A lot cheaper for Sailors on Liberty.
Sixth Fleet may move to Spain
John Hooper in Rome and Giles Tremlett in Madrid
Saturday February 7, 2004
The Guardian
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 opposition direction.
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.
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.
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."
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.
President George Bush ordered a wide-ranging review of the deployment of US forces last November. Lt Cdr Dudley said the navy was reviewing all aspects of its presence in Europe, "seeking to maximise its capabilities whilst reducing inefficiencies to meet the challenges posed by changing defence priorities".
Gaeta had the advantage 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. |
