The decision to build the Incirlik Air Base was made during the Second Cairo Conference in December 1943, but construction only began after the end of the Second World War.

The U.S. Air Force initially planned to use the base as an emergency staging and recovery site for medium and heavy bombers.

The early years of its existence proved the value of the presence of the Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, not only in countering the threat of the Soviet Union during the Cold War, but also in responding to crises in the Middle East, such as in Lebanon and Israel.

These included nonstop flights back and forth between Incirlik and the NATO Air Base at the Norwegian town of Bodø starting in 1958.

In addition to the Cold War aerial reconnaissance mission, Incirlik acted as an operational and logistics hub for an array of communications transmission and signals intelligence detachments located at various mountain sites, the latter focused on Soviet and Warsaw Pact forces near Turkey's borders.

This Composite Air Strike Force consisted of F-100 Super Sabres, B-57 Canberras, RF-101 Voodoos, B-66 Destroyers, along with the supporting WB-66 weather planes.

After the Lebanon crisis, the Tactical Air Command deployed F-100 fighter squadrons on 100-day rotations to Incirlik from the United States.

This action was in response to an arms embargo that the United States Congress imposed on Turkey for using American-supplied equipment during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974.

After signing the DECA, the USAFE initiated the "Turkey Catch-up Plan" to improve the quality-of-life of airmen stationed at Incirlik.

OPC ended 31 December 1996, and Operation Northern Watch (ONW) took its place 1 January 1997 with the task to enforce the U.N.-sanctioned no-fly zone north of the 36th parallel in Iraq.

On 19 August 2003, the first rotation of deployed KC-135 Stratotankers and airmen arrived at Incirlik to support various operations in response to the 11 September 2001 attacks as well as the post-invasion reconstruction of Iraq and the ensuing insurgency.

On 6 January 2004, more than 300 U.S. Army soldiers of what would become thousands transited through Incirlik as the first stop back to their home post after spending almost a year in Iraq.

Incirlik provided soldiers with a cot, warm location, entertainment and food for a few hours outside of a hostile war zone.

Incirlik played a bridge role by providing support in the relief operation started after the 2005 Kashmir earthquake on 8 October 2005.

With the help of Turkish and American airmen, five C-130 Hercules cargo planes from Air Bases in Italy, Britain, Greece, and France flew urgently needed supplies including 10,000 tents from the warehouse of UNHCR in İskenderun, Turkey to Afghanistan on 19 October.

During the brief War between Hezbollah and Israel in July 2006, the Incirlik Air Base provided solace to Americans who had been evacuated by U.S. Navy warships from Beirut, Lebanon to Mersin, Turkey.

[17] On 13 October 2014, it was rumored that the Turkish government approved the use of Incirlik Air base to support operations against the so-called Islamic State[18] but this was later denied.

The agreement covers only the fight against the Islamic State and does not include air support for allied Kurdish fighters in northern Syria, a spokesman for the ministry said.

Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook at the time stated that "U.S. facilities at Incirlik are operating on internal power sources."

[10] Laicie Heeley, a fellow with the Budgeting for Foreign Affairs and Defense program at the Stimson Center said in 2016:[43] During the 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria, tensions between Turkey and the US moved the B61 nuclear bombs, stored by the US at the İncirlik airbase, back into focus.

A removal was again debated, but Vipin Narang from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology pointed out, that the process of moving them under these circumstances poses risks and the weapons "could be vulnerable to accidents, theft or attack".

[44] Following facilities exist for the service people and their family members: The 39th Civil Engineer Squadron is responsible for pest management on base.