Chièvres Air Base December 31, 1967 the Belgian authorities officially turned over Chièvres Airbase to the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). The Americans established the NATO/SHAPE Support Group (US) in 1968 at Caserne Daumerie adjacent to the air base and just east of the town of Chièvres to operate the base and provide logistic support to NATO and SHAPE. This small unit was part of Theater Army Support Command (TASCOM), which was part of U.S. Army Europe (USAREUR). The NATO/SHAPE Support Group was later renamed 80th Area Support Group (NATO/SHAPE Support Group). The Airbase did serve as rehearsal and arrival point of
Western Union (alliance) transferred to the newly established North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), providing the nucleus of NATO's command structure at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). As a consequence of the failure of the European Defence Community in 1954, the London and Paris Conferences led to the Modified Treaty of Brussels (MTB) through which the Western Union was transformed into the Western European Union (WEU) and was joined by Italy and West Germany. As the WEU's functions were transferred to the European Union's (EU) European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) at the turn of the 21st century, the Western Union is