401 TFW personnel. On 1 November 1989, Det. 2, 401st TFW, became the 7120th Air Base Flight under Sixteenth Air Force. On 1 June 1993, the 7120th Air Base Flight was re-designated as the 712th Air Base Flight. The 1994 military reductions in Europe resulted in Morón Air Base picking up a regional responsibility for providing support to designated USAF units in Spain, Italy, and Greece with the draw-down of USAFE units at Torrejon AB, Spain, San Vito AS, Italy and Iraklion AS, Greece. Along with the increased responsibility came a new unit designation. The 712th Air Base Flight became the 496th Air Base Squadron on 1 July 1994, under the newly formed 616th Regional Support Group located at Aviano Air Base, Italy. Since January 2000, Morón's mission has matured to make the base a critical link in supporting the rotation of Aerospace Expeditionary Forces (AEF) -- deployed in EUCOM and CENTCOM Areas of Responsibilities. Tanker Task Forces (KC-135 and KC-10), Fighter Units from the Air Force and Marine Corps, and airlifters (C-141, C-17 and C-5s) use Morón as a staging base for AEF operations. The base also frequently welcomes rotating US Army personnel. Morón staffing swells during these operations with temporary duty personnel (known as Expeditionary Combat Support) supplementing the contract, civilian and active-duty personnel. On 1 April 2019 the squadron realigned from under the 86th Operations Group, Ramstein Air Base, Germany, to the 65th Air Base Group, Lajes Field, Portugal. References Air base squadrons of the United States Air Force