Navy vessels are moored in port at the U.S. Naval Base Guam at Apra Harbor, Guam March 5, 2016

Pentagon’s Power Projection: Most Important US Military Bases Overseas

If North Korea conducted a missile strike against Guam, it could have had serious repercussions for the region, since the island hosts two of the most fortified US military installations in the Pacific, Sputnik contributor Andrei Kots writes, revealing what the most important US overseas military bases are.

Pyongyang has fulfilled preparations for a missile strike in the direction of Guam, the North Korean embassy’s charge d’affaires, Jin Jong Hyop, revealed in an interview with Sputnik last Tuesday; according to Sputnik contributor Andrei Kots, the target chosen by Pyongyang is an especially significant one.

“One of the most powerful and fortified military bases of the Pentagon is located in Guam,” Kots writes. “Its destruction could dramatically change the balance of power in the region.”

Guam Military Bases

Guam is an island territory of the United States situated in Micronesia in the western Pacific Ocean and home to two US major military installations: the Andersen Air Force Base and the Naval Base Guam located in Apra Harbor, a deepwater port on the western side of the island.

The journalist pointed out that the military facilities are regarded as the Pentagon’s main “muscles” in the Pacific region. The Andersen Air Force Base houses long-range bombers and missile carrier aircraft capable of delivering nuclear weapons.

B-1B Lancers at Anderson AIr Force Base in Guam  © US Air Force/Tech. Sgt. Richard P. Ebensberger
B-1B Lancers at Anderson AIr Force Base in Guam © US Air Force/Tech. Sgt. Richard P. Ebensberger

The infrastructure of the air base allows the US Air Force to deploy aircraft of any class, including modern B-52, B-1 Lancer and B-2 Spirit strategic bombers, as well as fighter jets, Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft and others.

According to some reports, six B-1B aircraft are currently on station on Guam; however, if necessary, the air group can be increased in a matter of days, Kots noted.

“The US Air Force is able to conduct missile and bomb strikes against targets located along Eurasia’s Pacific coast,” the journalist pointed out. “To date, the main potential target of [US] ‘strategists’ located in Guam is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). But they also may pose a potential threat to two major geopolitical players in the region — Russia, and China.”

For its part, the Naval Base Guam is second only to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and remains one of two major US Navy facilities in the Pacific Ocean, Kots remarked, adding that it is expected that up to 20,000 marines from Japan’s Okinawa will move to the Guam naval base in the future.

Although there is no exact data regarding the number and types of US vessels based at Apra Harbor, the US Navy reported in late October 2016 that the ballistic missile submarine the USS Pennsylvania (SSBN 735) visited it for a scheduled port visit on October 31. In addition, Los Angeles (SSN 688)-class fast attack submarines regularly patrol the region.

US Military Installations in Japan

However, the Guam military base is not the Pentagon’s only foothold in the region aimed at keeping an eye on China, North Korea and Russia, the journalist noted: mainland Japan and Okinawa are home to about 90 military facilities of the United States Forces Japan (USFJ) — an active subordinate unified command of the United States Pacific Command (USPACOM).

Kots noted that Misawa Air Base located 425 mi (684 km) north of Tokyo deserves special attention since it is one of a few foreign airfields where the Americans station their advanced fifth-generation F-22 Raptor fighters on a rotational basis.

“In general, the number and composition of military bases of the US Army, Air Force and the Navy in Japan indicate that the Pentagon views this country as a possible foothold for a potential military standoff with China, Russia and North Korea,” the journalist surmised.

But that is not all, the journalist notes: if one were to take a look at the largest US overseas military installations one would find out that one of them is located in Germany and another is situated in Qatar, to maintain control over the European theater and the Middle East, respectively.

Ramstein Air Base

Kots pointed out that the Ramstein Air Base, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, which serves as a headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe and a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) installation is the largest US military base in the European Union.

“It is also home to 16 squadrons of military transport aircraft of the 86th Airlift Wing (86 AW),” the journalist wrote. “It is here where [US] troops and equipment are being dispatched to, to take part in countless joint military exercises in Eastern Europe and the Baltic region with their NATO allies.”

The US and German flags fly behind a sign at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. © AP Photo
The US and German flags fly behind a sign at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. © AP Photo

In addition, up to 150 nuclear weapons are stockpiled at this base, Korts highlighted.

According to the journalist, the Ramstein Air Base would be used as a transit point for US-NATO troops and equipment and, possibly, a jump-up base for US strategic bombers in the event of a hypothetical conflict between Russia and the Western military bloc.

Al Udeid Air Base

Last but not least, the Al Udeid Air Base — a military base southwest of Doha, Qatar — is regarded as the most important US foothold in the Middle East. The United States Central Command and Air Forces Central Command are also residing there.

Back in the 2000s, thousands of US troops, as well as 300 Abrams tanks, 400 Bradley Fighting Vehicles (BFV), self-propelled artillery and Patriot air defense systems, were deployed at the base, the journalist noted.

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U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bomber arrives at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar (File) © REUTERS/ U.S. Air Force/Tech. Sgt. Terrica Y. Jones

More importantly, the Al Udeid Air Base boasts a 4,000-meter landing strip that could accept any type of aircraft, he underscored, adding that besides military transport aviation and refuelers, RC-135V/W Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft, EA-6B Prowler electronic warfare aircraft, US jet fighters, bombers and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are also based there.

“The Al Udeid Air Base is of the greatest importance among the other 35 US military facilities in the region,” Kots emphasized. “It is from here that the actions of the US-led anti-terrorist coalition in Syria and Iraq are being coordinated from.”

Previously, the base played a significant role in the Pentagon’s large-scale military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. Currently, about 10,000 US troops are stationed in Al Udeid.


Source: Sputnik News

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One Comment

  1. And this is what the Yemen War is about! And see how it is linked to the expanding of NATO bases in the Arab World; and the link also to the CIA/MOSSAD-created Arab Spring that resulted in the toppling of President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen and Egyptian President Hosni Mobarak of Egypt; and ultimately the savage murder of pro-Russia President Ghaddafi by NATO.

    The ZNWO’s eternal MO of “Divide and Conquer”; by creating so-called Civil Wars between Sunni and Zaydi Syiahs of Al-Houthi tribe; is about conquering/militarizing/Nuclearizing the whole Indian Ocean (later on the whole 5 world major oceans, and their main connecting seas and chokepoints) that include the conquering of the Yemeni archipelago of Socotra in the Indian Ocean and Bab El Mandeb Strait – which are at the crossroads of the strategic naval waterways of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden; and the Arabian Sea, countering Russia’s influence in Yemen (and the whole Arab World) and Denuclearizing Iran, ultimately. See – http://www.asia-pacificresearch.com/yemen-and-the-militarization-of-strategic-waterways/5440691 , Yemen and The Militarization of Strategic Waterways. From the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean: Securing US Control over Socotra Island and the Gulf of Aden, By Prof Michel Chossudovsky, Asia-Pacific Research, April 18, 2015, Global Research 7 February 2010; at https://www.dailysabah.com/mideast/2016/08/22/ex-yemeni-president-saleh-offers-military-bases-to-russia , Ex-Yemeni president Saleh offers military bases to Russia, Anadolu Agency, Sanaa, Published August 22, 2016; at – http://www.yemenpress.org/world/mossad-adds-yemen-to-the-security-challenges-facing-israel.html , Mossad adds Yemen to the security challenges facing Israel, Aug 16, 2017; at – http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016/05/07/american-troops-yemen-signals-deepening-us-involvement-mideast.html , American Troops in Yemen Signals Deepening US Involvement in Mideast, Military.com | 7 May 2016 | by Richard Sisk; and at – https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/josh-rogin/wp/2017/05/17/trump-to-unveil-plans-for-an-arab-nato-in-saudi-arabia/?utm_term=.1500f48b99f1 , Trump to unveil plans for an ‘Arab NATO’ in Saudi Arabia, By Josh Rogin May 17, 2017.

    First the double-tongue snake ZNWO used President Ali Abdullah Saleh – to establish US/NATO base on Socotra in early 2010 – in order to counter decade old close relationship with Russia (the MO started from the Bush era; supposedly against CIA-created Al-Qaeda and so-called ‘Somali’ piracy). See – http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/27856 , President Vladimir Putin held negotiations with Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, December 17, 2002.

    Then when President Saleh is of no use anymore, by turning back to Russia and returning from the Five-party Arab summit that comprised a pentagonal committee assigned by the previous Arab summit to look into an initiative proposed by Yemen to replace the current pan-Arab body with an Arab Union (under the great Leadership of the Arab League at that time, the late President Col. Muammar Ghaddafi) -they then toppled him under the CIA/MOSSAD-created Arab Spring. See – http://www.sabanews.net/en//news218564.htm , Saleh back home from three-nation tour , 01/July/2010; and at – http://en.people.cn/90001/90777/90854/7043907.html , Five-party Arab summit kicks off in Libya, June 28, 2010.

    Yes, there it is, the most hidden fact is, which has deceived the Muslim World so cunningly, is that actually the Arab Spring began in December 2010 – right after this very important summit, and the strengthening of the Arab World’s relationship with Russia under Pres.Ghaddafi-led Arab League – thus the evil ZNWO then created Arab Spring, in December 2010. From the Arab Spring, among the leaders toppled from the Five-party Arab Summit are President Saleh (including the savage attempt by CIA/MOSSAD to murder him in 2011), President Ghaddafi (murdered so savagely by NATO and sodomized by MOSSAD agents) and Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak.

    That’s why we need an OIC (Org. of Islamic Co-operation) army! And RUSSIA and CHINA must come in to negotiate PEACE in Yemen – soon!

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