The permanent facility flying the U.S. flag will be independently operated by American troops on the IDF Air Defense School grounds in southern Israel’s Negev Desert near Beersheba. Its mission was described as defending against rocket and missile attacks.
But it’s also both a symbolic gesture of the deep political and defense solidarity that both countries’ leaders have stressed and a substantive one, since it places an unknown number of American military members on the ground where hostile fire has fallen. Both Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have vowed that bilateral relations are now the closest in history.
Groundbreaking for the isolated, new U.S. base was first reported earlier this fall by Defense News, but attracted little immediate attention.
Speaking at the modest ceremonies, U.S. officers enigmatically called the facility Site 883 Life Support Area. "This life support area represents the first ever stationing of a U.S. Army unit on Israeli soil," said Maj. Gen. John Gronski.