Det danske Fredsakademi
Kronologi over fredssagen og international politik 13. december 2012 / Time Line December 13, 2012
Version 3.512. December 2012, 14. December 2012
U.S. Reduces Staffing, Operations at Lajes Field
By Jim Garamone, American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Dec. 13, 2012 - The United States is reducing staff and operations at Lajes Field, Portugal, officials said today.
The field is on the Portuguese island of Terceira, part of the nine-island Azores archipelago in the mid-Atlantic, 900 miles west of Lisbon and 2,200 miles east of Washington, D.C.
The decision reflects U.S. operational requirements and is part of a DOD effort to find efficiencies and cost-cutting measures worldwide
There are now roughly 1,100 U.S. and Portuguese personnel at the base and U.S. officials say the workforce will likely shrink by at least half. Aircraft operations support will also drop, and the United States will return roughly 300 of the 400 buildings on base to the Portuguese government, officials said. The United States has had a presence in Lajes since World War II, when Portugal allowed the U.S. and Great Britain to combat the Nazi submarine menace. The field was also a stopover for European-bound aircraft at a time when aircraft range was considerably smaller.
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