Camp Kinser 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 ...

logistics base in

Okinawa 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 ...

, Japan.

Overview

Camp Kinser is a major logistics base for Marine Corps Forces on Okinawa. Its flagship command is the

3rd Marine Logistics Group The 3rd Marine Logistics Group (3rd MLG) is the Logistics Combat Element (LCE) for III Marine Expeditionary Force currently headquartered on Camp Kinser, Marine Corps Base Smedley D. Butler, Okinawa, Japan. 3rd MLG provides combat service sup ...

. It sits adjacent to the East China Sea in the city of

Urasoe is a city located in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The neighboring municipalities are Naha to the south, Ginowan to the north, and Nishihara to the east. As of November 2012, the city has an estimated population of 113,718 and a population den ...

, and just a few

kilometers The kilometre ( SI symbol: km; or ), spelt kilometer in American English, is a unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), equal to one thousand metres (kilo- being the SI prefix for ). It is now the measurement unit used for ex ...

north of

Naha is the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. As of 1 June 2019, the city has an estimated population of 317,405 and a population density of 7,939 persons per km2 (20,562 persons per sq. mi.). The total area ...

. Camp Kinser is the southernmost of nine Marine Corps bases on Okinawa, which make up

Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler (or simply Butler Marine Base) is a United States Marine Corps base located in the Japanese prefecture of Okinawa. It was named after Marine Corps Major General and twice Medal of Honor recipient Smedley ...

. Another military installation, the Naha Port Facility which belongs to the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

is located south of Camp Kinser. Camp Kinser is equipped with a DeCA Commissary, AAFES Shopette, and an AAFES PX, which houses a food court with eateries such as Subway,

Pizza Hut Pizza Hut is an American multinational restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas by Dan and Frank Carney. They serve their signature pan pizza and other dishes including pasta, breadsticks and dessert a ...

, and

Taco Bell Taco Bell is an American-based chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962 by Glen Bell (1923–2010) in Downey, California. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The restaurants serve a variety of Mexican-inspired foods, includin ...

. It sports a bowling alley, enlisted club, fitness center, and mess hall. It was named for 21 year old Sergeant Elbert L. Kinser, who threw himself on a grenade to protect his fellow Marines at the Battle of Okinawa during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, and was posthumously awarded the

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 valo ...

History

As of 2013, the U.S has indicated that it wants to return Camp Kinser also known as the Machinato or Makiminato Service Area to Japan by 2030.

Environmental pollution

In 1975, a large leak of

hexavalent chromium Hexavalent chromium (chromium(VI), Cr(VI), chromium 6) is chromium in any chemical compound that contains the element in the +6 oxidation state (thus hexavalent). Virtually all chromium ore is processed via hexavalent chromium, specifically the ...

spilled at the base with contamination reportedly 8000 times safe levels. The U.S. consulate in Naha dismissed the accident as a “flap” and warned “the newspapers and the leftists will certainly make good use of this issue against us.” In 1993, the US government issued a classified report entitled "USFJ Talking Paper on Possible Toxic Contamination at Camp Kinser, Okinawa". Publicly available U.S. military documents have quoted excerpts suggesting extensive pollution with Vietnam era chemicals stored there, like insecticides including

DDT Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. ...

(dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) and heavy metals,

rodenticide Rodenticides are chemicals made and sold for the purpose of killing rodents. While commonly referred to as "rat poison", rodenticides are also used to kill mice, squirrels, woodchucks, chipmunks, porcupines, nutria, beavers, and voles. Despi ...

s, herbicides, inorganic and organic acids, alkalis, inorganic salts, organic solvents like vapor

degreaser Parts cleaning is essential to many industrial processes, as a prelude to surface finishing or to protect sensitive components. Electroplating is particularly a sensitive to part cleanliness, since molecular layers of oil can prevent the adhesi ...

s and

ferric chloride Iron(III) chloride is the inorganic compound with the formula . Also called ferric chloride, it is a common compound of iron in the +3 oxidation state. The anhydrous compound is a crystalline solid with a melting point of 307.6 °C. The col ...

, of which 12.5 tons were buried.Mitchell, Jon,
Pentagon blocks report on ‘toxic contamination’ at base outside Okinawa capital
, '' Japan Times'', 16 Sep 2015Mitchell, Jon,
FOIA documents reveal hot spots, fish kills and toxic dumps on Okinawa military base
, '' Japan Times'', 29 September 2015 Evidence of wildlife contamination are the 2013 finding of

mongoose A mongoose is a small terrestrial carnivorous mammal belonging to the family Herpestidae. This family is currently split into two subfamilies, the Herpestinae and the Mungotinae. The Herpestinae comprises 23 living species that are native to so ...

s caught near the installation with high levels of

polychlorinated biphenyls Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are highly carcinogenic chemical compounds, formerly used in industrial and consumer products, whose production was banned in the United States by the Toxic Substances Control Act in 1979 and internationally by ...

and the September 2015 report of

habu is a Ryukyuan and Japanese name referring to certain venomous snakes: * The following species are found in the Ryukyu Islands of Japan: ** '' Protobothrops elegans'', a.k.a. the Sakishima habu, found in the southern Ryukyu Islands ** ''Protoboth ...

snakes from the vicinity of Camp Kinser with elevated concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls and DDT. In 2009 six Japanese workers of a warehouse on the base had fallen ill of an unknown illness. A scholar from Okinawa International University has speculated that "the Pentagon wants to conceal the reality of contamination that would damage the political value of amp Kinsers return".

Resident Commands

3rd Maintenance Battalion The 3rd Maintenance Battalion is a battalion of the United States Marine Corps that provides intermediate-level maintenance for the III Marine Expeditionary Force's tactical ordnance, engineer, motor transport, communications electronics and gene ...

3rd Supply Battalion The 3rd Supply Battalion is a battalion of the United States Marine Corps that specializes in distributing and warehousing military goods and equipment. They are headquartered at Camp Kinser, with their most remote company of Marines, Ammunition ...

Combat Logistics Regiment 35 The Combat Logistics Regiment 35 (CLR-35) was a logistics unit of the United States Marine Corps that was headquartered at Camp Kinser, Okinawa, Japan. When active, the unit fell under the 3rd Marine Logistics Group (3rd MLG) and the III Marine ...

Combat Logistics Regiment 37 Combat Logistics Regiment 37 (formerly Headquarters Regiment), 3rd MLG is a logistics regiment of the United States Marine Corps. It is part of the 3rd Marine Logistics Group and III Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF). The unit is based out of ...

References

External links