The Liberty Wing has nearly 5,700 active-duty military members, 2,000 British and U.S. civilians, and includes a geographically separated accommodation unit at nearby RAF Feltwell.

With the F-84, the 48 FBW took part in North Atlantic Treaty Organization and United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) activities, participating in exercises with the U.S.

Its squadrons remained unchanged while flying three different type of fighters, the F-84G, F-86F and the F-100D, and maintaining the capability to fight either a conventional or nuclear war if need be.

In 1954, over 15,000 attended the Armed Forces Day event to see static aircraft displays, watch flight demonstrations, listen to a French army band and other activities.

Simultaneously, the advent of the inter-continental ballistic missile had reduced the United States' dependence on European-based airborne medium-and long ranged bombers.

On 15 January 1960, the 48 TFW redeployed to an empty Strategic Air Command heavy bomber base, RAF Lakenheath, England.

In the early the wing's three fighter squadrons lifted off Chaumont's runway and, after making farewell passes over the outlying village, headed toward the English Channel.

East Germany's 1961 decision to build the Berlin Wall and the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis increased Cold War tensions to an all-time high.

Between 1963 and 1972 the wing's F-100 fleet maintained its readiness by participating in a number of USAFE and NATO exercises training to react to possible aggression from the Soviet Union.

They underwent a series of NATO tactical evaluations, for which they earned the wing their first Air Force Outstanding Unit Award, for the period from 1 July 1961 to 29 February 1964.

The wing conducted several deployments to Turkey, Italy, Spain, and across the United Kingdom On 1 October 1971, the 492d Tactical Fighter Squadron stood down from its NATO commitments, followed by the 493d on 1 December and the 494th on 1 February 1972.

In the same year construction of the airfield's Hardened Aircraft Shelters (acronym: HAS, but commonly referred to as a TAB-VEE) began as part of a wider NATO effort.

This dedication culminated in the 48th's performance during a joint USAFE Operational Readiness Inspection and NATO Tactical Evaluation in March 1980.

At the same time, the wing had to overcome supply shortages resulting from years of reduced military budgets in the late 1970s under the Carter administration.

By the mid-1980s the Cold War was not the only American fear for national security; terrorists struck targets from bombing of US Marines in Beirut to Berlin, from Rome to Rotterdam.

In retaliation, U.S. President Ronald Reagan ordered a strike against targets in Tripoli, which were carried out by the United States Navy Sixth Fleet and F-111s of the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing.

At about 19:00 the evening of 14 April 1986, 24 F-111Fs departed Lakenheath's runway, six of which were airborne spares in the event malfunctions forced any of the primary aircraft to abort.

In flights of four, aircrews flew south through the Straits of Gibraltar and began their orchestrated attack shortly after midnight on 15 April.

With the sky lit up from Tripoli's city lights, anti-aircraft tracers, and brilliant surface-to-air missile detonations, determined 48th TFW crews unleashed 60 tons of munitions, damaging their targets.

As the strike force recovered at Lakenheath, both air and ground crews were given the somber news that Major Fernando Ribas (Utuado, Puerto Rico) pilot, and Weapons System Operator Captain Paul Lorence, were missing.

Likewise, General Charles L. Donnelly, Jr., Commander-in-Chief, USAFE, visited RAF Lakenheath on 17 February 1987 and presented decorations to those who participated in the operation.

Colonel Lennon built a team of 13 members from wing leadership, known as the "Lucky 13", and preparations began for the eventual movement of personnel and F-111s to Saudi Arabia.

The wing's crews even stopped the flow of oil contaminating the Persian Gulf by bombing a pumping installation purposefully damaged by retreating Iraqi forces.

Incorporating the lessons learned during the desert operations, the Air Force directed changes that led to the Objective Wing Organization.

This marked the first time that the 48th had flown a specifically air-to-air weapon system, after flying for more than 50 years with an air-to-ground mission.

One of the wing's F-15E aircraft crashed in Libya after an unapproved flight maneuver on 21 March 2011, but both crew members survived with minor injuries.