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Sixth Fleet may move to Spain
EFL - looks as if Germany is not the only place that will see base closures.
The American navy said last night that it was considering moving its key, troubleshooting Sixth Fleet away from its base in Italy to Spain. The move would deal a huge blow to the local economy in the area between Rome and Naples, but is likely to be greeted by Italians with as much bafflement as dismay. They had for some time been braced for a decision by Washington to shift the fleet’s base port further eastwards, perhaps to Turkey. But no one had predicted a move that would send it several hundred miles in the opposite direction.
It seems as if Spain is a country that we can count on. I doubt that there will be many more US bases opened in Turkey. I have only sailed in to Izmir which has a totally unacceptable channel for heavy traffic.
The Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported this week that officials in Madrid had been told the Pentagon wanted to move the fleet’s headquarters and supply facilities to Rota, near Cádiz, a joint US-Spanish base which is not even in the Mediterranean, the fleet’s traditional area of operations.
Not in the Mediterranean but much more accessible by sea than Gaeta, closer to a large city than Gaeta and not as expensive. Gaeta is a sleepy resort town that is better off without load US Navy sailors looking for a good time in a town with some excellent pizzarias and shopping. American honeymooners would find the town quaint while sailors find it boring.
Though Rota is further from the hot spots of the Middle East, it has the advantage of being a combined naval and air facility, offering the sort of rapid deployment capability that the US military is now looking for. Spain and the US last year signed a $450m (£243m) deal that allows the Americans to increase their use of the base.
In Naples the USN uses the public docks. Gaeta is not a port of any size.
A spokesman for US Naval Forces Europe, Lieutenant- Commander Terrence Dudley, said: "The move of the US Sixth Fleet to new facilities in Spain is only one of many initiatives currently under consideration."
It's not a done deal. But it makes strategic sense.
The Sixth Fleet comprises some 40 ships, 175 aircraft and 21,000 military and civilian personnel, all commanded from the aircraft carrier LaSalle, which is based at Gaeta, midway between Rome and Naples. Gaeta had the disadvantage of being close to Nato command facilities in Naples and, according to Nato sources, the alliance has no plans to move its own facilities. However, it is a tourist resort with relatively steep prices, which may have played a role in prompting the Pentagon to consider a move.
The Nato base in Naples is an absolute nightmare to visit for visiting ships. I’m sure that Sixth Fleet staff would just as soon telecommute to Naples.
It will also be interesting to see what becomes of this NATO story: Russia Seeks Access to NATO Facilities
Posted by: Super Hose 2004-02-08
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=25845