Marine Corps Air Station Futenma
| Marine Corps Air Station Futenma | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
海兵隊普天間航空基地 Kaiheitai Futenma Kōkū Kichi | |||||||
| Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture in Japan | |||||||
An aerial view of MCAS Futenma during 2010. | |||||||
| Site information | |||||||
| Type | Marine Corps Air Station | ||||||
| Owner | Various (leased by Government of Japan and made available to the US) | ||||||
| Operator | US Marine Corps | ||||||
| Controlled by | 1st Marine Aircraft Wing | ||||||
| Condition | Operational | ||||||
| Website | www | ||||||
| Location | |||||||
| Coordinates | 26°16′15″N 127°44′53″E / 26.27083°N 127.74806°E | ||||||
| Site history | |||||||
| Built | 1945 | ||||||
| In use | 1945 – present | ||||||
| Garrison information | |||||||
| Current commander | Colonel William Pacatte | ||||||
| Garrison | Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron | ||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||
| Identifiers | ICAO: ROTM, WMO: 479330 | ||||||
| Elevation | 75.5 metres (248 ft) AMSL | ||||||
| |||||||
| Source: Japanese AIP at AIS Japan | |||||||
Marine Corps Air Station Futenma or MCAS Futenma (Japanese: 海兵隊普天間航空基地, Hepburn: Kaiheitai Futenma Kōkū Kichi)A (ICAO: ROTM) is a United States Marine Corps base located in Ginowan, Okinawa, Japan, 5 NM (9.3 km; 5.8 mi) northeastB 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 airbase since the defeat of the Japanese Imperial Army in the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. Marine Corps pilots and aircrew are assigned to the base for training and providing air support to other land and sea-based Marines in Okinawa and throughout the Asia-Pacific region. MCAS Futenma is part of the Marine Corps Installations Pacific command.
MCAS Futenma is situated in Ginowan City (pop. 93,661). The base includes a 2,740 by 45 m (8,990 by 148 ft)A runway at 75 meters elevation, as well as extensive barracks, administrative and logistical facilities. The air station is tasked with operating a variety of fixed wing, rotary wing and tilt rotor aircraft in support of the III Marine Expeditionary Force, the Japan U.S. defense alliance and many allies and treaty partners in the region. The base is also used as a United Nations air distribution hub facility for response to disaster or other crisis requiring air supplies, due to the length of the runway and elevation.