Diego Garcia a USAF base in Indian Ocean

Diego Garcia a United States airforce base in Indian Ocean. During the Cold War era, the United States was keen on establishing a military base in the Indian Ocean. Because of Diego Garcia’s proximity to India, a potential ally of the Soviet Union, the United States saw the island as a strategically important one. U.S. military activities in Diego Garcia have caused friction between India and U.S. in the past.

During the Cold War era, various political parties in India repeatedly demanded that the U.S. dismantle the military base as they saw U.S. naval presence in Diego Garcia as a potential threat to India’s dominance of the Indian Ocean.

However, after the end of the Cold War, relations between India and U.S. have improved dramatically. Diego Garcia was the site of several naval exercises between the U.S. and Indian Navy held between 2001 and 2004.

Diego Garcia is also located relatively close to the Middle East, and experienced rapid military build-ups during the beginnings of the Iranian revolution and the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.

Diego Garcia has several current missions. U.S. Air Force bombers and AWACS surveillance planes operate from the 12,000 foot (3,650 m) runway, and the USAF Space Command has built a satellite tracking station and communications facility.

The atoll also shelters the 14 ships of Marine Prepositioning Squadron Two. These ships carry the equipment and supplies to support a major armed force with light tanks, armored personnel carriers, munitions, fuel, spare parts and even a mobile field hospital. This equipment showed its necessity during the Persian Gulf War, when the Squadron quickly delivered its equipment to Saudi Arabia. There, soldiers flown on air transports from U.S. and European bases quickly unloaded and deployed the pre-positioned material.

The ships stationed at Diego Garcia in 2001 included:

Five maritime pre-positioning ships: MV Baugh, MV Hauge, MV Bonnyman, MV Phillips and MV Anderson. Each ship carries enough Marine Corps cargo to support a Marine Air-Ground Task Force for 30 days.

Four combat pre-positioning force ships : MV Jeb Stuart, MV American Cormorant, SS Green Valley and SS Green Harbour. These ships provided quick-response delivery of U.S. Army equipment for ground troops. Jeb Stuart, Green Valley and Green Harbour are LASH ships carrying Army ammunition in non-powered lighters (or barges) that can be ferried to shore.

Five logistics pre-positioning ships – MV Buffalo Soldier, SS Potomac, MV Green Ridge, USNS Henry J. Kaiser, and MV Fisher. These ships service the rapid delivery needs of the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and Defense Logistics Agency. Buffalo Soldier and Fisher are container ships carrying Air Force ammunition, missiles and spare parts. Green Ridge carries a 500-bed Navy hospital used to support Fleet and Marine Forces engaged in combat operations ashore. Henry J. Kaiser is one of three tankers assigned to MSC in support of the Defense Logistics Agency’s requirement to pre-position fuel afloat. Potomac is an offshore petroleum discharge system (OPDS) tanker. Smaller prepositioned squadrons exist at Guam and in the Persian Gulf.

Satellite images of Diego Garcia: