488th Intelligence Squadron (GSU) 363rd Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing 361st Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group 25th Intelligence Squadron Detachment 2 (GSU) United States Navy United States Naval Forces Europe-Africa (CNE-CNA) Fleet Industrial Supply Center Sigonella, Detachment Mildenhall (Naval Supply Systems Command) Airlines and destinations Future On 8 January 2015, the United States Department of Defense announced that as part of their European Infrastructure Consolidation (EIC) programme, they would be withdrawing from RAF Mildenhall to help save $500 million a year across Europe. In January 2016, as a result of the proposed US withdrawal, the UK government announced the site was one of twelve that would be sold as part of their strategy for the Ministry of Defence estate, although no date for the sale was given. It was planned to relocate units based at Mildenhall to Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany. A change in political administration in the United States, heightened security concerns on the part of the United States, the UK and NATO pertaining to Europe and the Middle East, and a variety of other issues prompted a reassessment on Mildenhall's closure. By 2017, the closure process had been put on indefinite hold and in February 2020, it was reported it had been extended to at least 2027. In July 2020, the Department of Defense announced that the US military would in fact be withdrawing from Spangdahlem and that the 100th Air Refueling Wing and 352nd Special Operations Wing would remain at Mildenhall, thereby keeping the base open for the foreseeable future. Protests Since the beginning of its use by the USAF, Mildenhall has been the site of many anti-war protests by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and other peace groups. In January 2003, students cut a hole in the perimeter fence and accessed the base. Later, in April 2003, protestors with Stop the War Coalition broke into the base to unfurl a banner with the words: “Stop Killing Each Other”. Notable protesters include MP and former Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn and former CND chair Kate Hudson. See also List of Royal Air Force stations RAF Thorpe Abbotts Strategic Air Command in the United Kingdom RAF Lakenheath References Citations Bibliography Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office 1961 (republished 1983, Office of Air Force History, ). Ravenstein, Charles A. Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947–1977.