Posted on 10/09/2005 3:52:29 PM PDT by Lessismore
The Japanese and U.S. governments have agreed in principle to relocate the headquarters of the U.S. Marine Corps' III Marine Expeditionary Force--now located at Camp Courtney in Okinawa Prefecture--to Guam and to cut the number of marines in the prefecture by several thousand as part of measures to reduce the burden of U.S. forces in the prefecture, sources said Saturday.
The two governments also are considering moving some exercises conducted by F-15 fighters based at Kadena Air Base to Air Self-Defense Force bases outside the prefecture.
The two governments are considering including measures aimed at reducing the burden imposed on locals in their interim report on the realignment of the U.S. forces stationed in Japan.
They hope the interim report will be completed by the end of this month. But if negotiations over the relocation of Futenma Air Station cannot be settled, the report could be delayed, the sources said.
According to the sources, the III MEF command will be relocated on the condition that Japan shoulders the costs of constructing housing and other facilities for the command in Guam.
Offices and houses for the command and more than 4,000 marines and other concerned people are stationed at Camp Courtney in Uruma, Okinawa Prefecture.
According to the sources, the two sides are discussing reducing the number of marines stationed in Okinawa from their present strength of about 18,000 by between 3,000 and 5,000.
"[The reduction] will be a significant and tangible measure," a government source said.
By holding exercises of Kadena's F-15 fighter jets at ASDF bases outside Okinawa Prefecture, the number of takeoffs and landings of F-15 practices will decline and noise pollution around the base will be reduced.
The Nyutabaru Air Base in Miyazaki Prefecture, the Tsuiki Air Base in Fukuoka Prefecture and Chitose Air Base in Hokkaido have emerged as possible sites to host F-15 practice flights. Exercises at these ASDF bases would be conducted as joint drills with the ASDF.
The number of takeoffs and landings at Kadena, which is estimated at about 75,000 a year, could be cut by several thousand, the sources said.
As other measures to reduce local burdens, the two governments are discussing relocating 12 KC-130 midair refueling tankers stationed at the Futenma Air Station to the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Kanoya Air Base in Kagoshima Prefecture.
The two governments also agreed in principle to have the Nyutabaru and Tsuiki air bases take over the function of Futenma's main runway, the sources said.
Meanwhile, the Japanese and U.S. governments plan to hold high-level talks this week about the relocation of the Futenma Air Station.
Richard Lawless, deputy undersecretary of defense, will arrive in Tokyo after the three-day weekend to meet with Japanese officials.
The two sides also will discuss other aspects of the interim report and the agenda for a "Two plus Two" top level security meeting to be held in Washington on Oct. 29.
Defense and foreign affairs chiefs from both countries will attend the talks.
Even with the Japanese in Iraq, with the great relations we have with them, I still have a very bad feeling about leaving Okinawa. Thousands of Americans died to capture the island, thousands more were wounded, many for life. The Japanese there fought like, well, like there was no tomorrow, and for them, there wasnt. How do we repay the families of dead Americans? Building them new houses on Guam wont cut it.
I don't follow. If the U.S. wanted to make Okinawa the 51st state, they would have done so already. As for servicemen who fought on Okinawa, they're dead or retired. I doubt many of them live in Guam or Okinawa, but the government should take care of them regardless of whether or not the Marines get moved to some other prefecture. And if the Okinawans get a little more peace and quiet, what's wrong with that? The events of two or more generations ago aren't entirely irrelevant to current problems, but U.S. forces should be used for countering real threats, and Japanese forces need to be strong to help ensure security in that part of the world. Otherwise, conflicts over there are more likely to happen again.
Why we still have troops in S. Korea, Japan, Europe, etc. is beyond me. WWII ENDED 60 YEARS AGO. The Soviet hegemony has fallen. We can send troops inwhere in the world fairly quickly. Time to move out and use those troops/$$$$ to better purposes.
How far is Okinawa from China and North Korea? The blood of American patriots counts for something in my book.
We must maintain some semblance of troop strength in the western Pacific. Where is going to be tough to decide.
Mission accomplished.
Oh come on!
Patriot blood means a great deal to me too, but we have shed blood all over the planet - you wanna occupy all those places in perpetuity?
We don't need the bases; those countries can take care of themselves in the short run; and we have better ways to spend the $$$ and the deployed troops.
Guam is part of the United States, our presence there will use the excess capacity we now have at Andersen AFB and the Navy facilities at the other end of the island. We have better and more frequent commercial airline service to Guam, a federal district court, U.S. shopping facilities, great recreational facilities, U.S. franchise restaurants (eg: Tony Roma's- A Place for Ribs), U.S. hotels for visiting families, excellent ports and flying weather and many other logistical and convenient reasons for the move. It is the best kept vacation secret in the U.S.
Guam's proximity to contingent hotspots in the mid-Pacific area and the Korean/China regions is every bit as good, if not better, than remaining on Okinawa. Our diplomatic access to friendly nations such as Australia, India and the free Chinese can be better and more efficient on Guam. And, perhaps as important as any other consideration, the indigenous language on Guam is English and the forces posted there don't have the Sword of Damocles, in the form of Japanese law and the Status of Forces Treaty, hanging over their head because, being part of the U.S., American law applies. That affects predicability and understanding of one's lawful obligations and, in many cases, affects the relationships of dependents and their off post jobs. Guam has U.S. satellite tv and movie theathers and so on.
All things considered; force logistics, positional readiness, base facilities, the absence of foreign influence on a daily basis, personal and personnel creature comforts and morale, Guam is an excellent move.
Finally, for the poster who wants to remain on Okinawa because we fought and won a major battle there, we did the same on Guam and the neighboring island of Tinian was the launching point of the Enola Gay and Bock's Car, the B-29s, that delivered the knock-out blows to Japan in 1945.
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