Any of y'all been to Diego Garcia?

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fc2112
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6:53a, 10/4/24
We have a big ROTC program at A&M, so maybe some of y'all were in the military?

Saw that Diego Garcia was given back to Mauritius but then we got a 99 year lease.

Got to looking at Google Earth and the place looks pretty cool. I was wondering if it's as nice as it looks from the air.

Obviously, not a lot to do there. But since I like to (1) run (2) lift and (3) read, maybe I'd be happy there if I could find contract work.

For the unfamiliar - the atoll, far south of India



The entire place is a military base with supplies forward deployed, a navy port and an airfield big enough for he Space Shuttle to land there.





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Ginormus Ag
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7:04a, 10/4/24
AG
Yes. Not one weird marching band or drum line on the entire island.
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maroon barchetta
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7:36a, 10/4/24
I've always been fascinated by Diego Garcia.

Giving it back sounds like a colossally stupid idea.

I think Sea Speed said he's been there.
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Anchorhold
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In reply to fc2112 • 8:20a, 10/4/24
fc2112 said:
Saw that Diego Garcia was given back to Mauritius but then we got a 99 year lease.


Government: Wonderful what we can do nowadays.
[ping]
Aah! I see you have the machine that goes 'ping'. This is my favorite. You see, we lease this back from the company we sold it to, and that way, it comes under the monthly current budget and not the capital account.
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Pro Sandy
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8:27a, 10/4/24
AG
Beautiful tropical island with no one there. Snorkeled in the lagoon and drink cheap beer. Hair cuts are free.













Don't drink the water, go to the water buffalo with your container



Watch out for coconut crabs. At night, I wouldn't leave my room. The entire jungle moved with crabs and rats.

Wasn't there long enough to go past the donkey gate.
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maroon barchetta
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In reply to Pro Sandy • 8:56a, 10/4/24
Donkey gate?
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maroon barchetta
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In reply to Pro Sandy • 8:57a, 10/4/24

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JR_83
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9:11a, 10/4/24
Does Hector the hammerhead still patrol the lagoon?
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Pro Sandy
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In reply to maroon barchetta • 9:24a, 10/4/24
AG
maroon barchetta said:
Donkey gate?
Separates the base from the wildlife refuge. Have to go through the gate to get to the old village from the plantation. Used to keep the donkeys off the base, but I think they are all dead now.
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Sea Speed
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10:09a, 10/4/24
AG
I spent a lot of time there. Mailed back a ton of seashells i wasn't supposed to. Got in the best shape of my life up to that point there as well. Caught a 500 lb Marlin. Swam with manta rays. Caught a massive coconut crab. A guy was killed by a shark while I was there. Ate some amazing meals at the O club staring out at the ocean and sunsets. Won a grand on a slot machine. Caught giant trevally nightly with home made lures while waiting on the launch boats. So much more as well. You either love that place or hate it and I loved it. It was perfect for me at that point in my life. I wouldn't want to go back today.
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Sea Speed
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10:18a, 10/4/24
AG
Damn I look like a baby.






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maroon barchetta
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In reply to Sea Speed • 10:22a, 10/4/24
Very cool pics.
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maroon barchetta
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In reply to JR_83 • 10:27a, 10/4/24
JR_83 said:
Does Hector the hammerhead still patrol the lagoon?


Google says Hector was killed years ago and was 28-32 feet long.
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vin1041
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10:34a, 10/4/24
AG
Yes. 1986 Christmas & New Years as a member of USMC Fox 2/5.

We just finished two and half months of training in South Korea. So we thought the place was paradise.
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Sea Speed
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In reply to vin1041 • 11:04a, 10/4/24
AG
I mean, it IS paradise.
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harrierdoc
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In reply to fc2112 • 11:56a, 10/4/24
AG
No, but I spent about a week on Wake. After about 3 days, it's a drag. Now, if there for a year or two, and had my stuff, it wiuld be different. It was also before any real useful internet.
Only thing on TV was sumo wrestling
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mefoghorn
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12:15p, 10/4/24
AG
I saw one piece of evidence years ago that the mysterious Malaysia Airlines 370 that disappeared was actually secretly hidden on Diego Garcia and that all passenger cellphones were in a Faraday cage. Keep an eye out! .
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UTExan
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12:32p, 10/4/24
Diego Garcia is 1,340 miles from Mauritius per Google. How does a tiny country even have the budget to arrange for an inspection flight to DG?
“If you’re going to have crime it should at least be organized crime”
-Havelock Vetinari
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Touchscreen
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2:26p, 10/4/24
AG
Spent a few days there back in November 1980. This was during the time of the Iranian hostage crisis and we had been sailing around the Indian Ocean "just in case." This stop was an opportunity to get off the ships for a while and do some limited training and vehicle maintenance. As others said it's an attractive tropical atoll with nice beaches, colorful seashells, and lots of sun.

At that time it was very "rustic." It was a British protectorate so even though rustic everyone still had to go through customs in a way. A British administrator of some sort would stand next to a 55-gallon oil drum on the beach where the landing craft beached, and arrivals had to show their ID and empty their pockets onto the top of the oil drum to check for contraband.

Relatively close by was a large plywood hut, sort of like a Vietnam-era strongback that was the O-Club. One evening the officers of the helicopter squadron came ashore for a party. At the end of the evening those too drunk to function were shuttled back to the beach in a jeep and jeep trailer. That image of the jeep and jeep trailer full of drunk squadron pilots still stands out in my mind.

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Sea Speed
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2:41p, 10/4/24
AG
I've got GoPro videos of essentially the entire island and every single bike trail, the whole plantation and then random other seldom traveled spots. We went hiking through part of the island that is somewhat odd limits and found what appeared to be an old communication shack. Pretty cool. When we got to the ocean side of the island there were sea turtles and whales practically just feet off the beach and crystal clear water. Didn't snorkel much there though cause the current would smoke your ass and I didn't have a death wish.
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maroon barchetta
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In reply to Sea Speed • 3:48p, 10/4/24
Are there mosquitoes?
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txags92
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4:13p, 10/4/24
AG
The downside of the Brits giving it to Mauritius is that Mauritius is very cozy with the Chinese. We have a lease on the base, but the Chinese will have listening and observation posts a short distance away not long after the transfer is effective.
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maroon barchetta
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In reply to txags92 • 4:34p, 10/4/24
Which administration did this?
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txags92
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In reply to maroon barchetta • 4:45p, 10/4/24
AG
maroon barchetta said:
Which administration did this?
Keir Starmer of the UK and he did it while Parliament was not in session. He didn't just give up Diego Garcia, he gave up all of the Chagos Islands.

No Time Like the Present for the UK to Give Away...Gulp...Diego Garcia (HotAir)
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maroon barchetta
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In reply to txags92 • 5:11p, 10/4/24
Gawd
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HollywoodBQ
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In reply to UTExan • 11:34p, 10/4/24
AG
UTExan said:
Diego Garcia is 1,340 miles from Mauritius per Google. How does a tiny country even have the budget to arrange for an inspection flight to DG?
Uh, my dad was on to Diego Garcia in the 1970s.

I don't know who in the construction industry knows what but, as Alex Jones says - This is known
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Monkeypoxfighter
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6:42a, 10/5/24
Are those crabs good to eat?

"We're gonna need a bigger stick of butter!"
It only took me a year to figure out this place is nuts!
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maroon barchetta
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In reply to HollywoodBQ • 7:11a, 10/5/24
HollywoodBQ said:
UTExan said:
Diego Garcia is 1,340 miles from Mauritius per Google. How does a tiny country even have the budget to arrange for an inspection flight to DG?
Uh, my dad was on to Diego Garcia in the 1970s.

I don't know who in the construction industry knows what but, as Alex Jones says - This is known


Had to look to see if this was a Redstone post.
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B-1 83
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In reply to Monkeypoxfighter • 8:03a, 10/5/24
AG
Monkeypoxfighter said:
Are those crabs good to eat?

"We're gonna need a bigger stick of butter!"
"Deadliest Catch -Diego Garcia" would not likely have much entertainment value, but the filming would be more fun than the seas off Alaska.
Being in TexAgs jail changes a man……..no, not really
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mwm
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8:43a, 10/5/24
I did a tour of duty at a communication station in Ethiopia back in 1969-1971. The rumor on base was that the plan was to shut down that site and move it to Diego Garcia. I completed my tour before anything was moved.

From the pictures, it looks like Diego Garcia was head & shoulders above Asmara.

I was thinking the other day about those days and why the U.S. Government would give a 20-year old kid a top secret crypto security clearance?
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