Preliminary work is under way on Dal Molin airfield

Preliminary work is under way on Dal Molin airfield
By Kent Harris, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Thursday, October 25, 2007

VICENZA, Italy — Construction is still months away, but U.S. plans to build facilities at the Dal Molin airfield in Italy recently reached a pair of milestones.

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Assuming a contractor is already chosen, construction could start right after the survey is completed next year, Dillon said. That means construction would start in late summer.

A small protest took place last weekend in front of the gates of Caserma Ederle. The project has been highly controversial in Vicenza and among leftists across the country. Opponents worry that additional facilities and troops will affect water services and traffic patterns in Vicenza. Others cite an opposition to a larger American military presence in the city or U.S. policies in general.

In addition, some reports have said the U.S. plans to use or store military aircraft, tanks and nuclear materiel at Dal Molin. Others have said the base would be the largest military facility outside the United States and would serve as the main staging point for operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The U.S. military denies all those reports, saying the airfield is needed for offices and barracks for soldiers to consolidate the entire 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team in one location. Currently, four of the six battalions are based in Bamberg and Schweinfurt in Germany.

The military says the airfield is not suited for military cargo airplanes or fighter jets and the site was chosen because it was the property owned by the Italian military closest to its current facilities at Caserma Ederle.


Rest of article at: http://stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=49765



uhc comment: Son of Incirlik?