1. History

2. Capability

3. Community

4. Relocation

5. Tenant commands

6. See also

7. Footnotes

8. References

9. Bibliography

10. External links

MCAS Futenma is situated in Ginowan City (pop. 93,661).^[5] The base includes a {{convert|2740|by|45|m|abbr=on|0}}^[2]{{Ref|A|A}} runway at 75 meters elevation,^[6] as well as extensive barracks, administrative and logistical facilities. The air station is tasked with operating a variety of fixed wing, rotary wing and tilt rotor aircraft in support of the III Marine Expeditionary Force, the Japan U.S. defense alliance and many allies and treaty partners in the region. The base is also used as a United Nations air distribution hub facility for response to disaster or other crisis requiring air supplies due to the length of the runway and elevation.^[7]{{failed verification|date=August 2016}}

For years, the relocation of the base has been a major political issue for Okinawa, Japan and the US military and diplomacy in Asia.

History

Futenma Airfield was constructed by the US military following the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. According to Ginowan City records, the joint population of what was then Ginowan Village (now Ginowan City) was 12,994 in 1944.{{citation needed|date=August 2015}} It was initially allocated for Eighth Air Force use to station B-29 Superfortress strategic bombers in the planned Invasion of Japan. With the end of the war, the airfield became a United States Air Force Far East Air Force installation known as Futenma Air Base, and was used as a support airfield for the nearby Kadena Air Base, hosting fighter-interceptor squadrons as part of the air defense of the Ryukyu Islands. The base was transferred to the United States Navy on 30 June 1957 and was subsequently developed into a United States Marine Corps air station.^[8][9]

Each year, MCAS Futenma opens its gates for the Futenma Flight Line Fair, which includes U.S. band performances, entertainment, static displays of all aircraft, military vehicles and demonstrations.^[10] In 2013, more than 70,000 people attended the open base event, and the most popular aircraft on display were the MV-22 Ospreys.^[11]{{failed verification|date=August 2016}}

Capability

Futenma's 75 m elevation provides a safe and effective location to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations in the event of a tsunami, which would render the sea-level Naha international airport inoperable .^[12] The 9,000 ft. runway also gives the capability of safely landing the largest commercial and military cargo planes in the world, including the Antonov An-124 Ruslan, which has landed at Futenma multiple times.^[13][14] Futenma has a high record of safety with well established procedures.^[12]

Community

The airbase has become a focal point of various political controversies in recent years. Due to population growth and encroachment around the base, concerns surrounding flights over residential areas causing noise, air pollution and endangering public safety also became controversial issues in Ginowan City.^[15] Safety concerns were raised after the August 2004 crash of a Marine Corps CH-53D transport helicopter on the campus of Okinawa International University after the aircraft suffered mechanical issues. Three crew members had minor injuries, but there were no injuries on the ground.^[16] The Guardian has stated that the location of MCAS Futenma in Ginowan "would be like having F22s landing in Hyde Park [in London]."^[17]

Local residents also became concerned over pollution and ground water and soil contamination caused by the base's activities: for example, Lt. Col. (Ret.) Kris Roberts (USMC) told The Japan Times that his base maintenance team unearthed leaking barrels of Agent Orange at the base in 1981.^[18] The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) states that Agent Orange was never present on Okinawa, and an investigation commissioned by the DoD found no evidence that Agent Orange was ever on Okinawa^[19] (See Agent Orange: Okinawa, Japan for more details.)

Special interest groups, including supporters and protestors, often gather outside the gates of Futenma. Local Okinawan citizens weekly clean vandalism and debris left by protest groups,.^[20]{{failed verification|date=August 2016}}

Mayor Atsushi Sakima of Ginowan City and Col. James G. Flynn, commanding officer of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, signed a bilateral agreement 26 June 2013 at MCAS Futenma specifying procedures for the evacuation of Okinawa residents in the event a natural disaster and provisions for evacuation drills to maintain readiness.^[21] Immediately before, during or following a natural disaster, especially a tsunami, MCAS Futenma can use the procedures to open one or more of the station’s gates to allow evacuees immediate and direct passage to higher ground or shelter. This agreement comes after thorough collaboration between Ginowan City and MCAS Futenma and signifies the importance that the city and air station place on mutual safety and cooperation, said officials.{{citation needed|date=August 2016}}

The base, along with its impact on families living nearby and local cultural heritage, are the subject of the short story collection To Futenma by Okinawan author Tatsuhiro Oshiro.^[22]

Relocation

There have been various plans to relocate Marine Corps Air Station Futenma base—first off the island and then within the island—however, {{as of|2014|11|lc=y}} the future of any relocation is uncertain with the election of base-opponent Onaga as Okinawa governor.^[23] Onaga won against the incumbent Nakaima who had earlier approved landfill work to move the base to Camp Schwab in Henoko. However, Onaga has promised to veto the landfill work needed for the new base to be built and insisted Futenma should be moved outside of Okinawa.^[24] In August 2015, the Japanese government agreed to halt construction activities temporarily while talks with Okinawan officials continued.^[25] US sources insist nothing about their approach has changed.^[26]

Tenant commands

• Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron^[27]
• Marine Aircraft Group 36
• Marine Air Control Group 18

See also

• Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler
• List of United States Marine Corps installations
• List of airports in Japan
• United States Forces Japan

Footnotes

A.{{Note|A}}In the Japanese language MCAS Futenma is formally known as: {{Nihongo||海兵隊普天間航空基地|Kaiheitai Futenma Kōkū Kichi||}}, more commonly as: {{Nihongo||普天間飛行場|Futenma Hikōjō||}}, and is commonly abbreviated in speech and writing as: {{Nihongo||普天間基地|Futenma Kichi||}}.^[3][28]

B.{{Note|B}}The text version gives a runway {{convert|2740|by|45|m|abbr=on|0}}^[2] and the aerodrome chart gives {{convert|9000|by|150|ft|abbr=on|0}}.

References

Bibliography

• Bulldozers and Bayonets, Office of Historiography, Department of Archives Administration, Okinawa Prefectural Culture Promotion Foundation (ed.), (1998), Naha
• {{cite web|url=https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/R42645.pdf|title=Report by the American Congress research service about Futenma, January 2016}}

External links

• What Okinawa Wants You to Understand about the U.S. Military Bases(PDF) from Okinawa Prefectural Office Washington DC
• MCAS Futenma's official website
• Futenma Marine Corps Air Station at GlobalSecurity.org
• The Futenma relocation issue Detailed list of events on the Japanese Wikipedia.
• {{NWS-current|ROTM}}

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