USA Bases in the UK and Europe

The Americans like to remind us that they saved Britain twice during two world wars, but do not like to be reminded that they only joined the war against Hitler after they were attacked by Japan at Pearl Harbour.

Their perception that the world should be more grateful to America is clouding their thinking. Several times recently, Marco Rubio (see here) has talked about the idea of pulling American troops out of their bases across Europe because the Europeans had not supported America’s war against Iran.

He said, “We have spent billions and billions of dollars — trillions over the years, as Rubio notes — paying for the defence of Europe. That’s our role as a superpower. But American assistance, American help, America’s defensive capabilities, cannot come with no strings attached. It can’t mean we give you everything and you give us nothing. That isn’t fair.”

On April 1^st (an appropriate date) he argued: “If Europe won’t allow us to use the bases we man and fund for their defence when we need them, we ought to close them down and remove our troops from Europe”.

Is this a one-way process, where America is helping us, with no benefit to America?

Benefits

Let’s be clear, America does not maintain bases across Europe purely for our benefit. Even Marco Rubio accepts that having American bases across most of Europe allows the USA to project power across the world. The number of bases is significant – see table at the bottom for details.

There are nine US Airforce bases in the UK – at Lakenheath, Mildenhall, Alconbury, Molesworth, Croughton, Fairford and Menwith Hill. Fairford has been used to load bombs on B52 bombers heading to Iran. (See here) In addition to this, the U.S. Navy makes use of the Faslane (HMNB Clyde) base in Scotland.

Across the rest of Europe there are a significant number of American bases (75+), all of which allow America to exert power across the world. (Details at the bottom)

Costs

It would be wrong to pretend that America shoulders the entire cost of their foreign bases.

Under the 1973 Cost Sharing Arrangement (CSA) the USA does not pay direct, traditional rent for the land or infrastructure of its military bases in the UK (and similar rules apply across Europe).

As you would expect the US covers the operational and maintenance costs of the facilities it occupies but the UK provides the land and existing facilities rent-free.

The UK also typically funds external security and policing at these locations.

Additionally, US forces are granted significant tax privileges:

• they are not subject to standard commercial business rates.
• US service personnel and their families are exempt from paying council tax, whether they live in on-base housing or private off-base rentals.
• Goods and services imported for official use by US Visiting Forces are zero-rated for VAT and exempt from customs and excise duties.
• US military personnel stationed in the UK do not pay UK income tax on their earnings.

Additionally, when it comes to bases like Diego Garcia, the UK will pay an average of £101 million to Mauritius to lease the base for America.

Where is America Going?

Were all these bases to close, American power across the world would decline significantly. They would be giving up all the influence they sought to build over the past 100 years, allowing China and Russia to dominate most of the world outside Europe.

After closing their bases, the USA would still need to accommodate these 100,000 troops back in America – unless the US decided to make them redundant and significantly reduce the size of its military, but is that really an option?

Does America want to retreat from the rest of the world?

At the moment, no-one really knows. America has no sense of direction. Everyone, both inside America and outside, is merely waiting for the Trump nightmare to end on 20 January 2029. 

 

For those interested in more information on bases, see below:

UK Bases

1. RAF Lakenheath: The largest U.S. Air Force base in the UK; home to the 48th Fighter Wing (F-15s and F-35s).
2. RAF Mildenhall: A major air refueling and special operations hub; home to the 100th Air Refueling Wing.
3. RAF Alconbury: Part of the “Tri-Base Area,” primarily providing intelligence and support services.
4. RAF Molesworth: A center for military intelligence (U.S. European Command’s Joint Intelligence Operations Center).
5. RAF Croughton: A major global communications and command hub.
6. RAF Fairford: A standby “Forward Operating Location” used for strategic bombers (B-52, B-1, B-2).
7. RAF Menwith Hill: A major electronic monitoring and intelligence site (NSA facility).
8. RAF Welford: One of the largest ammunition compounds for the U.S. Air Force in Europe.
9. RAF Feltwell: Primarily used for housing, support services, and a radar tracking station.
10. RAF Blenheim Crescent (London): A small administrative site supporting U.S. Naval Forces Europe.

European Bases

Country	Estimated Major Bases/Sites	Primary Presence
Germany	38+	Largest presence in Europe (Ramstein AB, Patch Barracks, Baumholder).
Italy	7–10	Aviano AB, Vicenza (Army), Sigonella (Navy), and Naples.
United Kingdom	8–10	Primarily Air Force and Intelligence
Poland	5–6	Rapidly expanding; includes US Army Garrison Poland (Poznań) and Redzikowo (Aegis Ashore).
Spain	2	Naval Station Rota and Morón Air Base.
Belgium	3	SHAPE (NATO HQ), Chièvres Air Base, and Brussels.
Netherlands	1–2	Volkel Air Base (storage) and Schinnen (logistics).
Greece	1–2	Souda Bay (major naval/air hub) and Larissa.
Portugal	1	Lajes Field (The Azores).
Turkey	2	Incirlik Air Base and Kürecik (Radar site).
Romania	2	Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base and Deveselu (Aegis Ashore).
Norway	1–2	Cooperative Security Locations (mostly pre-positioned Marine gear).
Bulgaria	1	Novo Selo Training Range (rotational).