Preston Schlachter / North American Aerospace Defense Command / DVIDS
- US President Donald Trump has said that he wants to buy Greenland, The Wall Street Journal reported.
- The US operates Thule Air Base on the autonomous Danish territory, 750 miles north of the Arctic Circle. For much of the year, the base is locked in by ice.
- Temperatures at the base can fall below -30 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter, with winds up to 100 knots.
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President Donald Trump has stated several times his desire to acquire Greenland, according to The Wall Street Journal. In addition to its beauty and natural resources, Greenland is located between the US and Russia, making it strategically important in a Cold War-like conflict between the two.
Greenland is an autonomous Danish territory, with its own government that handles domestic issues. On Friday, Greenland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweeted, "We’re open for business, not for sale."
The US has operated Thule Air Base in Greenland’s high Arctic since the 1950s. While the mission of the base has changed over time, the base is now charged with warning North America about incoming intercontinental ballistic missles (ICBMs).
Read on to learn more about Thule Air Base.
Thule Air Base is 750 miles north of the Arctic Circle and midway between New York and Moscow. The base is home to the 12th Space Warning Squadron, which detects ICBMs headed toward North America with its Ballistic Missile Early Warning System.
Jim Yungel/NASA
Source: US Air Force
The orientation letter for new Thule Airmen welcomes them to "The Top of the World." It also stresses just how remote the installation is: "There is no ‘local town.’ The closest Inuit (native Eskimo) village, Qaanaaq, is located
65 miles away. There is no ‘off-base’ except for the bay, the ice cap and what appears to be thousands of miles of rocks and/or ice."
Tech. Sgt. Darrell Kinsey/USAF
Source: US Air Force
Thule is located on Greenland, the world’s largest island. Construction was completed in 1953. Thule’s population is about 600 military and civilian personnel — 400 Danes, 50 Greenlanders, 3 Canadians, and 140 Americans.
Google
Source: US Air Force
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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Source: Business Insider – eioanes@businessinsider.com (Ellen Ioanes)