US Marines officially opens first new base in 70 years

• The US Marine Corps has activated Camp Blaz, its first new station in 70 years.
• The 4,000-acre facility will eventually house 5,000 Marines.
• It was partially funded by the Japanese government.

The US Marine Corps formally launched its first brand-new station in 70 years, a 4,000-acre facility on the US Pacific island of Guam that will eventually house 5,000 Marines.

As part of a deal negotiated during the Barack Obama administration to remove Marines from Okinawa, where their presence has caused animosity, Camp Blaz, as it is officially named, was partially sponsored by the Japanese government.

The event, which is technically a reactivation of the base, comes after its limited soft activation in October 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The official launch on Thursday takes place in the context of a larger US strategy to bolster and deploy its soldiers throughout the Pacific amid rising tensions with China.

“Camp Blaz will serve as a strategic hub as the Department of Defense realizes the vision of the 2022 National Defense Strategy,” a Marine Corps press release said.

That 2022 document lists two of the US Defense Department’s top priorities as “defending the homeland, paced to the growing multi-domain threat posed by the PRC (People’s Republic of China)” and “deterring strategic attacks against the United States, allies, and partners.”

At a ceremony on Guam on Thursday, Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. David Berger discussed both topics.

“Forward, persistent presence is key to the regional security and stability in the Indo-Pacific. Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz is a critical part of that. More than that, it shows our undivided relationship with the government of Japan,” Berger said.

“The Japan and US alliance is the cornerstone of the people, the peace and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region and the linchpin of Japan’s foreign policy,” Japanese Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoshikawa Yuumi said.

Since the opening of what is now known as Marine Corps Logistics Base, Albany, Georgia, in 1952, the Marine Corps claims that Camp Blaz is the first new facility it has activated.

The base, which is now under development and will eventually join Andersen Air Force Base, another important US military facility, on Guam’s northern plateau.

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