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Diego-Garcia
buddyb
Member Posts: 5,394 ✭✭✭✭
Heard on the news the natives of Diego-Garcia want their home back.Sounds like they have a legal argument,but will the U.S. give up a vital base? Or is it vital? Just wondering because I was with the SeaBees when we cleared and built it in the early 70s.
Comments
And yes we did forcibly remove the inhabitants and they have a legitimate *.
Not much to go home to, get over it and move on.
Remember its all about the money.
Didn't think of that.If the natives get it back,what will they do to make a living?Without the base the only thing on the island is a long desserted coconut plantation.
It is like American Indian tribal lands: no one really wants to live in those places, but if they happen to have oil, minerals or reserves of natural gas...well you can bet your bottom $$ that the tribes want their "ancient homeland" restored to them. I've never been to DG; not many ordinary civilians have, but with an airport with two runways capable of handling military and commercial jets as well as harbor facilities, DG would be an asset that anyone would want. The natives might not even boot us out, although they'd want a new deal. The Brits aren't charging us anything for the use of the base, but that would change with the new owners. I think we were paying our stooges in Uzbekistan around $20 million per year for the use of a single airbase in that country, that is until the government changed and they told us to get out. DG would be worth far more than that. If not to us, then certainly to the Chinese.
Every time he calls me from D\G, I keep seeing black helicopter's flying over my place for a few days after his calls!![:0]
Loved all the time I spent in DGAR, especially as a junior officer. Great beach, free haircuts, food was awesome, fantastic Officer's Club, but dang was it humid. Whew! Unbelievable deep sea fishing too.
Free haircuts is second on your list?[:)]
I'm sorry Navybat, but that cracked me up. Not something you see often in travel brochures.
Brad Steele
quote:Originally posted by Navybat
Loved all the time I spent in DGAR, especially as a junior officer. Great beach, free haircuts, food was awesome, fantastic Officer's Club, but dang was it humid. Whew! Unbelievable deep sea fishing too.
Free haircuts is second on your list?[:)]
I'm sorry Navybat, but that cracked me up. Not something you see often in travel brochures.
And no mention of the indigenous maidens? Are we going to have to watch what we say about happy people around you Navybrat?[;)][:D]
quote:Originally posted by Don McManus
quote:Originally posted by Navybat
Loved all the time I spent in DGAR, especially as a junior officer. Great beach, free haircuts, food was awesome, fantastic Officer's Club, but dang was it humid. Whew! Unbelievable deep sea fishing too.
Free haircuts is second on your list?[:)]
I'm sorry Navybat, but that cracked me up. Not something you see often in travel brochures.
And no mention of the indigenous maidens? Are we going to have to watch what we say about happy people around you Navybrat?[;)][:D]
The local inhabitants were removed from the island in late 60s by the US and the Brits so we could build a Naval Base.
I would imagine that like the rest of the USN, the Navy integrated the facility in the 80s and most interaction with these imported maidens was a business transaction.
Brad Steele
quote:Originally posted by remingtonoaks
quote:Originally posted by Don McManus
quote:Originally posted by Navybat
Loved all the time I spent in DGAR, especially as a junior officer. Great beach, free haircuts, food was awesome, fantastic Officer's Club, but dang was it humid. Whew! Unbelievable deep sea fishing too.
Free haircuts is second on your list?[:)]
I'm sorry Navybat, but that cracked me up. Not something you see often in travel brochures.
And no mention of the indigenous maidens? Are we going to have to watch what we say about happy people around you Navybrat?[;)][:D]
The local inhabitants were removed from the island in late 60s by the US and the Brits so we could build a Naval Base.
I would imagine that like the rest of the USN, the Navy integrated the facility in the 80s and most interaction with these imported maidens was a business transaction.
So if we built it, will we remover or destroy it when we leave if so happens?
Or, can they make us leave if under lease, and who would enforce it?
One nuke should render it irrelevant anyway.
So if we built it, will we remover or destroy it when we leave if so happens?
Or, can they make us leave if under lease, and who would enforce it?
One nuke should render it irrelevant anyway.
There is no real 'indigenous population' on Diego Garcia. There were slave brought in by the French 300+ years ago, and indentured servants brought in by the British a couple of centuries later. There is a suit brought by those that were evicted 50 years ago against the UK requesting their homeland back.
If the Brits do not respect the decision of the court, there is no reason for us to do anything. Not sure why we would destroy anything. I would suppose we could continue the lease under new ownership if both parties are willing, or if they are not, we could leave. We would obviously remove that which has value to us, but I do not see where this vindictive thinking would be justified.
Brad Steele
quote:Originally posted by mag00
So if we built it, will we remover or destroy it when we leave if so happens?
Or, can they make us leave if under lease, and who would enforce it?
One nuke should render it irrelevant anyway.
There is no real 'indigenous population' on Diego Garcia. There were slave brought in by the French 300+ years ago, and indentured servants brought in by the British a couple of centuries later. There is a suit brought by those that were evicted 50 years ago against the UK requesting their homeland back.
If the Brits do not respect the decision of the court, there is no reason for us to do anything. Not sure why we would destroy anything. I would suppose we could continue the lease under new ownership if both parties are willing, or if they are not, we could leave. We would obviously remove that which has value to us, but I do not see where this vindictive thinking would be justified.
As civilized people maybe, but that is not how the north won against the south. Scorched Earth. If this is a militarily strategic location, and we are evicted ahead of schedule, and the thought that our possible enemies would gain the strategic position, it makes perfect sense to "sink it" so to speak.
I doubt it would come to that, but who knows?
At the very least I would hope they render any facilities, runways and infrastructure inoperable.
I learned to sail in that lagoon.
Our first quarters were like McHale's Navy huts. The first photo is the E's off my crew. The O's were right next to us in the same kind of hut.
The second photo is flying the general of the Rapid Deployment Force to the island. There were about 12 white USNS ships in the lagoon loaded with everything a battalion would need to establish a beachhead and hold it.
There were donkeys and chickens on the island, descendants of the copra plantation livestock. There were two Brits on the island as part of the BIOT police force. If you hurt the wild life (other than coconut crabs) your * would see the Old Man asap.
Movie night was a 16mm projector and a sheet stretched between two coconut trees.
The crews loved Dodge. Our flights to Oman, Somalia, and Djibouti were made out of Dodge. Per Diem to Oman was about $125 a day! [:p]
I understand it all sucks on Dodge now. [:(]
As a side note: The guy wearing the aircrew tee in the hut picture is Van Melroe. His dad was the originator of the Melroe Bobcat. Van is an instructor pilot with United now. He and his wife Diane stop in on their way to the RV jamboree at Stone Mountain or wherever it is.