Nations In The Pacific Want US Bases

Note: Squares denote countries/states with full- or part-time U.S. military presence, not locations or bases or installations. Sources: U.S. Defense Dept.’s Defense Manpower Data Center; The Heritage Foundation’s 2019 Index of U.S. Military Strength; U.S. Indo-Pacific Command

Wall Street Journal: U.S. Military Is Offered New Bases in the Pacific

Palau invites Pentagon presence at unspecified joint-use facilities, marking an advance of U.S. efforts to pressure China

PALAU—The Republic of Palau has asked the Pentagon to build ports, bases and airfields on the island nation, officials said, offering a boost to U.S. military expansion plans in Asia, as Washington aims to counter China.

The request came during a visit here last week by Defense Secretary Mark Esper, the first-ever trip by a U.S. Pentagon chief to the tiny republic, which is made up of hundreds of islands in the Philippine Sea and is closely aligned diplomatically with Taiwan.

Mr. Esper traveled to Palau as part of a U.S. effort to realign its military footprint in the region, adhering to the 2018 National Defense Strategy, which calls for enhanced steps to meet security challenges posed by China.

Beijing has moved to lay claim to islands in the South China Sea, a major global trade route. China also has increased jet-fighter flights near Taiwan, fought a border skirmish with India and passed a national-security law to limit Hong Kong’s autonomy.

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WNU Editor: Many Asian countries are not comfortable with what the Chinese are doing.

This Map Shows Where The U.S. Military Is Combating Terrorism

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Smithsonian: This Map Shows Where in the World the U.S. Military Is Combatting Terrorism

The infographic reveals for the first time that the U.S. is now operating in 40 percent of the world’s nations

Less than a month after the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, U.S. troops—with support from British, Canadian, French, German and Australian forces—invaded Afghanistan to fight Al Qaeda and the Taliban. More than 17 years later, the Global War on Terrorism initiated by President George W. Bush is truly global, with Americans actively engaged in countering terrorism in 80 nations on six continents.

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WNU Editor: That is a lot of U.S. military installations around the world.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis Believes That 20% Of U.S. Military Properties Around The World Are Not Needed

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis

Business Insider/Washington Examiner: Mattis estimates nearly 20% of the US military's property around the world may be unneeded

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told Congress that an estimated 19 percent of U.S. military properties around the world might be unneeded and he is pressing lawmakers to allow him to take a closer look.

Mattis provided the 19-percent-excess-capacity figure in a report to Congress earlier this month in what is the latest push by the Pentagon to get lawmakers to permit a new review of properties under the Base Realignment and Closure program, or BRAC, which could result in the shuttering of excess facilities in the 2020s.

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More News On U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis Remarks That 20% Of U.S. Military Properties Around The World Are Not Needed

Pentagon chief pushes for new round of base closures -- The Hill
DoD says it has 19 percent more facilities than it needs, even assuming a larger military -- Federal News Radio
Defense Secretary James Mattis tells Congress that shuttering unnecessary bases could save billions -- The Week Magazine
US military doesn't need 19% of its property, Pentagon chief estimates -- RT
Is a plan to save $2 billion by closing unneeded military bases really dead? -- Washington Examiner

Should The U.S. Close Its Overseas Military Bases?

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Located: The U.S. has military bases around the world, as depicted in this graphic. Daily Mail

John Glaser, Time: Why We Should Close America’s Overseas Military Bases

They do not support our core national interests

Despite our unorthodox presidential election, America’s overseas military bases are largely taken for granted in today’s foreign policy debates. The U.S. maintains a veritable empire of military bases throughout the world—about 800 of them in more than 70 countries. Many view our bases as a symbol of our status as the dominant world power. But America’s forward-deployed military posture incurs substantial costs and disadvantages, exposing the U.S. to vulnerabilities and unintended consequences.

Our overseas bases simply do not pay enough dividends when it comes to core national interests. Here are seven reasons why it’s time to close them.

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WNU Editor: Russia has only a naval and air force base in Syria .... and maybe a future base in Cuba and/or Vietnam. China has only a military base agreement with Djibouti. Both countries are major powers on the world scene .... and they certainly do not have 800 bases. Is the U.S. over-extended with such a huge military base presence around the world .... that is an answer that I do not know. But I do know that it is a discussion that should be brought up in the next administration.

The Most Important U.S. Air Force Base Abroad Is In Germany

A US Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone in Germany. (Reuters / Hannibal Hanschke)

Norman Solomon, The Nation: The Most Important US Air Force Base You’ve Never Heard Of

Ramstein, Germany, is the hub for America’s global drone war, from North Africa to South Asia.

The overseas hub for America’s “war on terror” is the massive Ramstein Air Base in southwest Germany. Nearly ignored by US media, Ramstein serves crucial functions for drone warfare and much more. It’s the most important Air Force base abroad, operating as a kind of grand central station for airborne war—whether relaying video images of drone targets in Afghanistan to remote pilots with trigger fingers in Nevada, or airlifting special-ops units on missions to Africa, or transporting munitions for airstrikes in Syria and Iraq. Soaking up billions of taxpayer dollars, Ramstein has scarcely lacked for anything from the home country, other than scrutiny.

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WNU Editor: I guess this is the price that Germany must continue to pay after losing the war 71 years ago.

Are U.S. Bases Overseas Doing Us More Harm Than Good?

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Located: The U.S. has military bases around the world, as depicted in this graphic. Daily Mail

David Vine, The Nation: The United States Probably Has More Foreign Military Bases Than Any Other People, Nation, or Empire in History

And it’s doing us more harm than good.

With the US military having withdrawn many of its forces from Iraq and Afghanistan, most Americans would be forgiven for being unaware that hundreds of US bases and hundreds of thousands of US troops still encircle the globe. Although few know it, the United States garrisons the planet unlike any country in history, and the evidence is on view from Honduras to Oman, Japan to Germany, Singapore to Djibouti.

Like most Americans, for most of my life, I rarely thought about military bases. Scholar and former CIA consultant Chalmers Johnson described me well when he wrote in 2004, “As distinct from other peoples, most Americans do not recognize—or do not want to recognize—that the United States dominates the world through its military power. Due to government secrecy, our citizens are often ignorant of the fact that our garrisons encircle the planet.”

WNU Editor: This is what I said about this subject last year .... The positioning of numerous US bases throughout the world is a military advantage that no one else in the world even comes close to matching. This is a testament to years of U.S. diplomacy, the implementation of economic strategies in tandem with military strategies .... and .... of course .... the willingness to pay for it.

As to whether or not this makes us (and the world) safer .... when I look at the history of the Cold War and current tense spots like the Korean peninsula .... I would have to say yes.

U.S. Military Expands Operations In Africa With The Opening Of A Second Drone Base In Niger

The Washington Post. Craig Whitlock and Gene Thorp/The Washington Post. Published on September 1, 2014

Pentagon Set To Open Second Drone Base In Niger As It Expands Operations In Africa -- Washington Post

The Pentagon is preparing to open a drone base in one of the remotest places on Earth: an ancient caravan crossroads in the middle of the Sahara.

After months of negotiations, the government of Niger, a landlocked West African nation, has authorized the U.S. military to fly unarmed drones from the mud-walled desert city of Agadez, according to Nigerien and U.S. officials.

The previously undisclosed decision gives the Pentagon another surveillance hub — its second in Niger and third in the region — to track Islamist fighters who have destabilized parts of North and West Africa. It also advances a little-publicized U.S. strategy to tackle counterterrorism threats alongside France, the former colonial power in that part of the continent.

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My Comment: This is a continuing  response to the growth of radical extremist groups in Africa .... but what is disconcerting is that this strategy is nothing new .... and it has yet to limit the growth of these groups.

Sam's Club Waives Membership Fees For U.S. Military Personnel During The Government Shutdown

Sam's Club Waives Membership Fees For Military Personnel During Shutdown -- Baltimore Sun

Sam's Club is waiving membership requirements for military personnel and retirees and their families during the government shutdown.

The retailer said Thursday it decided to waive the fees after dozens of commissaries on military bases were closed by the shutdown.

"Military personnel, retirees and their families heavily depend on commissaries for low-cost groceries and everyday needs," Sam's Club's announcement said.

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Update #1: Sam's Club Offers Free Passes to Military during Shutdown -- Wall Street Journal
Update #2: Free Military Sam’s Club Membership Until Shutdown Ends -- Spouse Buzz/Military.com

My Comment: Closing the base commissaries was (and is) a mistake. Many of them make a profit .... so closing them will actually cost money. I cannot help but feel that this is just a political tactic to cause and spread "pain".

The High Cost Of Maintaining U.S. Bases Overseas

File photo of an aerial view of MCAS Futenma in the heart of Ginowan City. Courtesy of the Ginowan City Government

Report: US Paying More For Bases In Allies’ Countries -- Stars and Stripes

WASHINGTON — The United States is bearing a bigger share of the cost to maintain military bases in allied countries than in years past, and military construction projects in those countries move ahead without proper oversight, according to a Congressional report released Wednesday.

A yearlong review by the Senate Armed Services Committee found that the United States spends more than $10 billion yearly to maintain overseas bases. Seventy percent of the spending is directed toward three major allies: Germany, Japan and South Korea. The figure does not include military pay and benefits or the cost of supporting the war in Afghanistan.

The report comes at a time of declining defense spending as well as a new defense strategy aimed at increasing U.S. influence and military presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

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Update: Report: US paying more for overseas bases in Germany, Japan, South Korea despite troop shifts -- Washington Post/AP

WNU Editor: For a list of U.S. bases overseas .... go here.

The U.S. Military Drawdown In Europe Continues

Portugal Rattled As U.S. Military Pares Back -- Wall Street Journal

Plan to Reduce Airbase's Staff Threatens Financial Troubles for Remote Island's Residents, Deals Symbolic Blow to Lisbon.

PRAIA DA VITÓRIA, Portugal—When euro-zone countries were slashing budgets last year, U.S. President Barack Obama urged them to tackle their currency crisis by focusing more on growth. But it is Mr. Obama's own belt-tightening plan for the Pentagon that is about to put a Portuguese community in the middle of the Atlantic deeper into economic trouble.

By summer of next year, most of the 1,380 Americans living in Praia da Vitória, on an island in the Azores, will head home as part of a plan to cut U.S. expenses there by $35 million a year. Left behind will be 160 U.S. Air Force personnel, a reduced Portuguese support staff and hundreds of unemployed in a town of 22,000 that for more than six decades has helped maintain U.S. operations and homes at Lajes Field.

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My Comment: The Portuguese must realize that the Americans could not stay there forever .... and for the U.S. .... the time to leave is now.

U.S. Military Bases Worldwide

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How US Taxpayers Are Paying The Pentagon To Occupy The Planet -- David Vine, Al Jazeera

Author gives an insight into what it costs US taxpayers to build and support the American global military presence.

"Are you monitoring the construction?" asked the middle-aged man on a bike accompanied by his dog.

"Ah, si," I replied in my barely passable Italian.

"Bene," he answered. Good.

In front of us, a backhoe's guttural engine whined into action and empty dump trucks rattled along a dirt track. The shouts of men vied for attention with the metallic whirring of drills and saws ringing in the distance. Nineteen immense cranes spread across the landscape, with the foothills of Italy's Southern Alps in the background. More than 100 pieces of earthmoving equipment, 250 workers and grids of scaffolding wrapped around what soon would be 34 new buildings.

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My Comment: In short .... U.S. forces are everywhere.

Map: US Bases Encircle Iran

Map: US Bases Encircle Iran -- Al Jazeera

Dozens of US and allied forces' military installations dot the region, from Oman, UAE and Kuwait to Turkey and Israel.

Doha, Qatar - US military bases continue to form a strategic envelope around Iran, although the American withdrawal from Iraq at the end of 2011 may have changed the regional balance somewhat towards Iran's favour. While US forces are scaling back in many parts of the globe due to budget cuts - and have begun a gradual depature from Afghanistan to be completed by 2014 - their international presence remains vast.

From an active-duty force of 1.4 million soldiers, the US has deployed some 350,000 troops to at least 130 foreign countries around the world. Some are at Cold War-era installations, but many are in or near combat zones in the Middle East. At more than 750 bases internationally, private contractors and third-country nationals also form a large percentage of the staff, in addition to military reservists and civilian employees of the Pentagon.

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My Comment: Using Google maps, Al Jazeera has put together an impressive map of U.S. bases in the Middle East and central Asia. Check it out.

Are Overseas U.S. Bases A Liability Or An Asset?

Puncturing The U.S. Base Myths -- Rep. J. Randy Forbes, The Diplomat

Military bases overseas are a vital part of American security, says U.S. Rep. J. Randy Forbes. Without them, crucial alliances in Asia could suffer.

As Washington continues to debate the consequences of defense cuts, one line of popular thinking is that we can save tax dollars without sacrificing security if we close down our overseas bases and bring our forces home. Why do we still have bases in Europe? Shouldn’t the Japanese just defend themselves?

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My Comment: When America was rich .... deterring regional aggression with forward basing has been central to U.S. military strategy since the end of World War II. Unfortunately .... those days are no longer with us. With the debt crisis continuing .... and no political will in Washington or in the electorate to push for non-defense cuts .... I expect a good number of these bases to be closed within the next 5-10 years.

U.S. Troops And Military Bases Around The World (Map)

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Located: The U.S. has military bases around the world, as depicted in this graphic. Daily Mail

Some U.S. Military History For A Saturday Afternoon.

Photo: Fort Independence. Castle Island, MA

America's First Pentagon -- Washington Examiner

When the topic of discussion is military based, the titles Pentagon and Department of Defense have become synonymous. As impressive as DoD’s home is, however, it is not the first American military structure built in the five-sided shape.

On Castle Island in Boston Harbor sits a granite star which is the oldest continuously fortified site in the United States to have British origin. Built in 1634, it was an earthen structure, relatively primitive in design with a cannon used as a source of coastal defense for Boston. After falling into disrepair, the structure was rebuilt of timber in the 1640s. By now, the fort was armed with six saker cannons and three additional smaller guns.

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My Comment: Some U.S. military history for a Saturday afternoon.

Standing Army - The American Empire

My Comment: 700 U.S. bases in 40 countries. Now .... that is power projection. Check out the whole video.

The World's 18 Strangest Military Bases

Navy Support Facility Diego GarciaDiego
Garcia BIOT, Chagos Archipelago:

Background: This joint U.S. and U.K. operation is situated on a tiny atoll about 1000 miles from India and tasked with providing logistical support to forces in Afghanistan and Iraq.

How It's Unique: "There's a certain amount of logistical difficulty" with ultra-remote facilities like Diego Garcia, Schulz says, and shipping materials can be costly. Diego Garcia's remoteness, though, allows it to be a key hub for tracking satellites, and it is one of five monitoring stations for GPS. Additionally, the island is one of only a handful of locations equipped with a Ground-based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance system for tracking objects in deep space. As an atoll, the land itself is rather oddly shaped, too. From end to end, Diego Garcia is 34 miles long, but its total area is only 11 square miles.

From Popular Mechanics:

The world's hodgepodge of military bases run the gamut from hazardous mountaintop forts to seemingly impenetrable underground bunkers. Then there are bases on remote islands tracking objects in deep space and high-tech laboratories probing the most lethal microbes in existence. The design of a base needs to address the immediate needs of a military while still being versatile enough to remain useful as threats and technology evolve. We tracked down some of the most interesting active military facilities and spoke with Brad Schulz, vice president of federal architecture at HNTB, about why they're notable.

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New Armored Wall System Assembles Like Legos, Could Replace Sandbags In Afghanistan

McCurdy's Armor Dynamic Defense Materials

From Popular Science:

Attention recruits. Those of you landing in Afghanistan in coming months may not have to engage in the sandbag stacking and trench digging usually associated with lowly grunt-dom. An $800,000 investment in an armored wall system known as McCurdy’s Armor could have Marines rapidly erecting 6.5-foot-tall mortar-, RPG- and bullet proof fortresses in less than an hour, saving the days it can take to fortify an area by conventional means and making forward-operating units more nimble.

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My Comment: The grunts are going to love this product .... but personally I am a bit skeptical. Call me old fashion, but I believe that a bunch of good sandbags provides the best protection possible .... one bag at a time.

How Many 'Military Sites' Does The U.S. Have Abroad?

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The air traffic control tower at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, is in a state of transition as it undergoes approximately $300,000 worth of upgrades. Work is progressing on time and within budget.

WNU Editor: Not counting Iraq and Afghanistan. Or the secret ones. The correct answer would be 761

America's Unwelcome Advances -- Mother Jones

According to the Pentagon's 2008 "Base Structure Report," its annual unclassified inventory of the real estate it owns or leases around the world, the United States maintains 761 active military "sites" in foreign countries. (That's the Defense Department's preferred term, rather than "bases," although bases are what they are.) Counting domestic military bases and those on US territories, the total is 5,429.

The overseas figure fluctuates year to year. The 2008 total is down from 823 in the Pentagon's 2007 report, but the 2007 number was up from 766 in 2006. The current total is, however, substantially less than the Cold War peak of 1,014 in 1967. Still, given that there are only 192 countries in the United Nations, 761 foreign bases is a remarkable example of imperial overstretch—even more so considering that official military reports understate the actual size of the US footprint. (The official figures omit espionage bases, those located in war zones, including Iraq and Afghanistan, and miscellaneous facilities in places considered too sensitive to discuss or which the Pentagon for its own reasons chooses to exclude—e.g. in Israel, Kosovo, or Jordan.)

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