I've been there, it's a major stop over point for US Navy ships entering or leaving the Gulf. A lot of new sailors and marines will fly into Diego Garcia to meet up with their commands if they're in that region.

It would be very easy for the US military to use the island for any sort of staging area, although I personally have no knowledge of that. The only time I saw any of the native people were the few that had jobs cleaning in and around the base.

Wow, I'll guess not many know of it the times it's been brought up. What do you man by "staging?"

Diego Garcia was far from the only island that natives were forcibly taken from. Throughout the cold war the A-bomb tests in the south pacific the US and the UK deported thousands of inhabitants of several islands, just so we could nuke those islands to study the effects of atomic weapons. DG was just one more island that paid the price for the western powers military expansion and communism containment policies.

DG is very unique, I believe it's part of an archipelago. Given it's ring shape, if it were located in the Atlantic near the Gibraltar straits everyone would be claiming it's Atlantis!

The military has so many bases sprawled across it that it would be very difficult to allow tourism.

Although the Chagossians were forcibly removed in 1971, they still hope to return, Vine says, and refer to their period of exile as one of “profound sorrow.”

It's sad, but it'll never happen. DG and USSUPPFAB (the supply base there) or just to crucial to the US and UK's military presence in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf.

Originally posted by Moonsouljah
Wow, I'll guess not many know of it the times it's been brought up. What do you man by "staging?"

Diego Garcia is hardly anything secret. It featured in many news broadcasts of the Afghan and Iraqi wars.

By staging he means it's where some forces are concentrated before a tour of duty. A build up of forces in other words.
B2's, and I believe B52's and B1's flew combat missions out of Diego Garcia.

The Royal Australian Air Force also deployed some FA18's, and routinely patrolled the air space around Diego Garcia.

Total, I've probably spent 1 1/2 or 2 years living on Diego Garcia. It is a very small island owned by the UK, and I assume the US pays a certain amount to have personnel and aircraft stationed there. The British military police still control the island. Not that many people are stationed there anymore. It is mainly a stopping point for military personnel going to or coming from the desert. The harbor is staged with ships full of supplies and vehicles that can be called on if needed. Air Force bombers did indeed fly missions out of there and probably still do (last time I was there was 2007). There are no native people there - the civilian workers there are brought in from the PI and other island nations.

The section of the island that people actually live on is smaller than most college campuses. As far as telescopes, you must mean radio telescopes because there are no huge optical telescopes on that island. The island is actually a great place for fishing and would make an excellent getaway resort if not in military hands.

You all forgot to mention that it is all men there , no women allowed....at least back in the 80's.

nothing to see here people, just us doing our "charity" work. these islands are obsolete, we need to test our weapons on real countries with millions of human life. carry on.

I know Diego Garcia

Here are some pics from 2004 and 2005

Me on the Navy Beach side

Friends on the Lagoon beach

Tanker in lagoon

Tanker in the Ocean

Ocean View

Fish

More Fish

Teeth

Cobra Ball Poker Table

Not to rain on a good "Defame the US" thread, but IIRC, it was the UK, not the US, that oversaw / enforced the deportation of the native population. That's even mentioned in the linked wikipedia article...so why not tar and feather someone else for a change?

The uk threw 1,500 chagossians off the chagos group of islands in 1968 so America could build their base.Was only in 2000 they won the right to return. Uk lied about it for decades to boot.

Is there any chance that Obama will finally bring about a compromise to all the parties concerning the Chagossians which were expelled from Diego Garcia nearly forty years ago.
Is it possible for some of them to return and still let the island be used by the US Armed forces? God I hope so. I understand the horrific consequences of war and in this case the cold war and subsequent conflicts which brought about the necessity for this base.
All declarations of life whether it be the person, family, community, tribe or nations are declarations of war and unfortunately the chagossians are casualties. Does this mean I agree with happened ? No. But does this mean I understand it, yes or I lest I think I so.
If we sacrifice that which we are trying to defend have we not already lost ? Even in light of this I still think The USA and Gt. Britain is worth standing up for with some regrets though.

Cobra Ball - nice reference from RC-135 crews. And NKAWTG, from KC-135 ops.

Many know about Diego Garcia, but not as many know about Inigo Montoya

If i remember Diego Garcia, was leased to America during Roosevelt (Lend-Lease Program)Era?

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Hehe Giligans Island...the first thing I thought when seeing it.

I was in the Marines and we were being deployed to Iwakuni Japan. Somehow a stowaway got on board and we made an emergency landing on DG.
We spent 2 days there waiting for bomb dogs to clear the aircraft. The beaches were beutiful if you dont mind the occasional crab snapping at your toes.
The drinks sucked. Limited beer choice, No hard liqueur. We , 345 , drained it the first night and then was normal deployment bs.

Quite boring as a young man.

Spent a few months there back in the late 80s...

Lot of decent training, but mostly laying around the beach and drinking beer..

There was this female sailor named Judy though...

Semper