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Crossfire War: Mediterranean Theatre; Sardina - U. S. Navy to Withdraw Forces

By Willard Payne

Night Watch Team: NAPLES - In a move to adjust its forces to meet current and future readiness needs in the European theater, the United States and Italy have decided to remove U.S. Navy forces from La Maddalena, Sardina. [SolonGroup]

The U. S. and Italian governments are working on a timeline for the withdrawal of forces. The United States has determined that the capabilities provided by the installation are no longer required due to the realities of the new century's security environment. The facility was orginally built to meet Cold War security threats.

The departure of the Navy affects about 1,800 people employed on the base. About 1,100 are U. S. Navy members serving aboard USS Emory S. Land (AS 39) and the associated submarine support squadron. There are an additional 475 military members , 150 Italian civilians and 75 U. S. Navy civilians employed at the installation. Including family members, there are about 2,500 U. S. people stationed at La Maddalena.

No decision has been made on a prospective homeport for Emory S. Land, a maintenance and logistics support ship that provides support and repair services to U. S. Navy ships. Future U. S. requirements will be considered in re-locating resources to support theatre-wide transformation and security plans. The scheduled removal of U. S. forces in La Maddalena is not expected to impact the Navy's mission of providing peace and security in the region.

Editor: This is an enormous mistake. Tehran has excellent relations with every North African government with the exception of Egypt. There is going to be action in the Mediterranean, which on any given day has more commercial ships than any other body of water on the planet. Submarines will be especially useful in disrupting enemy activity. Tehran-Beijing-Pyongyang may attempt, if not already, to send missiles and other weaponry to at least one of the countries that support the Jihad.

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