The wing employed a mobile radar network and forward air control flying operations.

[2][4] Detachments of the wing were also organized at fixed radar sites operated by the German Air Force.

Maintenance of the remaining site at Wasserkuppe was transferred to a civilian contractor and on 1 January 1979 the Wasserkuppe site was turned over to the German Air Force and the wing's last aircraft control and warning squadron operating a fixed control and reporting post[note 4] was inactivated.

[2] In 1969 computer programming modifications permitted 4,096 possible transponder codes for friendly aircraft radar identification.

This permitted assignment of a unique code to each military aircraft in the Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force region, providing positive identification capability.

A little less than a year later Project Creek Brahman activated three more radar units at Carl Schurz Kaserne near Bremerhaven.

[2] On 15 February 1970, the wing acquired another mission with the arrival of three Cessna O-2A Skymaster aircraft and an airborne Forward Air Control capability.

[2] On 21 June 1974, the wing's first two North American OV-10 Bronco aircraft were ferried to Wiesbaden Air Base from Hurlburt Field, Florida, where they were assigned to the 20th Squadron.

Flying operations began on 12 July and three months later, on 10 October 1974, the 20th Squadron flew the first OV-10A forward air control mission during Exercise Certain Pledge.

Additional OV-10As arrived from Thailand and, on 18 December 1974, O-2A flying operations terminated and the last Skymaster was transferred to the United States Army.

Second, on 1 November 1976, wing OV-10A aircraft, pilots from the 20th TASS, and maintenance personnel from the 601st Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Squadron deployed to Zaragoza Air Base, Spain for a four-month weapons training detachment deployment nicknamed "Creek Tally".

Also, the first two wing OV-10As to receive camouflage painting returned to Sembach from Alverca, Portugal, where the work was performed.

Support units moved to Wiesbaden without personnel or equipment and assumed the mission of the 7101st Air Base Wing, which was inactivated upon their arrival.

[2] However, all these events were overshadowed by the announcement, on 8 August 1975, of Project Creek Swap, wherein the wing was notified it would again have to pack its bags and move back to Sembach.

Thus, in January 1976, after a two-year stay at Wiesbaden, the wing began its move back to Sembach AB.

The 600th Group expanded the following year when the 606th Tactical Control Squadron and two more flights were activated at Carl Schurz Kaserne near Bremerhaven.

On 1 June 1985, The 65th Air Division was activated at Sembach to serve as the headquarters for the 601st and the newly-activated 66th Electronic Combat Wing.

Early in October 1980, the 601st Wing was ordered to deploy a survey team to Riyadh to assist in setting up a mobile radar network in Saudi Arabia.

[2] ELF One involved three operating locations set up along the eastern edge of the Arabian peninsula on the coast of the Persian Gulf and in the central city of Riyadh.

The Forward Air Control Post operated out of Al Jubayl, also along the eastern coast of the country.

The primary mission of this operation was to support the Saudi Arabia through air defense radar surveillance of the Gulf area.

[2] In order to meet the Fiscal Year (FY) 1985 and 1986 Department of Defense budget restrictions, the Air Staff directed the reduction of the mobile TACS by two CRPs and four FACPs in two phases.

The 601st air control units became an Operations Group in March 1992 that resulted in the formation of the 601st Support Wing.

At the time, the wing was responsible for over 40 geographically separated units in combination with over 200 people deployed to more than a dozen locations worldwide.

On 18 December 1957 HQ USAFE discontinued the Tactical Control Wing (Provisional) at Landstuhl Air Base.

This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency