Camp Schwab is a

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

camp located in northeastern

Okinawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city o ...

, Japan, that is currently home to the

4th Marine Regiment The 4th Marine Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps. Based at Camp Schwab in Okinawa, Japan, it is part of the 3rd Marine Division of the III Marine Expeditionary Force. Mission Close with and destroy the enemy by fi ...

and other elements of the 28,000 American servicemen based on the island. The Camp was dedicated in 1959 in honor of

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

recipient

Albert E. Schwab Private First Class Albert Earnest Schwab (July 17, 1920 – May 7, 1945) was a United States Marine who was posthumously awarded the United States' highest military honor — the Medal of Honor — for his heroic actions during the Battle of Ok ...

who was killed in action during the

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army (USA) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) forces against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The initial invasion of ...

. Camp Schwab primarily located in the city of

Nago ''Nagu'', Kunigami: ''Naguu'' is a city located in the northern part of Okinawa Island, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. As of December 2012, the city has an estimated population of 61,659 and a population density of 288 persons per km2. Its tota ...

(99%); a small part of the base is located in the village of Ginoza (1%). The unit conducts live-fire training and coordination with other units.

Base overview

* Location:

(Toyohara, Henoko , Kushi, Kyoda, Sukuta, Yofuke), Ginoza Village (Matsuda) * Area: 20,626 thousand m2 * Area ratio by municipality: Nago City 99% (about 20.43km 2 ), Ginoza Village 1% (about 0.2km 2 ) * Management Unit: U.S. Marine Corps Base Command in Okinawa * Number of landowners: 752 * Annual rent: 2,639 million yen (FY2012 results) * Number of stationed Marine employees: 242 Adjacent to the north side of Camp Schwab is the Henoko Ordnance Storage.

Units and mission

III Marine Expeditionary Force III Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF) is a formation of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force of the United States Marine Corps. It is forward-deployed and able to rapidly conduct operations across the spectrum from humanitarian assistance and ...

, 3rd Marine Division (4th Marine Regiment, Combat Assault Battalion and 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion), etc. (Army, Navy, Air Force use range etc.) Purpose of use: Dormitory, various entertainment facilities, management office and training ground

Geography

It is divided into a Schwab training area located in the inland area on the west side of Route 329 (* at the same time, National Route 331 also overlaps) and a camp area on the east coast. The Henoko Ordnance Storage is adjacent to the north side. The Schwab training area forms the north side of a large training ground called the Central Training Area. The south side is adjacent to the Camp Hansen training area. There is also a Marine training ground and training area on the coast for amphibious assault exercises on LSTs (tank landing ships) and amphibious vehicles. The foot of Mt. Kushidake is used as a landing area for live ammunition training and as an abandoned ammunition disposal site.

Relocation of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma

There have been various plans to relocate

Marine Corps Air Station Futenma is a United States Marine Corps base located in Ginowan, Okinawa, Japan, northeast of Naha, on the island of Okinawa. It is home to approximately 3,000 Marines of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing and other units, and has been a U.S. military ai ...

—first off the island and most recently to Camp Schwab—however, the future of any relocation is uncertain with the election of base-opponent Onaga as Okinawa governor. Onaga won against the incumbent Nakaima who had earlier approved landfill work to move the base to Camp Schwab in Henoko. Onaga has promised to veto the landfill work needed for the new base to be built and insisted Futenma should be moved outside of Okinawa.

Incidents

Agent Orange barrel on Okinawa and Marine Scott Parton on Okinawa 1971

Reports indicate that

Agent Orange Agent Orange is a chemical herbicide and defoliant, one of the "tactical use" Rainbow Herbicides. It was used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971. It ...

was stored and used at Camp Schwab and other US bases on Okinawa in the 1960s. The US government denies that the toxin was present at the base and the Japanese government has declined to investigate. On 24 March 2009 a Marine was killed and two others injured in an explosion near the base. The Marine Corps announced that the Marines were part of an explosive ordnance disposal team preparing unexploded ordnance for disposal when the explosion occurred.''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', "Okinawa Blast Kills U.S. Marine", 25 March 2009, p. 10.

References

External links

What Okinawa Wants You to Understand about the U.S. Military Bases(PDF)
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Okinawa Prefectural Office Washington DC
* ttp://www.jca.apc.org/HHK/Appeals/000403.html ヘリ基地反対協　声明 {{Coord, 26.524612, 128.044324, format=dms, display=title, type:landmark_region:JP_scale:10000 Schwab Installations of the U.S. Department of Defense in Japan United States Armed Forces in Okinawa Prefecture