Marine Corps Air Station Futenma
Encyclopedia
Marine Corps Air Station Futenma or MCAS Futenma is a United States Marine Corps
base located in Ginowan, 5 NM northeast of Naha
, on the island of Okinawa
. It is home to approximately 4,000 Marines of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing
and has been a U.S. military airbase since the island was occupied following the Battle of Okinawa
in 1945. Marine Corps pilots and aircrew are assigned to the base for training and providing air support to other land-based Marines in Okinawa.
The base includes a 2740 by runway as well as extensive barracks, administrative and logistical facilities. The air station is tasked with operating a variety of fixed and rotary-wing aircraft
in support of the III Marine Expeditionary Force
. The base is also used as a United Nations
air facility.
in 1945. It was built partly on the ruins of the villages of Aragusuku, Ginowan, Kiyuna and Isa, and entirely over the village of Kamiyama and surrounding farmland. According to Ginowan City records, the joint population of what was then Ginowan Village (now Ginowan City) was 12,994 in 1944. 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 major United States Marine Corps
air station.
and endangering public safety have become controversial issues in Ginowan City. Safety concerns were intensified after the August 2004 crash of a Marine Corps CH-53D transport helicopter into Okinawa International University
. Three crew members were injured, but there were no injuries on the ground. Public concern with crime related to the presence of US military on Okinawa rose in 1995 when three American servicemembers raped a 12-year-old Okinawan girl
.
In December 1996, the Japanese and U.S. governments decided that the Futenma base should be relocated to an off-shore location in Henoko Bay in Nago, northern Okinawa. This was and remains a controversial decision, since the projected site involved construction on a coral reef
and seagrass beds which are the habitat of the dugong
, an endangered marine mammal protected under Japanese and U.S. law
. In a referendum conducted later the same year, a vast majority (over 80%) of Nago residents voted against the Henoko plan. However, shortly afterward, they elected a mayor who campaigned on a platform of accepting the new facility. In March, 2006, a new mayor was elected on a similar platform, getting more votes than his two anti-relocation opponents combined.
Even so, opinion remained divided between those who view the 'relocation' plan as a recipe for development in the northern part of the island, and others who consider it more likely to lead to the destruction of what remains of Okinawa's sub-tropical forests and undegraded coastal reefs.
Reaction to the new plan for Futenma's relocation has been widespread in Okinawa. However, the newly-elected mayor of Nago (which hosts Camp Schwab) formally agreed to accept the relocation when he signed an agreement with Defense Minister Nukaga on 8 April 2006. Mayor Shimabukuro was later joined by all five of the major mayors of northern Okinawa. Although some all-Okinawa public opinion polls indicate that many Okinawans have reservations about the latest plan, residents of northern Okinawa have recently elected and re-elected leaders who have publicly accepted it. In fact, all 12 mayors of northern Okinawa have publicly accepted the new relocation plan. In this respect, the Futenma issue exposes a range of conflicting opinions among Okinawans: from those who maintain that military facilities and associated public works infrastructure benefit the island's economy; environmentalists, and those who either object or are critical to the U.S. military presence on ideological grounds or on rooted sentiments. Susumu Inamine (稲嶺進) the new mayor of Nago city as of January 24, 2010 is against the relocation plan and agrees to move Futenma outside of Okinawa. Besides the local assembly of Nago voting against the relocation plan, the prefectural assembly of Okinawa also formally asked the prime minister to move the base out of the prefecture. On May 17, 2010 (the anniversary of the reversion of Okinawa to Japan) people from Okinawa formed a "human chain" around the whole base with estimated 17,000 people taking part. This was the fifth time such an action took place.
In 2009, amid controversy throughout Japan over the relocation of the base, Osaka Prefecture
governor Toru Hashimoto
publicly proposed moving the base's functions to Osaka's Kansai International Airport
(which is on an artificial island
), remarking that "the burden [of bases on Okinawa] should be spread more evenly throughout Japan."
In 2011, the chairman and ranking member of the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services
called for an alternative plan where Futenma aircraft would move to Kadena Air Base
while the current aircraft at Kadena would move to Andersen Air Force Base
.
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
base located in Ginowan, 5 NM northeast of Naha
Naha, Okinawa
is the capital city of the Japanese prefecture of Okinawa.Naha is a coastal city located on the East China Sea coast of the southern part of Okinawa Island, the largest of the Ryukyu Islands...
, on the island of Okinawa
Okinawa Island
Okinawa Island is the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu Islands of Japan, and is home to Naha, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture. The island has an area of...
. It is home to approximately 4,000 Marines of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing
1st Marine Aircraft Wing
The 1st Marine Aircraft Wing is an aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps that serves as the Aviation Combat Element of the III Marine Expeditionary Force. The wing is headquartered at Camp Foster on the island of Okinawa, Japan...
and has been a U.S. military airbase since the island was occupied following the Battle of Okinawa
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945...
in 1945. Marine Corps pilots and aircrew are assigned to the base for training and providing air support to other land-based Marines in Okinawa.
The base includes a 2740 by runway as well as extensive barracks, administrative and logistical facilities. The air station is tasked with operating a variety of fixed and rotary-wing aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
in support of the III Marine Expeditionary Force
III Marine Expeditionary Force
The III Marine Expeditionary Force is a Marine Air-Ground Task Force of the United States Marine Corps that is forward-deployed and able to deploy rapidly and conduct operations across the spectrum from humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to amphibious assault and high intensity combat. III...
. The base is also used as a United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
air facility.
History
Futenma Airfield was constructed by the US military following the Battle of OkinawaBattle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945...
in 1945. It was built partly on the ruins of the villages of Aragusuku, Ginowan, Kiyuna and Isa, and entirely over the village of Kamiyama and surrounding farmland. According to Ginowan City records, the joint population of what was then Ginowan Village (now Ginowan City) was 12,994 in 1944. It was initially allocated for Eighth Air Force
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
use to station B-29 Superfortress
B-29 Superfortress
The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
strategic bombers in the planned Invasion of Japan
Operation Downfall
Operation Downfall was the Allied plan for the invasion of Japan near the end of World War II. The operation was cancelled when Japan surrendered after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet Union's declaration of war against Japan. The operation had two parts: Operation...
. With the end of the war, the airfield became a United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
Far East Air Force installation known as Futenma Air Base, and was used as a support airfield for the nearby Kadena Air Base
Kadena Air Base
, is a United States Air Force base in the towns of Kadena and Chatan and the city of Okinawa, in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Kadena Air Base is the hub of U.S. airpower in the Pacific, and home to the USAF's 18th Wing and a variety of associate units.-Units:The 18th Wing is the host unit at Kadena...
, hosting fighter-interceptor squadrons as part of the air defense of the Ryukyu Islands
Ryukyu Islands
The , also known as the , is a chain of islands in the western Pacific, on the eastern limit of the East China Sea and to the southwest of the island of Kyushu in Japan. From about 1829 until the mid 20th century, they were alternately called Luchu, Loochoo, or Lewchew, akin to the Mandarin...
. The base was transferred to the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
on 30 June 1957 and was subsequently developed into a major United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
air station.
Location
MCAS Futenma is situated in the center of Ginowan City (pop. 91,000). The air station covers approximately 480 hectares (1,186.1 acre), about one quarter of the area of Ginowan City, and includes a 2740 by runway.Local concerns
Due to its urban location, concerns surrounding training flights over residential areas causing noise, air pollutionAir pollution
Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or cause damage to the natural environment or built environment, into the atmosphere....
and endangering public safety have become controversial issues in Ginowan City. Safety concerns were intensified after the August 2004 crash of a Marine Corps CH-53D transport helicopter into Okinawa International University
Okinawa International University
, is a private university in Ginowan, Okinawa, Japan. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1959, and it was chartered as a university in 1972.-External links:*...
. Three crew members were injured, but there were no injuries on the ground. Public concern with crime related to the presence of US military on Okinawa rose in 1995 when three American servicemembers raped a 12-year-old Okinawan girl
1995 Okinawan rape incident
The 1995 Okinawa rape incident refers to a rape that took place on September 4, 1995, when three U.S. servicemen, U.S. Navy Seaman Marcus Gill and U.S. Marines Rodrico Harp and Kendrick Ledet, all from Camp Hansen on Okinawa, rented a van and kidnapped a 12-year-old Japanese girl. They beat her,...
.
In December 1996, the Japanese and U.S. governments decided that the Futenma base should be relocated to an off-shore location in Henoko Bay in Nago, northern Okinawa. This was and remains a controversial decision, since the projected site involved construction on a coral reef
Coral reef
Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral reefs are colonies of tiny living animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups. The polyps...
and seagrass beds which are the habitat of the dugong
Dugong
The dugong is a large marine mammal which, together with the manatees, is one of four living species of the order Sirenia. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest modern relative, Steller's sea cow , was hunted to extinction in the 18th century...
, an endangered marine mammal protected under Japanese and U.S. law
Law of the United States
The law of the United States consists of many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the United States Constitution, the foundation of the federal government of the United States...
. In a referendum conducted later the same year, a vast majority (over 80%) of Nago residents voted against the Henoko plan. However, shortly afterward, they elected a mayor who campaigned on a platform of accepting the new facility. In March, 2006, a new mayor was elected on a similar platform, getting more votes than his two anti-relocation opponents combined.
Even so, opinion remained divided between those who view the 'relocation' plan as a recipe for development in the northern part of the island, and others who consider it more likely to lead to the destruction of what remains of Okinawa's sub-tropical forests and undegraded coastal reefs.
Current relocation plan
On 26 October 2005, the governments of the United States and Japan agreed to move the relocation site for Futenma from the reef area off Henoko to the interior and coastal portions of the existing Marine infantry base at Camp Schwab, just a few hundred meters away from the offshore facility. The cited reason for the change is to reduce the engineering challenge associated with building a runway on reefs in deep water: experts estimate that rather than the 15-plus years required to construct a new airbase at the previous reef location, the new Camp Schwab plan will enable Futenma to be relocated within 6–8 years. These plans were also accelerated when a CH-53D Sea Stallion transport helicopter attached to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit lost tail rotor authority and spiraled into a local college building.Reaction to the new plan for Futenma's relocation has been widespread in Okinawa. However, the newly-elected mayor of Nago (which hosts Camp Schwab) formally agreed to accept the relocation when he signed an agreement with Defense Minister Nukaga on 8 April 2006. Mayor Shimabukuro was later joined by all five of the major mayors of northern Okinawa. Although some all-Okinawa public opinion polls indicate that many Okinawans have reservations about the latest plan, residents of northern Okinawa have recently elected and re-elected leaders who have publicly accepted it. In fact, all 12 mayors of northern Okinawa have publicly accepted the new relocation plan. In this respect, the Futenma issue exposes a range of conflicting opinions among Okinawans: from those who maintain that military facilities and associated public works infrastructure benefit the island's economy; environmentalists, and those who either object or are critical to the U.S. military presence on ideological grounds or on rooted sentiments. Susumu Inamine (稲嶺進) the new mayor of Nago city as of January 24, 2010 is against the relocation plan and agrees to move Futenma outside of Okinawa. Besides the local assembly of Nago voting against the relocation plan, the prefectural assembly of Okinawa also formally asked the prime minister to move the base out of the prefecture. On May 17, 2010 (the anniversary of the reversion of Okinawa to Japan) people from Okinawa formed a "human chain" around the whole base with estimated 17,000 people taking part. This was the fifth time such an action took place.
In 2009, amid controversy throughout Japan over the relocation of the base, Osaka Prefecture
Osaka Prefecture
is a prefecture located in the Kansai region on Honshū, the main island of Japan. The capital is the city of Osaka. It is the center of Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto area.- History :...
governor Toru Hashimoto
Toru Hashimoto
is a Japanese lawyer and commentator on legal matters. He was the 52nd Governor of Osaka Prefecture and is the president of the Osaka Restoration Association...
publicly proposed moving the base's functions to Osaka's Kansai International Airport
Kansai International Airport
is an international airport located on an artificial island in the middle of Osaka Bay, southwest of Ōsaka Station, located within three municipalities, including Izumisano , Sennan , and Tajiri , in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. The airport is off the Honshu shore. The airport serves as an...
(which is on an artificial island
Artificial island
An artificial island or man-made island is an island or archipelago that has been constructed by people rather than formed by natural means...
), remarking that "the burden [of bases on Okinawa] should be spread more evenly throughout Japan."
In 2011, the chairman and ranking member of the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services
United States Senate Committee on Armed Services
The Committee on Armed Services is a committee of the United States Senate empowered with legislative oversight of the nation's military, including the Department of Defense, military research and development, nuclear energy , benefits for members of the military, the Selective Service System and...
called for an alternative plan where Futenma aircraft would move to Kadena Air Base
Kadena Air Base
, is a United States Air Force base in the towns of Kadena and Chatan and the city of Okinawa, in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Kadena Air Base is the hub of U.S. airpower in the Pacific, and home to the USAF's 18th Wing and a variety of associate units.-Units:The 18th Wing is the host unit at Kadena...
while the current aircraft at Kadena would move to Andersen Air Force Base
Andersen Air Force Base
Andersen Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately northeast of Yigo in the United States territory of Guam....
.
Tenant commands
- Headquarters and Headquarters SquadronHeadquarters and Headquarters SquadronA Headquarters & Headquarters Squadron, abbreviated as H&HS or HQHQSQDN, is the headquarters entity for a United States Marine Corps aviation facility.-Organization:...
- Marine Aircraft Group 36
- Marine Air Control Group 18Marine Air Control Group 18Marine Air Control Group 18 is a United States Marine Corps aviation command and control unit based at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma that is currently composed of 4 squadrons, 1 battery and 1 administrative detachment that provide the 1st Marine Aircraft Wings tactical headquarters and...
See also
- Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. ButlerMarine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. ButlerMarine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler is a United States Marine Corps base located in the Japanese prefecture of Okinawa. It was named for legendary Marine Smedley D. Butler.-Installations:...
- List of United States Marine Corps installations
- List of airports in Japan
- USAAF in OkinawaUnited States Army Air Forces in OkinawaThe Battle of Okinawa was the last major ground battle between the armed forces of the Empire of Japan and the United States of the Pacific War.United States Army and United States Marine Corps ground forces landed on the island on 1 April 1945 at 08:30 am. The Battle of Okinawa lasted 83 days...
Footnotes
- A.The text version gives a runway 2740 by and the aerodrome chart gives 9000 by
External links
- Research the Battle of Okinawa Here
- Relocation plan
- Obama asks Hatoyama 'Can you follow through?' on base issue 18 April 2010 (Kyodo NewsKyodo Newsis a nonprofit cooperative news agency based in Minato, Tokyo. It was established in November 1945 and it distributes news to almost all newspapers, and radio and television networks in Japan. The newspapers using its news have about 50 million subscribers. K. K. Kyodo News is Kyodo News' business...
)
- Obama asks Hatoyama 'Can you follow through?' on base issue 18 April 2010 (Kyodo News