Allied Air Forces Southern Europe (AIRSOUTH) was established in temporary facilities in
Florence, Italy on 5 August 1951. Its first commander was Lieutenant General
David M. Schlatter. AIRSOUTH moved, along with its superior organisation,
Allied Forces Southern Europe (AFSOUTH), to permanent facilities in the
Bagnoli district of
Naples in April 1954 AIRSOUTH was in turn given command of the 6th Allied Tactical Air Force which was based in
İzmir in Turkey. From December 1992, Lieutenant General
Joseph W. Ashy and then, from September 1994, Lieutenant General
Michael E. Ryan, in their successive roles as commander of AIRSOUTH, directed the
NATO air combat operations in
Bosnia and Herzegovina, including the bombing missions of
Operation Deliberate Force in summer 1995, which created the context for the U.S. Government to broker the
Dayton Agreement between the waring parties in November 1995. Lieutenant General
Michael C. Short, as commander of AIRSOUTH, directed the NATO air combat operations in Kosovo, including the
NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in spring 1999, during the
Kosovo War, which led to the formation of the
United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo in June 1999. AIRSOUTH deactivated and some of its staff moved to
İzmir in Turkey to form
Allied Air Command İzmir in 2004. This move was strongly opposed at the time by the Greek Government who argued that it could give the Turkish Government influence over Greek airspace. ==References==