a parallel taxiway (Taxiway J), a parking apron, the Arch Hangar , a base operations building, a control tower, a power plant,

11336-500: Was one of the largest bases of the U.S. Air Force's Strategic Air Command during its existence, and was transferred to the newly created Air Combat Command in 1992. The base's origins began in 1947 with an order for construction of an airfield by the New England Division of the United States Army Corps of Engineers . The chosen site, in northeastern Maine within both Limestone Township and Caswell Plantation ,

11445-467: Was operationally ready. Later that month, command capabilities were formally transferred to SAC, ending an almost six-year command by the Army Corps of Engineers. Furthermore, personnel of the 4215th Base Service Squadron were reassigned to the 42d Bombardment Wing, which was reactivated and assigned to the 8th Air Force . On 23 February, Limestone Air Force Base officially became operational. During

11554-554: Was returned to the 42nd. Loring was also home to an administrations support base of a Green Pine communications crew from Naval Station Argentia . The detachment did not officially exist on the base, although it was located on the top floor of the Bachelors Officers Quarters and consisted of six men. Various aircraft were assigned to the base, including the B-36 Peacemaker, which was assigned to

11663-485: Was so small, only a "Class C" operation, and, at the time, served only one area with TV programming, it was easy to establish the color TV broadcast operation without extensive expense or expansion. Loring Air Force Base Loring Air Force Base ( IATA : LIZ , ICAO : KLIZ ) was a United States Air Force installation in northeastern Maine , near Limestone and Caribou in Aroostook County . It

11772-604: Was the closest in the US to Europe, it also functioned as an important stopover point. The 1991 Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended closure of Loring AFB, and it was closed in September 1994. It was later reopened as the Loring Commerce Centre . The 42nd Bomb Wing was the host unit at Loring AFB from 1953 until 1994, supporting national security objectives with mission-ready B-52G Stratofortresses, and KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft. The wing had

11881-406: Was the closest point in the continental U.S. to Europe, providing high strategic value during the Cold War . The base was originally named Limestone Army Air Field , and was renamed Limestone Air Force Base following the establishment of the Air Force in 1947. It was named in 1954 for Major Charles J. Loring, Jr. , USAF, a Medal of Honor recipient during the Korean War . From 1951 to 1962, it

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