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.
MCAS Futenma Location in Japan
Coordinates	26°16′15″N 127°44′53″E / 26.27083°N 127.74806°E / 26.27083; 127.74806
Type	Marine Corps Air Station
Site information
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.mcasfutenma.marines.mil
Site history
Built	1945 (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
Runways Direction Length and surface 06/24 2,740 metres (8,990 ft) Asphalt/Concrete
Source: Japanese AIP at AIS Japan[1]

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[2] (ICAO: ROTM) is a United States Marine Corps base located in Ginowan, Okinawa, Japan, 5 NM (9.3 km; 5.8 mi) northeast^[1]B of Naha, on the island of Okinawa. It is home to approximately 3,000^[3] 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).^[4] The base includes a 2,740 by 45 m (8,990 by 148 ft)^[1]A runway at 75 meters elevation,^[5] 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.^{[6][failed verification]}

For years, the relocation of the base has been a major political issue for Okinawa, Japan and the US military and diplomacy in Asia.