Judge tosses suit over Marine Corps air station relocation in Okinawa

SAN FRANCISCO — A U.S. judge has thrown out a lawsuit that challenged plans to relocate a U.S. military base in Okinawa, Japan, over concerns about an endangered marine mammal.

Judge Edward Chen in San Francisco ruled late Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Defense adequately considered the base's effects on the Okinawa dugong — a manatee-like animal associated with traditional creation myths in Japan.

RELATED

Appeals court revives suit over US military base in Japan

A federal appeals court Monday revived a lawsuit that seeks to block construction of a U.S. military base in Okinawa, Japan over concerns about its impact on the Okinawa dugong, an endangered marine mammal that resembles a manatee.

The yearslong legal fight concerns plans to relocate Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to a less dense part of Okinawa.

Environmentalists say the construction of two aircraft runways as part of the construction plan will destroy critical feeding grounds and habitat for the dugong.

Peter Galvin with the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the plaintiffs, said the ruling was wrong and would be overturned by an appeals court.

More In Your Marine Corps

‘And the building was gone.’ Veterans remember Beirut bombing on 38th anniversary

"The building was rubble there were so many bodies and pieces of bodies," Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff recalls seeing from the morning of the bombing.

Corps begins fielding remotely operated underwater EOD vehicle

A new remotely operated vehicle will give Marine EOD team more capabilities, while keeping them safe from explosives or enemy fire.

These are the job fields Marine officers can move to in 2022

Exceptions "will not be favorably considered" unless a Marine is exceptionally qualified.

The Marine Corps wants to know what will convince you to reenlist

What non-monetary incentives will convince Marines to reenlist?

Pearl Harbor survivor and WWII veteran wants cards for his 100th birthday

Jack Holder will turn 100 on Dec. 13.

In Other News

Despite drug shortages, military has mostly been able to find alternative supplies

National supply chain issues are causing more drug shortages, according to reports. But the military appears okay for now.

Senior al-Qaida leader killed in northwest Syria drone strike: CENTCOM

For the second time in about a month, CENTCOM said a senior al-Qaida leader was killed in a drone strike in northwest Syria.

50,000 military families in 38 privatized housing communities see new ownership

"We put some very, very harsh downward pressure on Clark, because they were a failing partner," said Army Gen. Edward Daly, head of Army Materiel Command.

North Carolina nurse sentenced for defrauding veteran with dementia of $90k in benefits

Tracey McNeill, 51, pled guilty to wire fraud July, 6 2021 after defrauding the Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management of more than $90,000 of benefits owed to an elderly veteran in her care.

There are no actual plans to deploy troops to help with the supply chain

If Guard troops do activate, it will be at the behest of their governors.

Load More