U.S. NAVAL BASES

Grey River Argus, 19 November 1946, Page 5

U.S. NAVAL BASES

CHANGES IN PLANS For the Pacific (Rec. 8.0.) NEW YORK. Nov. 17. Major changes in the Navy’s plans for Pacific bases have been recommended and, partly for economic reasons, are likely to be approved, says the New York Times correspondent, Hanson Baldwin. The proposals in-, elude the abandonment of the extensive Leyte-Samar base area in the Philippines; a heavy reduction in expenditure tentatively projected for Guam; concentration of naval facilities in the Kwajalein area and Marshalls and slight expansion at the Kodiak base to maintain it as the Navy’s principal Aleutians stronghold.

The recommendations reflect recognition of the necessity of economising not only on manpower, but also to represent a more practical analysis of United States strategical needs in the Pacific. If the recommendations are accepted, the' Philippines will occupy a much less important role than was originally contemplated. The Navy’s main Pacific bases—which would also be major bases for the Army—would he at Hawaii, which would remain the hub of all United States Pacific strategy, and Guam, Saipan and the Tinian area with Kwajalein and Kodiak. as subsidiary bases.