Airmen from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, join 86th Airlift Wing leaders and construction experts at a ceremonial shovel digging Jan. 24, 2025, to mark the beginning of construction the 37th Airlift Squadron's operations facility. Work on the $23 million project will take place over the next couple of years. (Jennifer H. Svan/Stars and Stripes)

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany — A new $23 million operations facility for the storied 37th Airlift Squadron took its first step toward becoming reality Friday, with a groundbreaking that heralded a long-anticipated move to a more suitable home.

Airmen, 86th Airlift Wing leaders and construction experts gathered outside Ramstein’s dual-bay hangar, a much newer dwelling that was finished in 2009 and allows two of the squadron’s C-130J planes to be worked on at the same time.

The squadron, which began flying troops around Europe in World War II, has been seeking a headquarters upgrade for decades.

Air Force leaders attend a groundbreaking ceremony in the dual-bay hangar at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on Jan. 24, 2025. The base is building a $23 million operations facility for the 37th Airlift Squadron next to the hangar. (Jennifer H. Svan/Stars and Stripes)

Members of the Blue Tail Flies, as the squadron is nicknamed, have been forced for over 30 years to make do with the current building, which wasn’t designed for air operations work, said Lt. Col. Rick Winfield, the 37th Airlift Squadron commander.

It’s also a bit of a hike to the hangar from where the squadron currently is housed.

“We’ll be closer to maintenance (in the new operations center),” Winfield said. “It’s a solid half-mile walk to get to our airplanes back to our squadron. Now we’re going to be right out the front door. It’s going to be an awesome change.”

The Blue Tail Flies is the emblem and nickname for the 37th Airlift Squadron at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Airmen with the squadron said Friday they are looking forward to the construction of a new operations facility, a much-needed replacement for an older building the squadron has called home for more than 30 years. (Jennifer H. Svan/Stars and Stripes)

Finding adequate and secure space for mission briefings, materials and equipment for air crews in a warren of offices has been challenging, he said.

The squadron has about 150 personnel but at times has to accommodate close to 200 from across the wing when collaborating on mission operations, according to Winfield.

Base officials could not say Friday how old the current building is or what its original purpose was.

Ramstein Air Base, Germany, hosts a groundbreaking ceremony Jan. 24, 2025, for a $23 million operations center being built for the 37th Airlift Squadron. (Jennifer H. Svan/Stars and Stripes)

But various commanders all the way up to the combatant command level saw the need and have long advocated for a new building, Winfield said, adding that the project has been 20 years in the making.

Military construction funds for the new operations center were initially approved about seven years ago, but the project was put on hold and funds were allocated again in 2023, officials said Friday.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Europe District is overseeing construction in partnership with the German regional construction company LBB.