The American Forces Network (AFN) is the brand name used by the United States Armed Forces American Forces Radio and Television Service[1] (AFRTS, commonly pronounced "A-farts")[2][3][4][5] for its entertainment and command internal information networks worldwide. The AFN worldwide radio and television broadcast network serves American service men and women, Department of Defense and other US government civilians and their families stationed at bases overseas, as well as U.S. Navy ships at sea. AFN broadcasts popular American radio and television programs from the major U.S. networks. It is sometimes referred to as the Armed Forces Network. AFRTS, American Forces Network and AFN are registered trademarks of the U.S. Department of Defense.
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The American Forces Network (AFN) is the operational arm of the American Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS), an office of the Defense Media Activity (DMA). AFN falls under the operational control of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs (OASD-PA). Editorial control is by the Department of Defense, whereas the British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) for example, is independent of the Ministry of Defence and the British armed forces.
AFN employs military broadcasters as well as DoD civilians and contractors. Service personnel hold broadcasting occupational specialties for their military branch.
Since 1997, all of AFN's military personnel receive primary training at the Defense Information School (DINFOS) at Fort George G. Meade in Maryland. Prior to 1997, DINFOS was located at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1997, Fort Benjamin Harrison was largely closed as a function of the 1991 Base Closure and Realignment Commission. Additional/Advanced training is also available at Fort George G. Meade.
Some of AFN's broadcasters have previous commercial broadcasting experience prior to enlisting in the military, but it is not a prerequisite for enlistment in the military as a broadcaster. During their training, the broadcasters are taught to use state-of-the-art audio and visual editing equipment similar to their civilian counterparts.
AFN management is located in Alexandria, Virginia, but will move to the new DMA headquarters, soon to be built, at Fort George G. Meade by September, 2011. Day-to-day AFN broadcast operations are conducted at the AFN Broadcast Center/Defense Media Center in Riverside, California, from where all global radio and television satellite feeds emanate.
The American Forces Network can trace its origins back to May 26, 1942, when the War Department established the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS).[6] A television service was first introduced in 1954 with a "pilot" station at Limestone AFB, Maine. In 1954, the television mission of AFRS was officially recognized and AFRS (Armed Forces Radio Service) became AFRTS (Armed Forces Radio and Television Service).[6] All of the Armed Forces broadcasting affiliates worldwide merged under the AFN banner on 1 January 1998. On November 21, 2000, The American Forces Information Service directed a change of the AFRTS organizational title from Armed Forces Radio and Television Service back to American Forces Radio and Television Service. A timeline of the history of AFN is available online.[7]
The first Radio station began in Delta Jct, Alaska on what was then known as Ft. Greely. It was called KODK and was operated by on base personnel. In the years just preceding World War II there were several radio stations based in American military bases, but none were officially recognized until 1942. The success of these individual radio stations helped pave the way for the AFN. As such, there was no single station that could be called the "first" to sign on as an AFN station. About two months before formal establishment of AFN, however, a station called "PCAN" began regular broadcast information service in the Panama Canal Zone, primarily for troops on jungle bivouac. The station, located at Fort Clayton, was later to become part of AFRS, first simply as "Armed Forces Network" located at Albrook Field.
The U.S. Army began broadcasting from London during World War II, using equipment and studio facilities borrowed from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
The first transmission to U.S. troops began at 5:45 p.m. on July 4, 1943 and included less than five hours of recorded shows, a BBC news and sports broadcast. That day, Corporal Syl Binkin became the first U.S. Military broadcaster heard over the air. The signal was sent from London via telephone lines to five regional transmitters to reach U.S. troops in the United Kingdom as they made preparations for the inevitable invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe.
Fearing competition for civilian audiences the BBC initially tried to impose restrictions on AFN broadcasts within Britain (transmissions were only allowed from American Bases outside London and were limited to 50 watts of transmission power) and a minimum quota of British produced programming had to be carried. Nevertheless AFN programmes were widely enjoyed by the British civilian listeners who could receive them and once AFN operations transferred to continental Europe (shortly after D-Day) AFN were able to broadcast with little restriction with programmes available to civilian audiences across most of Europe (including Britain) after dark.
As D-Day approached, the network joined with the BBC and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to develop programs especially for the Allied Expeditionary Forces. Mobile stations, complete with personnel, broadcasting equipment, and a record library were deployed to broadcast music and news to troops in the field. The mobile stations reported on front line activities and fed the news reports back to studio locations in London.
Although the network's administrative headquarters remained in London, its operational headquarters soon moved to AFN Paris.
As Allied forces continued to push German soldiers back into their homeland, AFN moved east as well. The liberation of most of Western Europe saw AFN stations serving the forces liberating Biarritz, Cannes, Le Havre, Marseille, Nice, Paris, and Reims.
On 10 July 1945, the first AFN station in occupied Germany started broadcasting, the AFN Munich. Its first broadcast was however incorrect as it began with the sentence "Good morning! This is AFN Munich, the voice of the 7th Army!". General George S. Patton, commander of the 3rd Army, was furious with the opening as his army had taken control over Munich the previous night, and demanded that the responsible person be court-martialed.[8][9]
On December 31, 1945, AFN London signed off the air, and in 1948 AFN closed all its stations in France. This started the cycle of AFN stations where they would be built up during wartime then torn down or moved after the war was over. Of the 300 stations in operation worldwide in 1945, only 60 remained in 1949.
AFN continued its mission of connecting troops with home and boosting morale in both the Vietnam War and Korean War.
A large number of AFN stations continued broadcasting from American bases in Europe (particularly Germany) after World War II. (Eight remain on-air today. See German Wikipedia). During the 1950s and 60's civilian audiences in Europe widely listened to AFN, as American music was very popular but rarely played on most European broadcasting stations (which at the time were largely state operated). This was particularly the case in Communist bloc countries, where (despite the language barrier) it was seen as an alternative way of maintaining contact with the west, and had the added bonus of not being subjected to radio jamming unlike such stations as Radio Free Europe which carried news in Eastern European languages.
Especially popular were 'There's Music in the Air' in the fifties, aired on about 19:00 CET. The program had Belle of the Ball by Leroy Anderson as its theme tune.
In France, about a dozen AFN stations operated, with AFN Orléans, equipped with studios, as the control station. The network broadcasted music, shows, news relayed from AFN Frankfurt, locally produced shows and other features aimed at the American soldiers and their families stationed in France. In particular, a whole team of reporters and technicians was sent to Le Mans to report the 24 hours race, at a time when Ford was doing its best to beat the Ferraris, and finally succeeded. AFN France consisted in 50 watts, frequency modulated transmitters purchased from a French manufacturer (TRT)type OZ 305. The network employed a technical director, a program director, several American broadcast professionals on military duty, and some French studio operators, record librarians, secretaries and maintenance technicians. The program was fed from AFN Orléans studios to the slave transmitters via modulation lines rented from the French postmaster. AFN France was dismantled in 1967, when the US Forces left France, due to the French government's decision, under General DeGaulle, to withdraw its forces from the NATO's military command. The French employees were dismissed. They were granted a severance pay (in French Francs and taxable) of one month per year of service, paid by the US Army to the French government, in dollars (all the French employees were managed by a specially created service: le Bureau d'Aide aux Armées Alliées AAA).
When war broke out in Korea, Army broadcasters set up in Seoul, in the Banto Hotel (the old American Embassy Hotel). When the Chinese entered Seoul in December, 1950, the crew moved to a mobile unit that was just completed and retreated to Daegu, South Korea. Due to the large number of American troops in Korea, a number of stations were also started. Mobile units followed combat units to provide news and entertainment on the radio. By the time the 1953 armistice was signed, these mobile units became buildings with transmitters, and a network, American Forces Korea Network, was born.
Canadian and American television personality Jim Perry began his broadcasting career fresh out of high school with the Armed Forces Korea Network, under his birthname of Jim Dooley, spending one year in Korea before moving on to the University of Pennsylvania to advance his education.
An AFRTS radio station, and later a television station, became operational in Tehran in the late 1950s. The office and the equipment were stationed in Saltanat-abad area of Tehran. Its listeners (and viewers) were American military personnel stationed in Iran as part of ARMISH and MAAG programs, as well as non-military Iranians and foreigners residing in Iran. The AFRTS ceased to operate on 25 October 1976 the day prior to the Shah's 57th birthday. Radio 1555 closed with presenter: Air Force Staff Sergeant Barry Cantor playing as the last record: Roger Whittaker's 'Durham Town' (The Leaving). This was followed by a closing announcement by Chief Master Sergeant and Station Manager: Bob Woodruff ("After 22 years of audio broadcasting and 17 years of telecasting in Tehran, AFRTS Radio 1555 and TV Channel 7 cease all operations in this country at this time"). The station closed with the American National Anthem. On 26 October 1976 a new government owned International Service of National Iranian Radio & Television (NIRT) began. A new TV service began on Channel 5 and the new English-language radio service with two English and one American presenter, together with English and international news staff provided popular music and news (in Persian, French, German, Russian and English) for listeners of all nationalities in Tehran and throughout Iran.
As the American military presence in Vietnam increased, AFRTS opened radio and later television stations there. During the Vietnam War, the first American Forces Vietnam Network (AFVN)[10] broadcasts were beamed to the ground from fully equipped flying studios operated by the United States Navy.
AFRTS stations in Vietnam were initially known by the name "AFRS" (Armed Forces Radio Saigon), but as the number of stations quickly expanded throughout South Vietnam became known as "AFVN" (American Forces Vietnam Network)[10] and had several stations including Qui Nhơn, Nha Trang, Pleiku, Da Nang and Huế, the latter being overrun by the NVA in 1968 and replaced by a station in Quảng Trị. AFVN's headquarters station was located in Saigon.
In Vietnam, AFVN had a number of war related casualties. After a fierce fire fight that killed two soldiers and a civilian contractor, the remaining AFVN station staff at Huế was captured and spent five years as prisoners of war. At the height of American involvement in the war, Armed Forces Vietnam Network served over 500,000 fighting men and women at one time. AFVN developed a program along the lines of "G.I. Jive" from World War II. A number of local disc jockeys helped make hour-long music programs for broadcast. Perhaps the best known program became the morning "Dawn Buster" program, (the brainchild of Chief Petty Officer Bryant Arbuckle in 1962) thanks to the popularity of the sign-on slogan "Gooooood Morning, Vietnam" (which was initiated by Adrian Cronauer and later became the basis for the film Good Morning Vietnam starring Robin Williams). Among the notable people who were AFVN disc jockeys were Gary Gears, Lee Hansen, Cronauer and Pat Sajak. Beginning in 1971 AFVN began to close some stations in Vietnam. The last station to close was the key station in Saigon in 1973. Broadcasting continued under civilian leadership on FM only and using the acronym ARS for American Radio Service. The civilian engineers were provided by Pacific Architects and Engineers [PAE]. ARS stayed on the air until the fall of Saigon in April 1975. It famously played "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" as a signal for Americans to leave the city as the fall of Saigon approached.
In Thailand, the Department of Defense began the planning for the Armed Forces Thailand Network in 1964 with Project Lamplighter and Project Limelight. By late 1966, implementation of the network began by the US Air Force with stations on the air at Korat, U-Tapao, Ubon, Udon, Tahkli, and Nahkon Phanom (NKP). In addition, there were more than 20 satellite stations that rebroadcast one or more of the primary stations and that included one or more clandestine locations in Laos.
In April, 1970, a battle-damaged F-4 fighter-bomber, returning from a reconnaissance mission to survey a road being built by the Chinese toward Burma in northwest Laos, crashed into the AFTN station, killing nine of the Air Force broadcasters. This incident was the single worst catastrophe in the history of military broadcasting.
AFTN became the American Forces Thailand Network in the summer of 1969, and continued operations until the spring of 1976 when the remaining US troops in Thailand were withdrawn at the request of the Thai government. More than 600 broadcasters from the Air Force, Navy, and Army had served during the ten years that AFTN operated.
The history of AFTN can be found at the www.aftn.net web site along with a memorial to the nine broadcasters who gave their lives in the service of their country.
American Forces Radio and Television broadcast radio and television programming on Puerto Rico from Ramey Air Force Base and primarily from studios at U.S. Naval Station Roosevelt Roads (now decommissioned) as the American Forces Caribbean Network from the 1960s through the 1970s. Programming was also transmitted over a repeater transmitter located at San Juan.
Radio, and later television, to U.S. troops stationed in the Panama Canal Zone was provided initially by Armed Forces Radio (AFN) at Albrook Field and later as the Caribbean Forces Network at Fort Clayton with translators located on the Atlantic side of the Canal Zone. In the early 1960s with reorganization of the command located in the Canal Zone, CFN became the Southern Command Network (SCN). SCN also broadcasted to U.S. troops stationed in Honduras starting in 1987. SCN discontinued broadcasting in 1999 just before the turnover of the Canal Zone to the Republic of Panama when U.S. troops were removed from that country pursuant to the Torrijos-Carter Treaties.
With the advent of satellite broadcasting, AFRTS has shifted its emphasis away from shortwave. Currently, the U.S. Navy provides the only shortwave single sideband shortwave AFN radio broadcasts via relay sites around the world to provide service to ships, including Diego Garcia, Guam, Sigonella in Italy, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and others.
Until the early 1970s, U.S. military television service was provided in Central Europe by Air Force Television at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. In the early 1970s, AFN assumed this responsibility for the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS). On October 28, 1976, AFN television moved from AFTV's old black and white studios at Ramstein to the network's new color television studios in Frankfurt. In the 1980s the network added affiliates with studio capabilities in Würzburg, Germany, and Soesterberg, the Netherlands. In 2004, AFN Europe headquarters relocated to Coleman Barracks in Mannheim, Germany.
Over-the-air TV for U.S. Forces in the Pacific is currently provided by AFN-Korea, AFN-Japan and AFN-Kwajalein. All local operations merged under the AFN banner effective January 1, 1998.
AFN-Korea, formerly American Forces Korea Network (AFKN), is the largest of AFN's Pacific TV operations, although there are also AM and FM operations from military bases around Korea. AFKN began TV operations on September 15, 1957, and consists of an originating studio at Yongsan Garrison, Seoul and six relay transmitters throughout the peninsula. AFKN's first live television newscast aired on January 4, 1959. Until December 2007, the channel was widely available to non-military audiences on cable television, but following complaints from US companies trying to sell programs in South Korea, USFK requested that the Korean Broadcasting Commission direct the removal of Pacific Prime from the Korean cable lineups.[11]
AFN-Japan, formerly the Far East Network (FEN), has one full-power VHF terrestrial TV outlet. Located on Okinawa atop the Rycom Plaza Housing area in the central part of the island, AFN-Okinawa's (U.S. channel 8) TV signal serves Marines, Airmen, Sailors, Soldiers, and their families stationed on-island. AFN-Japan also operates three low-power UHF terrestrial transmitters at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Commander U.S Fleet Activities Sasebo, and Misawa Air Base. TV viewers on military bases in the Tokyo and Kanto Plain area of Japan can view AFN via contractor-operated base cable TV services, or through AFN Direct-To-Home (DTH) dishes if they reside off-base.
AFN-Japan's radio services consist of AM and FM stereo operations at Yokota Air Base (810 AM & cable FM), MCAS Iwakuni (1575 AM), FLTACTS Sasebo (1575 AM), Okinawa (89.1 FM & 648 AM) and Misawa Air Base (1575 AM).
AFN-Kwajalein at the Reagan Missile Test Range on Kwajalein Atoll is the only civilian-run affiliate in AFN, broadcasting on U.S. channel 13 for military personnel and civilian contractor employees and their families. AFN-Kwajalein's signal is beamed by microwave to the nearby atoll of Roi Namur and rebroadcast on channel 8.
With the availability of AFN's DTH service, terrestrial over-the-air TV broadcasts at all AFN outlets are slated for deactivation in the near future.
In January 1991, the network dispatched news teams and technicians to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. These broadcasters reported to families of soldiers deployed from Europe, and staffed a number of the U.S. radio stations making up the Armed Forces Desert Network. The first song on the air after the start of the ground offensive was Rock the Casbah by The Clash.
AFN-Iraq began broadcasting in December 2003 on the FM band shortly after the fall of Saddam. The first song on the air was Freedom by Paul McCartney. Within a short period of time, Freedom Radio was broadcasting on multiple FM channels from as far south as Basra to as far north as Mosul.
AFN-Iraq, Freedom Radio began as a joint effort between the Air Force, the Marines, and the Army. The very first unit to operate the station was the 222nd Broadcast Operations Detachment, an Army Reserve unit out of Southern California. "Always There and On The Air" was the phrase that started it all, even though there were only 8 hours of live radio to kick things off.
After an introduction from Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the Commander of Coalition Ground Forces in Iraq, Air Force Master Sergeant Erik Brazones was the first DJ on the air. When the 222nd BOD took the reins of the radio operations, the first two regular radio shows were "Niki Cage in the morning" and "Abbey in the Afternoon".
AFN Afghanistan operates out of a building on Bagram Air Base. Its radio frequency throughout Afghanistan is 94.1 and 97.1 in Manas and produces live local shows. Its first radio transmission was at 0630 on Friday, 21 July 2006. Beyond radio AFN Afghanistan also does television news. It produces a daily 5 minute newscast which is called Freedom Watch Afghanistan and airs on the Pentagon Channel.
The station is typically staffed with Air Force broadcasters but also slots Army, Navy and Marine broadcasters as well. For support there is usually a four-man team of engineers to handle all transmission, decoder, and satellite issues.
AFN in Germany and SEB (Southern European Broadcasting) in Italy provided broadcasting to U.S. troops in Western Europe throughout the Cold War. The U.S. defense drawdown began in earnest after the Gulf War, and impacted AFN stations across Europe, as many stations were consolidated or deactivated with the closing of bases. In Europe, AFN is still on the air from Tuzla, Bosnia and Taszár, Hungary to inform and entertain U.S. forces.
AFN went on the air May 29 with service at the Tirana airport in Albania with satellite decoders and large screen televisions placed in high traffic areas. At the same time, the AFN also advanced into the Yugoslav province of Kosovo along with NATO.
AFN viewers abroad witnessed live television coverage of the terrorist attacks on The Pentagon and World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
During military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq AFN provided non-stop coverage of the campaigns. AFN broadcast personnel from Europe deployed with the troops to cover events. Today AFN has a staffed affiliate in Iraq, AFN-Baghdad (launched 2003).
Wherever large numbers of US troops are deployed, the AFN sets up operation, providing news and entertainment from home. Today AFN has several satellites and uses advanced digital compression technology to broadcast TV and radio to 177 countries and territories, as well as on board U.S. Navy vessels.
AFN's television service is broadcast in standard North American NTSC format of 525 lines. All programming delivered by satellite is PowerVu encrypted DVB. While programming is provided to AFN by major American TV networks and program syndicators at little to no-cost, for copyright and licensing reasons it is intended solely for U.S. Forces personnel, authorized Department of Defense civilian employees, State Department diplomatic personnel, and their families overseas.
AFN-TV is available to authorized viewers by "Direct-To-Home" (DTH) service with set-top decoders purchased or leased through military exchanges (similar to a membership store), licensed/contracted commercial cable operators, purchased used from other military members (the cheapest option) or terrestrial signal. The advent of DTH service coincides with the phasing-out of AFN terrestrial TV broadcasts due to reclamation of frequencies by host nations.
While the audience tunes into AFN to watch their favorite shows or listen to the latest Stateside hits, entertainment is the "candy coating" used to attract the military viewer/listener. AFN's primary mission is to provide access for worldwide, regional and local command information (CI) spots, which air during commercial breaks in programming instead of commercial advertisements. These CI spots run the gamut from reminding servicemembers to register to vote, promoting local command-sponsored recreation events & off-duty educational programs, providing health and wellness tips, and listing what's playing at local base movie theaters.
AFN also inserts public service announcements from the Ad Council. Some of the 35 overseas AFN affiliates have the capability to cover the "worldwide" CI spots placed by the AFN Broadcast Center in California with regional or locally produced CI spots (such as localized messages from senior leadership).
Many service members welcome this approach, while others find it troublesome, especially during the airing of the Super Bowl.
The network is allowed to broadcast commercial movie promotion trailers provided by the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) and the Navy Motion Picture Service (NMPS) to promote the latest film releases in base theaters worldwide. Previously these were the only true "commercials" authorized for broadcast. AFN has recently started airing advertisements for colleges and universities, including for-profit universities such as the University of Phoenix which has been a source of controversy.[12]
AFN Radio and TV schedules are available at myafn.net.
AFN also offers a variety of radio programming over its various frequencies throughout the world. Not only is there local programming (with military disc jockeys), but there is satellite programming, as well. Music programming spans Classic Rock, Rhythmic R&B, Jack FM, Techno/Trance and country music. Ryan Seacrest's AT 40, The Rick Dees' Weekly Top 40 and the American Country Countdown with Kix Brooks are broadcast weekly over AFN Radio. In addition to music, AFN broadcasts syndicated talk radio programs such as Car Talk, Kidd Kraddick in the Morning, Kim Komando, The Rush Limbaugh Show, The Motley Fool Radio Show, A Prairie Home Companion, Doug Stephan,Titillating Sports with Rick Tittle, Sports Overnight America, and other programs form a variety of sources. Weekly religious programming is offered to AFN stations via closed-circuit.
On December 5, 2005, liberal/progressive Ed Schultz and conservative talk show host Sean Hannity were added to the radio programs provided by the AFN Broadcast Center to its affiliate stations. Liberal Alan Colmes rounds out the political talk lineup on The Voice channel.
On April 24, 2006, AFN Europe launched AFN The Eagle, a virtually 24-hour-a-day radio service format initially modeled after "Jack FM" but most recently a "Hot AC" format. This replaced ZFM, which had more of a CHR flavor. When the Eagle was launched AFN Europe took control of what local DJs could play.
Altogether, AFN produces 10 general-use streams for AFN stations to use. Of these, seven are music-based, two are sports-based, and one is a general news/talk channel, The Voice, which also features live play-by-play of American sports. (it's also the one heard on shortwave, if the shortwave radio has Single sideband (also known as SSB) installed). How these stations use these formats is up to them. These formats are:
Like its radio counterpart, AFN TV tries to air programming from a variety of sources to replicate programming on a typical U.S. TV channel; sourcing from U.S. commercial networks (including PBS), and program syndicators at little to no-cost since AFN does not air commercials and in that regards cannot profit from airing shows like stations in the U.S. can. In their place, AFN inserts public service announcements on various subjects; these can be civilian "agency spots" created by The Ad Council, nationally-recognized religious and public health charities, AFN's own "command information" spots produced by the AFRTS Radio-Television Production Office (RTPO), or announcements by a regional/local AFN affiliate. The most common PSAs shown deal with sexual harassment, public health and safety, force protection/anti-terrorism, pride in service, and messages to the troops.
AFN produces and broadcasts eight core satellite television channels in NTSC color. They are accessible to both military and foreign service personnel abroad. All 8 feeds are accessible in core areas, including but not limited to European, Korean, and Japanese posts. Much of the rest of the world is limited to a smaller but more widespread naval broadcast.
Unless specified, the first telecast of each channel targets the Japan/Korea region, then replayed several hours later for the Central European time zone.
Table of AFN-transmitters in Germany. Table may be incorrect and incomplete. Please correct and expand if necessary.
| Frequency | Power | Location | Description of transmitter site | Geographical location | Remarks | |
| 873 kHz | 150 kW | Weisskirchen | 3 guyed lattice steel masts insulated against ground, height: 86 meters (282 ft), Directional Antenna Mode | 50°10'59"N 8°36'45"E | ||
| 1107 kHz | 10 kW | Grafenwöhr | 66-meter-tall (217 ft) guyed tubular steel mast insulated against ground, dismantled in 2009 | 49°42'47"N 11°54'42"E | ||
| 1107 kHz | 10 kW | Vilseck | 65-meter-tall (213 ft) guyed tubular steel mast insulated against ground | 49°38'41"N 11°47'1"E | ||
| 1107 kHz | 10 kW | Berlin-Dahlem | 126-meter-tall (413 ft) guyed lattice steel mast insulated against ground | 52°27'47"N 13°17'26"E | demolished on December 14, 1996 | |
| 1107 kHz | 10 kW | Nürnberg | 122-meter-tall (400 ft) guyed lattice steel mast insulated against ground | shut down | ||
| 1107 kHz | 10 kW | Otterbach | 136-meter-tall (446 ft) guyed lattice steel mast insulated against ground | 49°29'27"N 7°43'3"E | ||
| 1107 kHz | 40 kW | Ismaning | 2 guyed lattice steel masts insulated against ground, height: 94 meters (308 ft) | 48°14'40"N 11°44'42"E | shut down | |
| 1143 kHz | 1 kW | Bitburg | 54-meter-tall (177 ft) guyed mast radiator | 49°56'35"N 6°32'29"E | ||
| 1143 kHz | 5 kW | Bremerhaven | 65-meter-tall (213 ft) guyed mast radiator | shut down | ||
| 1143 kHz | 10 kW | Hirschlanden | 40-meter-tall (130 ft) guyed lattice steel mast insulated against ground | 48°49'43"N 9°2'11"E | Telekom transmitter | |
| 1143 kHz | 1 kW | Heidelberg | 65-meter (213 ft) guyed tubular steel mast insulated against ground | 49°25'58"N 8°38'42"E | ||
| 1143 kHz | 1 kW | Hof | 45-meter-tall (148 ft) guyed mast radiator | shut down | ||
| 1143 kHz | 1 kW | Karlsruhe | 61-meter-tall (200 ft) guyed mast radiator | shut down | ||
| 1143 kHz | 1 kW | Mönchengladbach | 45.5-meter-tall (149 ft) guyed lattice steel mast insulated against ground | 51°10'2"N 6°23'56"E | ||
| 1143 kHz | 300 W | Göppingen | 37-meter-tall (121 ft) guyed mast radiator | shut down | ||
| 1143 kHz | 300 W | Würzburg | 40-meter-tall (130 ft) guyed lattice steel mast insulated against ground | 49°47'26"N 9°58'54"E | shut down | |
| 1143 kHz | 300 W | Bamberg | 40-meter-tall (130 ft) guyed lattice steel mast insulated against ground | 49°53'17"N 10°55'24"E | ||
| 1143 kHz | 300 W | Schweinfurt | 40-meter-tall (130 ft) guyed mast radiator? | |||
| 1143 kHz | 300 W | Bad Kissingen | 48-meter-tall (157 ft) guyed mast radiator | shut down | ||
| 1143 kHz | 300 W | Wildflecken | 45-meter-tall (148 ft) guyed mast radiator | shut down | ||
| 1143 kHz | 300 W | Fulda | 54-meter-tall (177 ft) guyed mast radiator | shut down | ||
| 1143 kHz | 300 W | Bad Hersfeld | 25-meter-tall (82 ft) free-standing tower insulated against ground | shut down | ||
| 1143 kHz | 300 W | Giessen | 61-meter-tall (200 ft) guyed lattice steel mast insulated against ground | 50°35'27"N 8°43'6"E | shut down | |
| 1485 kHz | 1 kW | Augsburg | 56-meter-tall (184 ft) guyed lattice steel mast insulated against ground | 48°21'8"N 10°51'19"E | shut down, mast was demolished in 2008 | |
| 1485 kHz | 300 W | Crailsheim | 65-meter-tall (213 ft) guyed mast radiator | shut down | ||
| 1485 kHz | 300 W | Hohenfels | 40-meter-tall (130 ft) guyed lattice steel mast insulated against ground | 49°13'14"N 11°51'12"E | ||
| 1485 kHz | 300 W | Ansbach | 67-meter-tall (220 ft) guyed tubular steel mast insulated against ground | 49°19'17"N 10°35'44"E | ||
| 1485 kHz | 300 W | Regensburg | Long wire antenna on wooden 20-meter (66 ft) tower | shut down | ||
| 1485 kHz | 300 W | Garmisch-Partenkirchen | 30-meter-tall (98 ft) guyed mast radiator | shut down | ||
| 1485 kHz | 300 W | Berchtesgaden | 34-meter-tall (112 ft) guyed mast radiator | shut down |
| Frequency | Power | Location | Description of transmitter site | geographical location | Remarks |
| 87.9 MHz | 1 kW | Berlin | now used by Star FM Maximum Rock | ||
| 89.4 MHz | Hohenfels | ||||
| 90 MHz | 0.245 kW | Amberg | |||
| 90.3 MHz | Garmisch-Partenkirchen | ||||
| 90.3 MHz | 0.02 kW | Prien | |||
| 93.5 MHz | 1 kW | Sögel | |||
| 97.7 MHz | 0.1 kW | Bad Aibling | |||
| 98.5 MHz | 0.1 kW | Grafenwoehr | |||
| 98.7 MHz | 60 kW | Grosser Feldberg | |||
| 100 MHz | 15 kW | Augsburg | |||
| 100.2 MHz | 5 kW | Kaiserslautern-Vogelweh | |||
| 102.3 MHz | 100 kW | Stuttgart | 193-meter-tall (633 ft) concrete tower | 48°45'49"N 9°12'20"E | Telekom transmitter |
| 103.0 MHz | 0.500 kW | Pirmasens | |||
| 104.1 MHz | Grafenwöhr | ||||
| 104.6 MHz | 0.375 kW | Heidelberg | Aerial on AM broadcasting mast | 49°25'58"N 8°38'42"E | |
| 104.9 MHz | Illesheim | ||||
| 104.9 MHz | 0.16 kW | Würzburg | Aerial on AM broadcasting mast | 49°47'26"N 9°58'54"E | |
| 105.1 MHz | Spangdahlem | Aerial on AM broadcasting mast | 49°56'35"N 6°32'29"E | ||
| 106.1 MHz | Kalkar | ||||
| 107.3 MHz | 0.05 kW | Heidelberg | |||
| 107.3 MHz | 1 kW | Ansbach | |||
| 107.3 MHz | Mannheim-Käfertal | ||||
| 107.4 MHz | 0.3 kW | Fürth | |||
| 107.6 MHz | Vilseck | ||||
| 107.6 MHz | Bad Godesberg | ||||
| 107.9 MHz | Bremerhaven |
The AFN transmitters in Germany are operated by different authorities but most are operated directly by the U.S. military. Some are the property of Deutsche Telekom, while others are controlled by German public broadcasting corporations.
Table of AFN-transmitters in Saudi Arabia. Table may be incorrect and incomplete. Please correct and expand if necessary.
| Frequency | Power | Signal Type | City | Transmitter site | Approximate Geographical Location | Channel Name (Slogan) | Genre |
| 103.1 MHz | 100 W | Mono | Riyadh | Eskan Village (Al-Kharj Rd.) | Voice Channel (NPR News) | News, Talkshows, Jazz & Oldies | |
| 103.9 MHz | 100 W | Mono | Riyadh | Eskan Village (Al-Kharj Rd.) | // | Mainstream Country | Country |
| 105.1 MHz | 100 W | Mono | Riyadh | Eskan Village (Al-Kharj Rd.) | // | Z Rock | Alternative rock |
| 105.9 MHz | 100 W | Mono | Riyadh | Eskan Village (Al-Kharj Rd.) | // | Gravity | Urban Rhythmic (R&B, Pop & Hip-Hop) |
| 107.9 MHz | 100 W | Mono | Riyadh | Eskan Village (Al-Kharj Rd.) | // | Hot AC (Today's Best Hits) | Young adult alternative/80's and 90's |
| 103.1 MHz | 21 W | Stereo | Riyadh | Riyadh U.S. Embassy | Voice Channel (NPR News) | News, Talkshows, Jazz & Oldies | |
| 105.1 MHz | 10 W | Stereo | Riyadh | Riyadh U.S. Embassy | // | Z Rock | Alternative rock |
| 107.9 MHz | 30 W | Stereo | Riyadh | Riyadh U.S. Embassy | // | Mainstream Country | Country |
| 93.7 MHz | 250 W | Mono | Jeddah | Jeddah U.S. Embassy | Hot AC (Today's Best Hits) | Young adult alternative/80's and 90's | |
| 100.7 MHz | 250 W | - | Jeddah | Jeddah U.S. Embassy | // | Voice Channel (NPR News) | News, Talkshows, Jazz & Oldies |
| 103.9 MHz | 50 W | Stereo | Jeddah | Jeddah U.S. Embassy | // | Jack FM | 1980s & 1990s |
| 91.4 MHz | 250 W | Stereo | Khobar | Saudi Aramco | // | News, Hot AC (Today's Best Hits) | Young adult alternative/80's and 90's |
The AFN FM Transmitters in Saudi Arabia is managed by two authorities, the U.S. military and Saudi Aramco.
[All Freedom Radio-Iraq stations went off the air on 30-SEP-2011 as a result of the continuing draw-down of U.S. Military personnel. Listing remains to document the coverage of Iraq.]
Radio: AFN Rota Radio - The Eagle
Television: AFN Prime Atlantic/AFN Benelux (NTSC)
Radio: AFN Benelux
AFN Benelux - The Eagle
[//toolserver.org/~dispenser/cgi-bin/dab_solver.py?page=American_Forces_Network&editintro=Template:Disambiguation_needed/editintro&client=Dab_button&fixlinks=Camp+Jackson ]) (100 W)
[//toolserver.org/~dispenser/cgi-bin/dab_solver.py?page=American_Forces_Network&editintro=Template:Disambiguation_needed/editintro&client=Dab_button&fixlinks=Camp+Jackson ]) (250 W)
[//toolserver.org/~dispenser/cgi-bin/dab_solver.py?page=American_Forces_Network&editintro=Template:Disambiguation_needed/editintro&client=Dab_button&fixlinks=Camp+Jackson ]) (1 kW)
resource:[14]
See: AFN Shortwave Frequencies
| Prefectures | NHK | NNN | JNN | FNN | ANN | TXN | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fukuoka | Fukuoka | Fukuoka | FBS | RKB | TNC | KBC | TVQ | |
| Kitakyūshū | Kitakyūshū | |||||||
| Saga | Saga | STS | ||||||
| Nagasaki | Nagasaki | NIB | NBC | KTN | NCC | |||
| Kumamoto | Kumamoto | KKT | RKK | TKU | KAB | |||
| Ōita | Ōita | (TOS) | OBS | TOS | OAB | |||
| Miyazaki | Miyazaki | (UMK) | MRT | UMK | (UMK) | |||
| Kagoshima | Kagoshima | KYT | MBC | KTS | KKB | |||
| Okinawa | Okinawa | Okinawa | RBC | OTV | QAB | AFN | ||
| Sakishima | ||||||||
| Daitō | Tokyo | TBS | CX | EX | ||||