# Is the US the only country to have military bases in other countries? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 22, 2007, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-us-the-only-country-to-have-military-bases-in-other-countries/427412 "2007-11-22T08:17:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2007, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-us-the-only-country-to-have-military-bases-in-other-countries/427412/21 "2007-11-23T13:13:01Z")
[QUOTE=Monty] The German military has a unit based there. AFAIK, it is not a German military base but rather a US base with a German military tenant unit. [/QUOTE] Isn’t this technically the case with Gitmo, the US is leasing Gitmo base from Cuba for IIRC $1/year. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2007, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-us-the-only-country-to-have-military-bases-in-other-countries/427412/22 "2007-11-23T16:48:43Z")
[QUOTE=kanicbird] Isn’t this technically the case with Gitmo, the US is leasing Gitmo base from Cuba for IIRC $1/year. [/QUOTE] Actually it’s $4K a year (locked in way back in the 20th century; Cuba won’t cash the checks, though, as they want out of the treaty), but it is still an American base, not a Cuban base; the rent paid is for the _land use_, but the _base_ is controlled, commanded and operated by the US Navy for the strategic interests of the US. “Tenant” in the context of military commands means that a unit or command uses quarters, stores and resources of a base as their “home”, but it’s someone else’s base insofar as who “owns” its operational command. As mentioned, a few countries have actual full-fledged stations of their armed forces, under their primary command & control, located within the territory of other sovereign nations. But more common today, and more economical, is having an agreement to share access to the other country’s bases and resources as “tenants” or as part of joint operations. Tenancy and joint use tends to also be more politically viable than extraterritorial bases, as you are less likely to be accused of “giving up” part of the “homeland” to a foreign power, instead you can say you are merely putting them up at \*your \* barracks and “letting” them use \*your \* airstrip/dock when you’re not using them. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2007, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-us-the-only-country-to-have-military-bases-in-other-countries/427412/23 "2007-11-23T17:07:31Z")
Are you gyys sure you’re not thinking of Luke AFB in Arizona, purportedly the largest base in the West German Luftwaffe in the Sixties? ---
**Author:** ![Eolbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@Eolbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eolbo)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2007, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-us-the-only-country-to-have-military-bases-in-other-countries/427412/24 "2007-11-24T06:52:54Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] The Russians apparently still have naval forces based in Vietnam and Syria. [/QUOTE] The Russians closed Cam Ranh Bay several years ago [Russia closes Vietnam naval base](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1964253.stm) ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2007, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-us-the-only-country-to-have-military-bases-in-other-countries/427412/25 "2007-11-24T07:04:27Z")
Stupid question, but does the US have any other countries militaries on US soil with their own base? If not, do we have any in which we work in conjuction with on US soil? ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2007, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-us-the-only-country-to-have-military-bases-in-other-countries/427412/26 "2007-11-24T10:40:34Z")
Britain also has bases in the Falklands and Gibraltar plus of course Iraq and Afghanistan. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2007, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-us-the-only-country-to-have-military-bases-in-other-countries/427412/27 "2007-11-24T10:42:41Z")
Oh almost forgot I believe Ascension island in the Atlantic is also a British base that we lease to the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2007, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-us-the-only-country-to-have-military-bases-in-other-countries/427412/28 "2007-11-24T14:07:30Z")
[QUOTE=ParentalAdvisory] Stupid question, but does the US have any other countries militaries on US soil with their own base? If not, do we have any in which we work in conjuction with on US soil? [/QUOTE] Check upthread for information about German military units stationed in the United States. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2007, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-us-the-only-country-to-have-military-bases-in-other-countries/427412/29 "2007-11-24T14:07:30Z")
[QUOTE=Lust4Life] Oh almost forgot I believe Ascension island in the Atlantic is also a British base that we lease to the U.S. [/QUOTE] Not certain about Ascension, but we do lease Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to the US… And Chile and Uruguay both apparently have military bases in the South Shetlands, which I had always thought was territory administered by the UK… > [@](#): > > The 154 tourists and crew from the M/S Explorer have been spending the night at Chilean and Uruguayan military bases on King George Island in Antarctica. from [BBC News](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7110550.stm) ---
**Author:** ![wolfstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d6d6ee/32.png) [@wolfstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfstu)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2007, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-us-the-only-country-to-have-military-bases-in-other-countries/427412/30 "2007-11-24T15:48:37Z")
[QUOTE=mnemosyne] Until 1994, Canada had military bases in Germany (Baden-Soellingen and Lahr, closed one year apart). The decision to close them wasn’t well received by everyone; the reasons were largely financial. Parts are being used by Germans for commercial purposes, the rest have fallen into ruin. - **mnemosyne** , CFB Lahr, 1990-1993 [/QUOTE] Also, several NATO countries have air force facilities in Labrador, at Goose Bay, including the Luftwaffe and RAF, as I recall. But perhaps these are technically just hangars and units on a Canadian base, rather than German and British bases in the meaning of the OP. **wolfstu** , who stopped over in CFB Goose Bay for, like, a couple of hours one time in 1999 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-us-the-only-country-to-have-military-bases-in-other-countries/427412.md?page=1)