Ascension Island
Situated approximately in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, and over 700 miles from its nearest
neighbour, Ascension Island was used extensively as a staging base during the Falklands War.
This is still the major role for the Station, which it performs for both the RAF and the USAF.
Regular flights from RAF Brize Norton link the island to the UK, as does the six-weekly arrival
of the MOD cargo and resupply vessels.
Ascension, lying some 1,120 km to the north-west of St Helena, is a
rocky peak of volcanic origin with 44 distinct craters. The craters are
dormant – the last eruption took place about 600 years ago.
The island was discovered by the Portuguese seafarer, Joao da Nova
Castella, on Ascension Day, 1501. It has no indigenous population and
was uninhabited until the incarceration of Napoleon Bonaparte on St
Helena in 1815, when a small British naval garrison was stationed on
Ascension to deny it to the French. The island remained under
Admiralty supervision until 1922, when it was made a dependency of
St Helena.
The island is governed by an Administrator who is responsible to the
Governor of St Helena. In practice, the Administrator chairs a
committee of 'Users', composed of three of the organisations on the
island which contribute an agreed sum to a central fund for services and
administration. Apart from the Royal Air Force (RAF), the island is
also used by the US Air Force (USAAF); by Cable and Wireless for
international communications; by the British Broadcasting Corporation
(BBC) for its external service broadcasts to West Africa and Latin
America; and by the Composite Signals Organisation (CSO). The
USAAF does not make a significant contribution to the fund as it runs
its own administration and employs its own service contractors. There
is a small police force, a Savings Bank and a Post Office.
During the Second World War, the US Government established an
airstrip which was lengthened and improved in the 1960s. The island
played an important role as a supply base during the Falklands conflict
in 1982. With the completion in 1984 of the RAF camp, the island
continues to provide the link supplying British forces on the Falklands. It is also the main gateway to the world for St Helena. The total
population of Ascension is currently about 1,350, comprising 850 St
Helenians, 100 Americans and 350 British (including 165 RAF
personnel).
Associated Organizations
Sources and Methods
http://www.fas.org/irp/facility/ascension.htm
Created by John Pike
Maintained by Steven Aftergood
Updated Monday, December 08, 1997 9:43:10 PM
