Camp Hansen is a

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

base located in

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

, Japan. The camp is situated in the town of Kin, near the northern shore of Kin Bay, and is the second-northernmost major installation on Okinawa, with Camp Schwab to the north. The camp houses approximately 6,000 Marines nowadays, and is part of Marine Corps Base Camp Butler, which itself is not a physical base and comprises all Marine Corps installations on Okinawa. Camp Hansen is named for

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

recipient Dale M. Hansen, a Marine Corps private who was honored for his heroism in the fight for Hill 60 during the

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa Island, Okinawa by United States Army and United States Marine Corps forces against the Imperial Japanese Army during the Pacific War, Impe ...

. Hansen was killed by a Japanese sniper's bullet three days after his actions on Hill 60. Built on the site of the former Chimu Airfield, the Camp was completed on 20 September 1965 after 29 months of construction by USN Mobile Construction Battalions 3, 9, and 11.

Tenant units

* Headquarters, 12th Marine Regiment * 3rd Battalion 12th Marines * 3rd Law Enforcement Battalion * 3rd Intelligence Battalion * 7th Communication Battalion * 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit * 5th Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company (ANGLICO) * 9th Engineer Support Battalion * Special Operations Training Group * Elements of the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion. * 3rd Marine Division Truck Company * III MEF Information Group (MIG) * 2nd Battalion 11th Marines *3rd Ordnance Maintenance Company (OMC)

Base information

The base is home to the Central Training Area, which includes several

firing range A shooting range, firing range, gun range or shooting ground is a specialized facility, sports venue, venue, or playing field, field designed specifically for firearm usage qualifications, training, practice, or shooting sport, competitions. ...

s, a pair of shooting houses which support live fire training, and other training areas, being one of the few locations on the island where weapons firing is permitted. Also located at Camp Hansen is a

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...

, a confinement facility that houses U.S. military members from around the Far East for short term sentences. Facilities include a Post Exchange, a theater, a convenience store, two gyms, and a "consolidated entertainment facility" known as The Palms, which has two restaurants, as well as enlisted, SNCO, and officer clubs. In March 2008, the

Japan Ground Self-Defense Force The , , also referred to as the Japanese Army, is the land warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Created on July 1, 1954, it is the largest of the three service branches. New military guidelines, announced in December 2010, direct ...

began training at Camp Hansen, as part of the reorganization of U.S. forces in Japan and the move towards sharing facilities between American and Japanese troops.

Controversies

In September 1995, three U.S. servicemen stationed in Camp Hansen rented a van, kidnapped and

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

d a 12-year-old Japanese girl. The crime "stirred furor" among the Okinawans, according to ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

''. According to documents leaked by

Edward Snowden Edward Joseph Snowden (born June 21, 1983) is a former National Security Agency (NSA) intelligence contractor and whistleblower who leaked classified documents revealing the existence of global surveillance programs. Born in 1983 in Elizabeth ...

and published by ''

The Intercept ''The Intercept'' is an American left-wing nonprofit news organization that publishes articles and podcasts online. ''The Intercept'' has published in English since its founding in 2014, and in Portuguese since the 2016 launch of the Brazilia ...

'', the site hosts an NSA collection facility codenamed CAMELUS. It uses a PUSHER-type antenna.

References

External links

*
An Insider's Guide to USMC Bases
{{US Marine Corps navbox Hansen Installations of the U.S. Department of Defense in Japan United States Armed Forces in Okinawa Prefecture

Tenant units

Base information

Controversies

See also

References

External links