126-647: Toul-Rosières Air Base ( French : Base aérienne 136 Toul-Rosières ) is a former United States Air Force and French Air Force installation near Rosières-en-Haye , eastern France. The base was closed in 2004 and is now the site of the Toul-Rosières Solar Park . An aerodrome was operational on the site from 1916. In late April 1918, the 462d Aero Squadron helped build the 2nd Day Bombardment Group airdrome at Rosières-en-Haye, consisting of 27 French barracks, 14 Nissen huts and 15 Bessonneau hangars . A force of 200 Moroccan laborers helped level
252-590: A 39th TEWS Navigator/Bombardier stepped in as additional duty Public Information Officer and initial Wing Historian to record events and prepare Col Clifford's Dec Arrival. A few PIO personnel from Bitburg were assigned to the Information office from 36th TFW Information Office. Upon activation in Germany, the 52 TFW assumed control of the two squadrons the 36 TFW had located at Spangdahlem: During warm seasons in 1970 and 1971 operations shifted back to Bitburg while
378-744: A French official to teachers in the department of Finistère , in western Brittany, included the following: "And remember, Gents: you were given your position in order to kill the Breton language". The prefect of Basses-Pyrénées in the French Basque Country wrote in 1846: "Our schools in the Basque Country are particularly meant to replace the Basque language with French..." Students were taught that their ancestral languages were inferior and they should be ashamed of them; this process
504-431: A comprehensive academic study entitled "The World's 10 most influential languages". In the article, Weber ranked French as, after English, the second-most influential language of the world, ahead of Spanish. His criteria were the numbers of native speakers, the number of secondary speakers (especially high for French among fellow world languages), the number of countries using the language and their respective populations,
630-726: A few C-47s and L-20As for support. As the work on TRAB was not completed, on their arrival in Europe, the squadrons were temporarily based in West Germany: the 780th was at Rhein-Main Air Base , the 781st at Wiesbaden Air Base and the 782nd at Neubiberg Air Base. They finally settled in TRAB in April-May 1954. The 465th TCW left TRAB for good on 23 May 1955 to take up residence at Evreux-Fauville Air Base . The 7430th Air Base Squadron
756-555: A foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050. French is the fastest growing language on the continent (in terms of either official or foreign languages). French is increasingly being spoken as a native language in Francophone Africa, especially in regions like Ivory Coast , Cameroon , Gabon, Madagascar , and
882-512: A new USAFE wing, the new Wing Commander was to be the first black USAFE Wing CO Col Thomas E Clifford who had been 35th TFW DCO at Da Nang AB Viet Nam. The old 49th Wing HQ mostly vacant while 7149th inactive era was assigned a few personnel to begin the transition in October 1971. Recent promoted Col John J (Jack), Gaudion, former 23 TFS Sqdn CO became Base Commander designate and Captain Don I Phillips
1008-705: A period of prosperity and prominence among European nations. Richelieu established the Académie française to protect the French language. By the early 1800s, Parisian French had become the primary language of the aristocracy in France. Near the beginning of the 19th century, the French government began to pursue policies with the end goal of eradicating the many minorities and regional languages ( patois ) spoken in France. This began in 1794 with Henri Grégoire 's "Report on
1134-494: A relic of the old nominal case system of Latin longer than most other Romance languages (with the notable exception of Romanian which still currently maintains a case distinction), differentiating between an oblique case and a nominative case. The phonology was characterized by heavy syllabic stress, which led to the emergence of various complicated diphthongs such as -eau which would later be leveled to monophthongs. The earliest evidence of what became Old French can be seen in
1260-749: A result of the drawdown of F-16s, the 22d and 23d Fighter Squadrons were inactivated on 13 August 2010 and formed a single "new" squadron, the 480th Fighter Squadron . In February 2012, it was announced that the 81st Fighter Squadron would be inactivated in 2013, leaving the 52d Fighter Wing with just one squadron. In February 2015, the 354th Fighter Squadron was deployed from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base to Spangdahlem in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve with twelve A-10Cs and approximately 300 airmen. The unit will train alongside NATO allies and deploy to locations in Eastern European NATO nations to further enhance interoperability. The A-10s were
1386-587: A second language. French is the second most taught foreign language in the EU. All institutions of the EU use French as a working language along with English and German ; in some institutions, French is the sole working language (e.g. at the Court of Justice of the European Union ). French is also the 16th most natively spoken language in the world, the sixth most spoken language by total number of speakers , and
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#17327869586611512-526: A second language. However it has also become a native language in a number of urban areas, especially in regions like Ivory Coast , Cameroon , Gabon, Madagascar , and the Democratic Republic of the Congo . In some North African countries, though not having official status, it is also a first language among some upper classes of the population alongside indigenous languages, but only
1638-888: A second one among the general population. In 2015, approximately 40% of the Francophone population (including L2 and partial speakers) lived in Europe, 36% in sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas, and 1% in Asia and Oceania. French is the second most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union . Of Europeans who speak other languages natively, approximately one-fifth are able to speak French as
1764-547: A variant of Canadian French , is spoken in parts of New England . Missouri French was historically spoken in Missouri and Illinois (formerly known as Upper Louisiana ), but is nearly extinct today. French also survived in isolated pockets along the Gulf Coast of what was previously French Lower Louisiana , such as Mon Louis Island , Alabama and DeLisle, Mississippi (the latter only being discovered by linguists in
1890-437: Is 95%, and in the French collectivity of Wallis and Futuna , it is 84%. In French Polynesia and to a lesser extent Wallis and Futuna, where oral and written knowledge of the French language has become almost universal (95% and 84% respectively), French increasingly tends to displace the native Polynesian languages as the language most spoken at home. In French Polynesia, the percentage of the population who reported that French
2016-779: Is a Romance language of the Indo-European family . Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire . French evolved from Gallo-Romance , the Latin spoken in Gaul , and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues d'oïl —languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, which French ( Francien ) largely supplanted. French
2142-472: Is a widespread second language among the Lebanese people , and is taught in many schools along with Arabic and English. French is used on Lebanese pound banknotes, on road signs, on Lebanese license plates , and on official buildings (alongside Arabic). Today, French and English are secondary languages of Lebanon , with about 40% of the population being Francophone and 40% Anglophone. The use of English
2268-489: Is also a working language in nonprofit organisations such as the Red Cross (alongside English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and Russian), Amnesty International (alongside 32 other languages of which English is the most used, followed by Spanish, Portuguese, German, and Italian), Médecins sans Frontières (used alongside English, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic), and Médecins du Monde (used alongside English). Given
2394-430: Is among the top five most studied languages worldwide, with about 120 million learners as of 2017. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 16th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, and Asia. French has a long history as an international language of literature and scientific standards and is a primary or second language of many international organisations including
2520-462: Is an official language in 27 countries , as well as one of the most geographically widespread languages in the world, with about 50 countries and territories having it as a de jure or de facto official, administrative, or cultural language. Most of these countries are members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), the community of 54 member states which share
2646-652: Is enacted only in New Brunswick, where about one third of the population is Francophone. French is also an official language of all of the territories ( Northwest Territories , Nunavut , and Yukon ). Out of the three, Yukon has the most French speakers, making up just under 4% of the population. Furthermore, while French is not an official language in Ontario , the French Language Services Act ensures that provincial services are available in
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#17327869586612772-503: Is growing in the business and media environment. Out of about 900,000 students, about 500,000 are enrolled in Francophone schools, public or private, in which the teaching of mathematics and scientific subjects is provided in French. Actual usage of French varies depending on the region and social status. One-third of high school students educated in French go on to pursue higher education in English-speaking institutions. English
2898-404: Is known as Old French. The period of Old French spanned between the 8th and 14th centuries. Old French shared many characteristics with Latin. For example, Old French made use of different possible word orders just as Latin did because it had a case system that retained the difference between nominative subjects and oblique non-subjects . The period is marked by a heavy superstrate influence from
3024-469: Is often considered to be a useful skill by business owners in the United Kingdom; a 2014 study found that 50% of British managers considered French to be a valuable asset for their business, thus ranking French as the most sought-after foreign language there, ahead of German (49%) and Spanish (44%). MIT economist Albert Saiz calculated a 2.3% premium for those who have French as a foreign language in
3150-828: Is one of the official languages of such major international and regional courts, tribunals, and dispute-settlement bodies as the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights , the Caribbean Court of Justice , the Court of Justice for the Economic Community of West African States , the Inter-American Court of Human Rights , the International Court of Justice , the International Criminal Tribunal for
3276-576: Is taught in universities around the world, and is one of the world's most influential languages because of its wide use in the worlds of journalism, jurisprudence , education, and diplomacy. In diplomacy, French is one of the six official languages of the United Nations (and one of the UN Secretariat 's only two working languages ), one of twenty official and three procedural languages of the European Union , an official language of NATO ,
3402-553: Is the language of business and communication, with French being an element of social distinction, chosen for its emotional value. French is an official language of the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu , where 31% of the population was estimated to speak it in 2023. In the French special collectivity of New Caledonia , 97% of the population can speak, read and write French while in French Polynesia this figure
3528-483: Is the native language of about 23% of the Swiss population, and is spoken by 50% of the population. Along with Luxembourgish and German, French is one of the three official languages of Luxembourg , where it is generally the preferred language of business as well as of the different public administrations. It is also the official language of Monaco . At a regional level, French is acknowledged as an official language in
3654-492: Is the second-most spoken language (after English) in the states of Maine and New Hampshire . In Louisiana , it is tied with Spanish for second-most spoken if Louisiana French and all creoles such as Haitian are included. French is the third most spoken language (after English and Spanish) in the states of Connecticut , Rhode Island , and New Hampshire . Louisiana is home to many distinct French dialects, collectively known as Louisiana French . New England French , essentially
3780-424: Is the sole official language in the province of Quebec , where some 80% of the population speak it as a native language and 95% are capable of conducting a conversation in it. Quebec is also home to the city of Montreal , which is the world's fourth-largest French-speaking city, by number of first language speakers. New Brunswick and Manitoba are the only officially bilingual provinces, though full bilingualism
3906-506: The 131st Tactical Fighter Wing was deployed to TRAB to become the 7131st Tactical Fighter Wing (Provisional). It consisted of the 110th TFS from Lambert Field , Missouri, 169th TFS from Peoria Municipal Airport , Illinois and 170th TFS from Capitol Airport in Springfield, Illinois. Only the 131st TFS was deployed to TRAB, supplemented by two other squadrons of other Wings. The 7131st TFW left Toul on 19 July 1962. On 1 July 1965,
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4032-502: The 1st and 19th TRS joined those of the other two squadrons in the rotations that lasted until October 1965 and the activation of the 25th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing (to which the 19th TRS was attached) at Chambley AB and the 26th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at TRAB. On the night of 12 to 13 August 1961, East Germany began construction of the Berlin Wall . In response, NATO built up its forces in Europe. On 1 October 1961,
4158-399: The 1st Fighter Wing at Langley AFB , Virginia (USA) , or to the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath , United Kingdom . In April 2010, the wing's strength was reduced by one third. 20 F-16Cs were flown to the 148th Fighter Wing , Minnesota Air National Guard and one F-16 was transferred to Edwards Air Force Base , California . All aircraft were from the 22nd Fighter Squadron. As
4284-412: The 389th Fighter-Bomber Squadron of the 366th FBW, was killed in the crash of his F-86H while landing in bad weather. The 50th Fighter-Bomber Wing left Hahn Air Base on 17 July 1956 to relocate to TRAB. The 10th , 81st and 417th Fighter-Bomber Squadrons that made up the 50th FBW were equipped with 74 F-86H Sabres supplemented by C-47, L-20A and T-33A support aircraft. The 50th FBW's main mission
4410-651: The 49th Tactical Fighter Wing moved to Spangdahlem AB from the Etain-Rouvres Air Base, France , and assumed host unit duties. In 1957, the French Government decreed that all nuclear weapons and delivery aircraft had to be removed from French soil. As a result, the nuclear-capable North American F-100C/D Super Sabres of the 49th TFW had to be removed from France. Squadrons of the 49th TFW at Spangdahlem were (squadron tail colour stripe): The 49th TFW flew F-100s until 1961 when it converted to
4536-517: The 52d Air Expeditionary Wing , operating out of Powidz AB, Krzesiny AB, and Poznan, Poland . During the second quarter of FY 99, the 52nd witnessed the inactivation of the 53rd Fighter Squadron. The 53d had called Spangdahlem Air Base home since February 1994 when the squadron moved from Bitburg Air Base . As the squadron prepared for its inactivation in March 1999, all of the F-15s were transferred to
4662-439: The 701st Munitions Support Squadron, Kleine Brogel AB , Belgium; 702nd Munitions Support Squadron, Büchel AB , Germany; 703nd Munitions Support Squadron, Volkel AB , Netherlands; and 704th Munitions Support Squadron, Ghedi AB , Italy. Each squadron is responsible for the ownership, custody, accountability and release of war reserve munitions. Air Mobility Command (AMC) supports cargo and passenger traffic at Spangdahlem. With
4788-579: The 92nd Air Refueling Wing , based at Fairchild Air Force Base , as well as six EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft of the US Navy 's Electronic Attack Squadron 134 (VAQ-134), based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island . On the airfield it is a part of the major maneuver from June 12 to June 23, 2023, held under the leadership of the German Air Force Air Defender 23 it is the greatest exercise of air forces since NATO
4914-764: The Aosta Valley region of Italy where it is the first language of approximately 50% of the population, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands . It is also spoken in Andorra and is the main language after Catalan in El Pas de la Casa . The language is taught as the primary second language in the German state of Saarland , with French being taught from pre-school and over 43% of citizens being able to speak French. The majority of
5040-462: The Aosta Valley region of Italy; and various communities elsewhere. French is estimated to have about 310 million speakers, of which about 80 million are native speakers. According to the OIF, approximately 321 million people worldwide are "able to speak the language" as of 2022, without specifying the criteria for this estimation or whom it encompasses. In Francophone Africa, it is spoken mainly as
5166-769: The Biden administration reviewed the previous administration's proposals. It was confirmed in December 2021 as part of the Department of Defense's Global Posture Review that the planned move of F-16s had been cancelled. In the wake of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , twelve F-35A Lightning II fighter of the 34th Fighter Squadron , based at Hill Air Force Base in Utah deployed to Spangdahlem in February 2022. In March 2022, they were joined by four KC-135 Stratotankers of
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5292-539: The Democratic Republic of Congo . There is not a single African French , but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages . Sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth. It is also where the language has evolved the most in recent years. Some vernacular forms of French in Africa can be difficult to understand for French speakers from other countries, but written forms of
5418-854: The Douglas RB-26C Invader for night recon missions. The RB-26s were replaced in October 1954 by Martin RB-57A Canberras and the RF-80s in July 1955 by Republic Aviation RF-84F Thunderjets . In 1957 the RB-57s and RF-84s were transferred to Chateauroux-Deols Air Depot and the 1st and 38th were re-equipped with the Douglas RB-66 Destroyer . Three additional squadrons, the 19th and 30th (8 January 1958) and 42d Tactical Reconnaissance (8 December 1957) were assigned to
5544-485: The European Union , French was the dominant language within all institutions until the 1990s. After several enlargements of the EU (1995, 2004), French significantly lost ground in favour of English, which is more widely spoken and taught in most EU countries. French currently remains one of the three working languages, or "procedural languages", of the EU, along with English and German. It is the second-most widely used language within EU institutions after English, but remains
5670-559: The Francien dialect is one that not only continued but also thrived during the Middle French period (14th–17th centuries). Modern French grew out of this Francien dialect. Grammatically, during the period of Middle French, noun declensions were lost and there began to be standardized rules. Robert Estienne published the first Latin-French dictionary, which included information about phonetics, etymology, and grammar. Politically,
5796-877: The International Olympic Committee , the Council of Europe , the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development , Organization of American States (alongside Spanish, Portuguese and English), the Eurovision Song Contest , one of eighteen official languages of the European Space Agency , World Trade Organization and the least used of the three official languages in the North American Free Trade Agreement countries. It
5922-626: The Oaths of Strasbourg and the Sequence of Saint Eulalia , while Old French literature began to be produced in the eleventh century, with major early works often focusing on the lives of saints (such as the Vie de Saint Alexis ), or wars and royal courts, notably including the Chanson de Roland , epic cycles focused on King Arthur and his court , as well as a cycle focused on William of Orange . It
6048-718: The Republic F-105D/F Thunderchief , commonly known as the "Thud". The 49th TFW was only the third USAF unit to operate the F-105. The 49th received two Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards for F-105 operations at Spangdahlem. On 9 March 1967, the Wing began receiving the McDonnell Douglas F-4D Phantom II . The 49 TFW remained at Spangdahlem AB until 1 July 1968 when it relocated to Holloman Air Force Base , New Mexico , to serve as
6174-520: The United Nations , the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization , the World Trade Organization , the International Olympic Committee , the General Conference on Weights and Measures , and the International Committee of the Red Cross . French is a Romance language (meaning that it is descended primarily from Vulgar Latin ) that evolved out of the Gallo-Romance dialects spoken in northern France. The language's early forms include Old French and Middle French . Due to Roman rule, Latin
6300-416: The 10th TRW from the 66th TRW,(Sembach AB), flying variants of the RB-66. The 19th TRS operated from RAF Sculthorpe United Kingdom during 1958, moving to Spangdahlem in 1959. The 42nd TRS flew from RAF Chelveston and remained there as a detachment of the 10th TRW. On 25 August 1959, the 10th TRW ended its six-year stay at Spangdahlem and moved to RAF Alconbury , United Kingdom . On 25 August 1959,
6426-410: The 117th remained at TRAB. The 112th TRS left with its RB-26s for Wiesbaden Air Base where it remained until July 1952, when it returned, for a short time, to TRAB. The 117th TRW was withdrawn from active service on 9 July 1952. The 10th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing (10th TRW) was activated at TRAB on 10 July 1952. It absorbed the equipment and personnel of the defunct 117th TRW. The 112th TRS became
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#17327869586616552-503: The 11th Fighter Wing, led the first wave of 14 F-100s from Bremgarten. The next day, 15 September 1967, Colonel Chenet officially left his post in Bremgarten and took command of Toul-Rosières. At the beginning of 2000 the dismantling of Base 136 began. On 1 July 2000 the base was closed to air traffic. On 31 August 2004 the base was officially closed. French language French ( français [fʁɑ̃sɛ] or langue française [lɑ̃ɡ fʁɑ̃sɛːz] )
6678-455: The 1990s) but these varieties are severely endangered or presumed extinct. French is one of two official languages in Haiti alongside Haitian Creole . It is the principal language of education, administration, business, and public signage and is spoken by all educated Haitians. It is also used for ceremonial events such as weddings, graduations, and church masses. The vast majority of the population speaks Haitian Creole as their first language;
6804-418: The 1st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, the 157th TRS the 32nd Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron and the 160th TRS the 38th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron. The 32nd and 38th TRS remained with their RF-80s at Furstenfeldbruck and Neubiberg. As a result of one of USAFE's many reorganizations, the 10th TRW was transferred to Spangdahlem Air Base , West Germany in May 1953. US Army engineering units also moved to
6930-474: The 20th century, when it was replaced by English as the United States became the dominant global power following the Second World War . Stanley Meisler of the Los Angeles Times said that the fact that the Treaty of Versailles was written in English as well as French was the "first diplomatic blow" against the language. During the Grand Siècle (17th century), France, under the rule of powerful leaders such as Cardinal Richelieu and Louis XIV , enjoyed
7056-411: The 23d and 480th TFSs. These were later replaced with Block 50 versions beginning in 1993. The last USAF operational model F-4E Phantom II aircraft departed Spangdahlem AB in December 1987. In late 1990, the 81st TFS reorganized to exclusively fly the F-4G, then deployed 24 aircraft to Sheikh Isa Air Base , Bahrain for Operation Desert Storm combat operations. 52d Fighter Wing On 1 October 1991,
7182-435: The 26th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing was activated at TRAB, resulting in the dissolution of the 7544th Support Group. The 26th TRW was formed by the 22nd TRS , previously based at RAF Alconbury with RB-66s, and the 32nd TRS coming with its McDonnell RF-101C Voodoos from the 66th TRW at Laon-Couvron Air Base . From 3 October 1965, the RB-66s and RF-101s were replaced by McDonnell Douglas RF-4C Phantom IIs . A third squadron,
7308-580: The 363rd TRW Combat Crew Instructors had themselves trained the previous few years. In January 1969, the 36th Tactical Fighter Wing , located at nearby Bitburg Air Base , assumed operational control of Spangdahlem, and became a dual-based wing. Squadrons from the 36 TFW assigned to Spangdahlem were: The 23 TFS carried out tactical fighter training missions, while the 39 TEWS was a newly formed squadron to conduct electronic warfare missions and train ground radar site crews all around NATO in electronic warfare based on SEA strike force experience needed to protect
7434-480: The 38th TRS, joined the 26th TRW at TRAB on 1 January 1966. On 7 March 1966, Charles de Gaulle announced France's withdrawal from NATO's Integrated Command and demanded the departure of all foreign armed forces from French territory. Jacques Chirac , made an official announcement: "There is talk of bringing the 11th Fighter Wing back to the Toul-Rosières base." A first delegation from Bremgarten Air Base went to TRAB on 21 December 1966 to initiate negotiations with
7560-451: The 52 TFW was redesignated the 52d Fighter Wing as part of a sweeping, Air Force-wide restructure. The 510th Fighter Squadron was moved to Spangdahlem with the closure of RAF Bentwaters United Kingdom on 4 January 1993 as the lone A-10 Thunderbolt II squadron in USAFE. Also in early 1993, the 81st FS was reorganized to fly a mixture of F-4Gs and Block 30 F-16C/Ds. The F-4Gs were withdrawn and sent to AMARC in February 1994. With
7686-471: The 52d TFW into the first and only all-defense suppression wing outside of the United States. Under this configuration, each of the wing's three fighter squadrons flew E and G model F-4s paired together into Wild Weasel "hunter/killer" teams capable of locating and destroying enemy radar-guided, surface-to-air threats in all weather. In April 1987, the 52d began changing with the times and replaced its aging Phantoms with Block 30/32 F-16C/D Fighting Falcons for
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#17327869586617812-415: The 52nd Fighter Wing were planned to relocate to Italy, whilst units based at RAF Mildenhall, which had been scheduled to relocate to Spangdahlem, would no longer move. Following the announcement, officials at the 52nd Fighter Wing said that Spangdahlem would remain open to carry out other missions carried out by the wing, separate from F-16 operations. However, in February 2021, the plans were put on hold as
7938-437: The 7532d ABS was to prepare the facility for an operational wing. On 10 May 1953 the 10th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing was reassigned to Spangdahlem AB from Toul-Rosieres Air Base , France. The base population at this time totaled slightly more than 1,900 personnel. Operational squadrons of the 10th TRW were: Upon its arrival at Spangdahlem AB, the 10 TRW operated Lockheed RF-80A Shooting Star for daylight aerial recon and
8064-443: The Americans. In February 1967, French companies were required to carry out the first infrastructure works made necessary for the arrival of French units. The 26th TRW was disbanded at TRAB on 5 October 1966 and redeployed with the 38th and 32nd TRS to Ramstein Air Base. The 22nd TRS was assigned to Mountain Home, Idaho. The 7544th Support Group was reactivated to close TRAB. The U.S. colors were lowered at TRAB on 21 March 1967. TRAB
8190-510: The Canadian capital, is also effectively bilingual, as it has a large population of federal government workers, who are required to offer services in both French and English, and is just across the river from the Quebecois city of Gatineau . According to the United States Census Bureau (2011), French is the fourth most spoken language in the United States after English, Spanish, and Chinese, when all forms of French are considered together and all dialects of Chinese are similarly combined. French
8316-614: The Caribbean that are collectively referred to as the French West Indies , namely Guadeloupe , Saint Barthélemy , Saint Martin , and Martinique . French is the official language of both French Guiana on the South American continent, and of Saint Pierre and Miquelon , an archipelago off the coast of Newfoundland in North America. French was the official language of the colony of French Indochina , comprising modern-day Vietnam , Laos , and Cambodia . It continues to be an administrative language in Laos and Cambodia, although its influence has waned in recent decades. In colonial Vietnam,
8442-528: The EIC, changes would be made to the mission at Spangdahlem, including the relocation of the 606th Air Control Squadron to Aviano Air Base , Italy , in order to free up space and infrastructure for the future relocation of the 352nd Special Operations Group from RAF Mildenhall , UK . The US European Command Force Posture review was announced on 29 July 2020, which indicated the US military would be reducing its presence at Spangdahlem. The 480th Fighter Squadron and its F-16 Fighting Falcons and other elements of
8568-408: The Empire, this local elite had been slowly abandoning Gaulish entirely, but the rural and lower class populations remained Gaulish speakers who could sometimes also speak Latin or Greek. The final language shift from Gaulish to Vulgar Latin among rural and lower class populations occurred later, when both they and the incoming Frankish ruler/military class adopted the Gallo-Roman Vulgar Latin speech of
8694-416: The Germanic Frankish language , which non-exhaustively included the use in upper-class speech and higher registers of V2 word order , a large percentage of the vocabulary (now at around 15% of modern French vocabulary ) including the impersonal singular pronoun on (a calque of Germanic man ), and the name of the language itself. Up until its later stages, Old French , alongside Old Occitan , maintained
8820-437: The RF-80s were limited to daylight missions. When the 117th TRW arrived at TRAB (the nickname given to the base), the base was a mud field. So the wing commander, deeming the situation dangerous for air operations, decided to transfer the flying squadrons to bases in West Germany, until TRAB was completed. The 157th TRS moved to Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base and the 160th TRS to Neubiberg Air Base . The command and support units of
8946-405: The Rheinland-Palatinate. Spangdahlem base was constructed between 1951 and 1953 at a cost of roughly $ 27,000,000 using French and German contractors, working under the supervision of a French government agency. The initial USAF military presence began on 1 September 1952 with the arrival of the 7352d Air Base Squadron on 1 September 1952 from Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base near Munich . The mission of
9072-733: The US Air Force's first dual-based, NATO-committed wing. The 38 TRS was never equipped with RB-66B models. When the 10 TRW re-equipped with the RB-66 the 38 TRS and the 32 TRS moved away from Spangdahlem (to France I believe) and re-equipped with RF-101s. The 1, 19, 30, and the 42 TRS remained at Spangdahlem until their move to the UK. The 1, 19, and 30 TRS flew the RB-66B and the 42 TRS flew the RB-66C and WB-66D. This movement of squadrons came about due to
9198-568: The activation of the 480th Tactical Fighter Squadron on 15 November 1976. On 1 January 1977, the 52 TFW had the following operational squadrons: In 1979, the more capable Wild Weasel F-4G had replaced the EF-4Cs of the 81 TFS, and in 1980 through 1982, F-4Es replaced the F-4Ds of the 23d and 480th TFSs. A complete reorganization of wing aircraft and aircrews occurred in November 1983, transforming
9324-652: The airfield. From 21 November 1944, the United States Army Air Force 354th Fighter Group operated from the base. The field was designated by the code A98 and known as Rosières-en-Haye and was equipped with a 1,500 meter PSP runway. The base was returned to the French authorities on 22 May 1945. In 1951, as the Soviet threat in Europe increased, NATO decided to build many modern air bases in West Germany and France. The Toul-Rosières site
9450-499: The base to finish, with French companies, the construction of the base. The 465th Troop Carrier Wing , which had been activated at Donaldson Air Force Base in February 1953, moved to TRAB in November 1953 with its three squadrons: the 780th , 781st and 782nd Troop Carrier Squadrons. The 465th TCW, which was assigned to the Twelfth Air Force and attached to the 322nd Air Division (Combat Cargo), flew 56 C-119s plus
9576-408: The base. The new BA 136 was put into operation quickly. A first liaison plane landed there on 30 May 1967. The precursor of the 11th Fighter Wing commanded by Major Capillon on 24 June 1967. On 2 August 1967 the stop barriers (two to the north, one to the south) were declared operational and the runway lighting was declared operational on 5 September 1967. On September 14, 1967, Major Ghesquiere, head of
9702-745: The city of Trier , Rhineland-Palatinate . After emerging as the victors in the Second World War , the Western Allies (France, US, UK) occupied western Germany under the terms of the Potsdam Agreement . With the creation of NATO in response to Cold War tensions in Europe, USAFE wanted its vulnerable fighter units in West Germany moved west of the Rhein River to provide greater air defense warning time. France agreed to air base sites within its zone of occupation in
9828-556: The closure of the Rhein-Main Air Base in 2005, the Rhein-Main Transition Program was initiated to transfer all its former transport capacities to Ramstein Air Base (70%) and Spangdahlem AB (30%). The 726th Air Mobility Squadron supports cargo and passenger traffic as part of its airlift mission, providing command and control, maintenance and aerial port capability to all AMC aircraft transiting
9954-504: The control rods. One of the mechanics, TSgt. Thomas Mueller, was charged with negligent homicide and killed himself during his military trial. The 52d made history in 1997 with its first-ever deployment to a former Warsaw Pact nation. In September the 52d participated in EAGLE’S TALON-97, the first bilateral exercise involving US and Polish Air Forces. Units from the 52d deployed under the air expeditionary force (AEF) doctrine and formed
10080-637: The country near French-speaking Quebec, however, it is the foreign language more commonly taught. Vowel phonemes in French Spangdahlem Air Base Spangdahlem Air Base ( IATA : SPM , ICAO : ETAD , former code EDAD) is a NATO air base with the United States Air Force as a tenant constructed between 1951 and 1953 and located near the small German town of Spangdahlem , approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) north-northeast of
10206-519: The demographic prospects of the French-speaking nations of Africa, researcher Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry wrote in 2014 that French "could be the language of the future". However, some African countries such as Algeria intermittently attempted to eradicate the use of French, and as of 2024 it was removed as an official language in Mali and Burkina Faso . Significant as a judicial language, French
10332-414: The departure of the 49 TFW. Although it did not have any assigned aircraft, the 7149 TFW would have served as a nucleus on which to build if the 49 TFW had been ordered to return to Europe to bolster NATO air forces. As part of "REFORGER" (return of forces to Germany) US Army, USAF units returned as "Crested Cap" including the entire 49th TFS in early 1969 and in 1970 and 1971 from Holloman AFB, NM. After 1969
10458-448: The economic power of the countries using the language, the number of major areas in which the language is used, and the linguistic prestige associated with the mastery of the language (Weber highlighted that French in particular enjoys considerable linguistic prestige). In a 2008 reassessment of his article, Weber concluded that his findings were still correct since "the situation among the top ten remains unchanged." Knowledge of French
10584-594: The elites primarily spoke French, while many servants who worked in French households spoke a French pidgin known as " Tây Bồi " (now extinct). After French rule ended, South Vietnam continued to use French in administration, education, and trade. However, since the Fall of Saigon and the opening of a unified Vietnam's economy, French has gradually been effectively displaced as the first foreign language of choice by English in Vietnam. Nevertheless, it continues to be taught as
10710-516: The first government authority to adopt Modern French as official was the Aosta Valley in 1536, while the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts (1539) named French the language of law in the Kingdom of France . During the 17th century, French replaced Latin as the most important language of diplomacy and international relations ( lingua franca ). It retained this role until approximately the middle of
10836-669: The first of several theater security package deployments to Europe, U.S. Air Force officials said, adding that rotations generally will last six months, depending on mission and United States European Command requirements. On 8 January 2015 the US Secretary of Defense announced the results of the European Infrastructure Consolidation (EIC) review, which was to realign several missions in US Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa. Under
10962-573: The fleet against SAM, AAA and fighter aircraft based in the East Iron Curtain Soviet Block nations. Spangdahlem retained status of a Nuclear Strike base and also housed USAFE Eifel Control in the Base Operations Tower. Orders for 39th TEWS personnel originally were to Bitburg AB but shortly prior it was realized the additional 2,000 feet of runway on the larger inactive hilltop at Spang was a great benefit to
11088-915: The former Yugoslavia , International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda , the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea the International Criminal Court and the World Trade Organization Appellate Body . It is the sole internal working language of the Court of Justice of the European Union , and makes with English the European Court of Human Rights 's two working languages. In 1997, George Weber published, in Language Today ,
11214-829: The gender of the corresponding word in Gaulish. The estimated number of French words that can be attributed to Gaulish is placed at 154 by the Petit Robert , which is often viewed as representing standardized French, while if non-standard dialects are included, the number increases to 240. Known Gaulish loans are skewed toward certain semantic fields, such as plant life ( chêne , bille , etc.), animals ( mouton , cheval , etc.), nature ( boue , etc.), domestic activities (ex. berceau ), farming and rural units of measure ( arpent , lieue , borne , boisseau ), weapons, and products traded regionally rather than further afield. This semantic distribution has been attributed to peasants being
11340-598: The installation of a railway line to supply the base. The old PSP runway was replaced in November 1951 by a concrete runway. The earthworks for the construction of the base were carried out by the 15th Air Engineer Regiment in 1952. The 7412th Support Squadron was activated at Toul-Rosières in December 1951 to coordinate the construction of the new base. The 117th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing left Lawson Air Force Base in Georgia to settle in Toul on 27 January 1952. The 117th TRW
11466-548: The introduction of the AFM 66-1 combined maintenance concept. It was decided to keep aircraft of one general type in the same units for maintenance and supply considerations. Fighter units got the RF-101 and bomber units got the RB-66 and these units combined accordingly. With the departure of the 49 TFW, the 7149th Air Base Group was activated to serve as a caretaker unit for a number of support organizations that remained behind after
11592-454: The language are very closely related to those of the rest of the French-speaking world. French is the second most commonly spoken language in Canada and one of two federal official languages alongside English. As of the 2021 Canadian census , it was the native language of 7.7 million people (21% of the population) and the second language of 2.9 million (8% of the population). French
11718-479: The language, although it has now given way to Tamil and English. A former French mandate , Lebanon designates Arabic as the sole official language, while a special law regulates cases when French can be publicly used. Article 11 of Lebanon's Constitution states that "Arabic is the official national language. A law determines the cases in which the French language is to be used". The French language in Lebanon
11844-612: The language. The Act applies to areas of the province where there are significant Francophone communities, namely Eastern Ontario and Northern Ontario . Elsewhere, sizable French-speaking minorities are found in southern Manitoba, Nova Scotia , Prince Edward Island and the Port au Port Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, where the unique Newfoundland French dialect was historically spoken. Smaller pockets of French speakers exist in all other provinces. The Ontarian city of Ottawa ,
11970-479: The last to hold onto Gaulish. The beginning of French in Gaul was greatly influenced by Germanic invasions into the country. These invasions had the greatest impact on the northern part of the country and on the language there. A language divide began to grow across the country. The population in the north spoke langue d'oïl while the population in the south spoke langue d'oc . Langue d'oïl grew into what
12096-420: The necessity and means to annihilate the patois and to universalize the use of the French language". When public education was made compulsory , only French was taught and the use of any other ( patois ) language was punished. The goals of the public school system were made especially clear to the French-speaking teachers sent to teach students in regions such as Occitania and Brittany . Instructions given by
12222-652: The official use or teaching of French. It is spoken as a first language (in descending order of the number of speakers) in France; Canada (especially in the provinces of Quebec, Ontario, and New Brunswick); Belgium ( Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital Region ); western Switzerland (specifically the cantons forming the Romandy region); parts of Luxembourg; parts of the United States (the states of Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont); Monaco;
12348-450: The older EB-66 which had gained weight on modifications at Tulsa Plant where heavier cables for greatly increased jamming capability from RB-66B to EB-66E were added without removing the earlier in hard to get to areas. Near same time, plans to modify the early turbo jet engines to modern high bypass design were not considered with plans to retire the 1950s design in very few years and end of SEA needs. Modern miniature electronics were to allow
12474-534: The other main foreign language in the Vietnamese educational system and is regarded as a cultural language. All three countries are full members of La Francophonie (OIF). French was the official language of French India , consisting of the geographically separate enclaves referred to as Puducherry . It continued to be an official language of the territory even after its cession to India in 1956 until 1965. A small number of older locals still retain knowledge of
12600-471: The preferred language of certain institutions or administrations such as the Court of Justice of the European Union , where it is the sole internal working language, or the Directorate-General for Agriculture . Since 2016, Brexit has rekindled discussions on whether or not French should again hold greater role within the institutions of the European Union. A leading world language , French
12726-471: The rest largely speak French as a first language. As a French Creole language , Haitian Creole draws the large majority of its vocabulary from French, with influences from West African languages, as well as several European languages. It is closely related to Louisiana Creole and the creole from the Lesser Antilles . French is the sole official language of all the overseas territories of France in
12852-511: The runway was resurfaced at Spang. During this period the hardened NATO "Tab-V" shelters were constructed at both bases while operations around them continued. EB-66s were too large and remained parked around the ramp at the large hangar. End of runway alert aircraft F4s and EB-66's were under shelter for weather protection only. "V" or Victor Alert denoted nuclear forces from the British bombers Victor and Vulcan beginning with that letter. "E" Alert
12978-571: The strike aircraft to carry their own modular ECM components in a great 30 minute rush to the border and roll back of enemy forces. This was envisioned as "Plugging the Fulda Gap" with WW 2-style massed armored Soviet forces. On 31 December 1971 the 52d Tactical Fighter Wing was transferred without personnel or equipment from Suffolk County AFB , New York to Spangdahlem. The unit had been a sort of personal National Guard wing for top World War II P-47 ace Gabby Gabreski . Inactivated then reactivated as
13104-414: The total number of French speakers will reach approximately 500 million in 2025 and 650 million by 2050, largely due to rapid population growth in sub-Saharan Africa . OIF estimates 700 million French speakers by 2050, 80% of whom will be in Africa. In a study published in March 2014 by Forbes , the investment bank Natixis said that French could become the world's most spoken language by 2050. In
13230-657: The two 36th TFW assigned squadrons, 23rd TFS in F-4Cs and 39th TEWS in EB-66E and 2 EB-66C's were back in the runway alert facility, previously used by 49 TFW F-105s and F-4s, reactivated in Dec 1969. 23rd TFS simply moved to next Eifel Mtn hill top into old 49th TFW squadron buildings and 39th TEWS began assembling in April with aircraft from 4417th CCTS and personnel from both Shaw AFB, SC and returning SEA EB-66 combat crewmembers many of whom
13356-679: The two official languages—along with Dutch —of the Brussels-Capital Region , where it is spoken by the majority of the population (approx. 80%), often as their primary language. French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland, along with German, Italian, and Romansh , and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland, called Romandy , of which Geneva is the largest city. The language divisions in Switzerland do not coincide with political subdivisions, and some cantons have bilingual status: for example, cities such as Biel/Bienne and cantons such as Valais , Fribourg and Bern . French
13482-508: The urban intellectual elite. The Gaulish language likely survived into the sixth century in France despite considerable Romanization . Coexisting with Latin, Gaulish helped shape the Vulgar Latin dialects that developed into French contributing loanwords and calques (including oui , the word for "yes"), sound changes shaped by Gaulish influence, and influences in conjugation and word order. Recent computational studies suggest that early gender shifts may have been motivated by
13608-485: The use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, and legal contracts; advertisements must bear a translation of foreign words. In Belgium, French is an official language at the federal level along with Dutch and German. At the regional level, French is the sole official language of Wallonia (excluding a part of the East Cantons , which are German-speaking ) and one of
13734-559: The withdrawal of the Phantoms, the 510th Fighter Squadron was replaced by the 81st FS at Spangdahlem and was transferred to Ramstein Air Base to absorb the F-16 assets of the 512th FS there. In February 1994, the 53d Fighter Squadron relocated to Spangdahlem from Bitburg after its closure with F-15C/Ds. The 480 FS was also inactivated during October 1994, being replaced by the 22d Fighter Squadron from Bitburg. The 606th Air Control Squadron
13860-536: The workplace. In 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese . In English-speaking Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, French is the first foreign language taught and in number of pupils is far ahead of other languages. In the United States, French is the second-most commonly taught foreign language in schools and universities, although well behind Spanish. In some areas of
13986-402: The world's French-speaking population lives in Africa. According to a 2023 estimate from the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie , an estimated 167 million African people spread across 35 countries and territories can speak French as either a first or a second language . This number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as
14112-515: Was activated from the 50th TFW to guard TAB as well as the bases at Chambley, Chaumont , Etain and Phalsbourg . The 7514th became the 7544th Support Group on 1 January 1960. On 10 October 1959, the 32nd and 38th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadrons belonging to the 10th TRW at RAF Alconbury were assigned to TRAB to form Detachment 1, 10th TRW. RB-66Cs of the 32nd and 38th TRS based at RAF Alconbury, RAF Bruntingthorpe and RAF Chelveston flew two to four month rotations TRAB. The aircraft of
14238-417: Was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the ( Germanic ) Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to the French colonial empire , there are numerous French-based creole languages , most notably Haitian Creole . A French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French
14364-473: Was also assigned to the 52d Fighter Wing but remained at Bitburg until September 1995 before moving to Spangdahlem. After the restructuring and the closure of Bitburg and transfer of 36 FW squadrons to Spangdahlem, the operational squadrons of the 52d Fighter Wing were: In May 1995 Major Grey Lowry was killed when his 53d Fighter Squadron F-15C crashed at Spangdahlem AFB. Investigation showed that during routine maintenance, mechanics had crossed and mis-connected
14490-563: Was announced. Spangdahlem is home of the 52nd Fighter Wing , which maintains, deploys and employs Lockheed Martin Block 50 F-16CM/DM . The wing supports the Supreme Allied Commander Europe with mission-ready personnel and systems providing expeditionary air power. The wing also supports contingencies and operations other than war. The wing also supports geographically separate units throughout Europe, including
14616-463: Was chosen for the construction of a base for United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), in particular because of the long American history there. The construction was planned in two phases. The first consisted of the construction of a temporary base to base USAFE flying units as quickly as possible. The construction of modern infrastructure was then planned in a second phase, led by architects Pierre Dufau and Grad Seelye. Work began in February 1951 with
14742-472: Was closed and a detachment of military police was designated as the base guard. At the same time, a contingent of French civilian mechanics, led by an American team leader, remained on TRAB to keep the facilities in good condition. A first echelon left the Bremgarten base on 17 April 1967 to relocate to Toul-Rosières. On 15 May, Lieutenant colonel Espieux, accompanied by 150 men, took provisional command of
14868-819: Was during the period of the Crusades in which French became so dominant in the Mediterranean Sea that became a lingua franca ("Frankish language"), and because of increased contact with the Arabs during the Crusades who referred to them as Franj , numerous Arabic loanwords entered French, such as amiral (admiral), alcool (alcohol), coton (cotton) and sirop (syrop), as well as scientific terms such as algébre (algebra), alchimie (alchemy) and zéro (zero). Within Old French many dialects emerged but
14994-670: Was for ECM. The 39 TEWS was disbanded and personnel reassigned on 1 January 1973. Aircraft were returned to Shaw then retired by 1975. In turn, it was replaced in the electronic warfare role by the 81st Tactical Fighter Squadron , flying the McDonnell Douglas EF-4C Phantom II , being transferred to Spangdahlem from Zweibrücken Air Base , Germany under project "Creek Action" on 15 January 1973. The 4th TFW had Three short-term deployments (F-4E) for European contingency support in March 1974, July and September 1975 The 52 TFW gained its third fighter squadron with
15120-463: Was gradually adopted by the inhabitants of Gaul. As the language was learned by the common people, it developed a distinct local character, with grammatical differences from Latin as spoken elsewhere, some of which is attested in graffiti. This local variety evolved into the Gallo-Romance tongues, which include French and its closest relatives, such as Arpitan . The evolution of Latin in Gaul
15246-652: Was known in the Occitan-speaking region as Vergonha . Spoken by 19.71% of the European Union's population, French is the third most widely spoken language in the EU, after English and German and the second-most-widely taught language after English. Under the Constitution of France , French has been the official language of the Republic since 1992, although the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts made it mandatory for legal documents in 1539. France mandates
15372-709: Was made up of three squadrons: the 160th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (TRS) of the Alabama Air National Guard , the 157th TRS of the South Carolina Air National Guard and the 112th TRS of the Ohio Air National Guard . The 112th TRS was equipped with 15 Douglas RB-26C Invaders while the 157th and 160th TRS flew 38 RF-80As . Each squadron also had a T-33A liaison and training aircraft. The RB-26s were used for night reconnaissance missions while
15498-594: Was shaped by its coexistence for over half a millennium beside the native Celtic Gaulish language , which did not go extinct until the late sixth century, long after the fall of the Western Roman Empire . The population remained 90% indigenous in origin; the Romanizing class were the local native elite (not Roman settlers), whose children learned Latin in Roman schools. At the time of the collapse of
15624-474: Was tactical nuclear attack. From May 1957, the F-86s were replaced by 75 North American F-100D/F Super Sabres . In 1959, the French government requested the removal from French soil of all foreign nuclear delivery systems and weapons, the 50th, which had been renamed the 50th Tactical Fighter Wing, had to leave France. The 50th TFW departed TRAB on 10 December 1960 to return to Hahn AB. The 7514th Support Group
15750-570: Was the language they use the most at home rose from 67% at the 2007 census to 74% at the 2017 census. In Wallis and Futuna, the percentage of the population who reported that French was the language they use the most at home rose from 10% at the 2008 census to 13% at the 2018 census. According to a demographic projection led by the Université Laval and the Réseau Démographie de l'Agence universitaire de la Francophonie ,
15876-410: Was then activated to take charge of the TRAB, which was put on standby. The 7430th ABS operated a C-47 and an L-20A Beaver. Between 1954 and 1955, North American F-86H Sabres from the 312th Fighter Bomber Wing from Clovis Air Force Base , New Mexico and the 366th Fighter Bomber Wing at Alexandria Air Force Base , Louisiana flew rotations to TRAB. Lieutenant colonel John B. England , commander of
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