Budget Cuts Will Mean The Closure Of U.S. Bases Worldwide

Lajes field. Wikipedia

Panetta Reassures Portugal On Azores Islands After U.S. Downsizes Decades-Old Base There -- Washington Post

LISBON — The Pentagon’s era of austerity is starting to pinch some remote corners of the globe, including a volcanic island in the mid-Atlantic.

The U.S. military has decided to greatly scale down Lajes Field, an air base in the Azores Islands that for decades has served as a refueling station and rest stop for long-haul flights. Almost 1,000 U.S. troops and their family members will come home by the end of next year, leaving behind a bare-bones crew to service the occasional flyby.

The move will save an estimated $350 million over a decade, a tiny fraction of the $500 billion in cuts the Pentagon must make during that same period. But ripple effects are already being felt in the Azores, a Portuguese territory, where 700 civilians depend on the base for their livelihoods.

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My Comment: The Portuguese should not worry too much .... this country has already shown interest in the old U.S. base.

Update: DoD To Delay USAF Personnel Reduction at Portuguese Base -- Defense News