End of an era as U.S. forces depart Iceland for good
The Associated Press
Published: September 30, 2006
REYKJAVIK, Iceland The United States Naval Air Station in Iceland will shut its gates for good on Saturday, ending more than half-century of U.S. military presence on this island.
Under NATO agreements, the United States has been responsible for Iceland's defense since 1951. But in March, U.S. authorities announced they would close the base, west of the island's capital.
The two countries announced this week that the U.S. will continue to defend Iceland with mobile forces stationed off the island. A package of bilateral agreements, including details of the handover of land and buildings to Iceland, and plans for security collaboration between the two countries and NATO, will be signed in coming weeks.
"We are a very special case among the NATO nations because we don't have our own defense," Icelandic Prime Minister Geir H. Haarde said at a press conference in Reykjavik. "We must now really consider defense issues much more than before — issues that accompany being an independent nation."
During the Cold War years, the base was a crucial location for tracking Russian submarines and intercepting aircraft, but by the 1990s, it had lost its strategic importance. In 1980, 120 Soviet aircraft were intercepted from Keflavik. In the past 14 years, that number has dropped to four.
The base officially opened in 1951, but American forces took over the defense of Iceland during World War II. The airport at Keflavik was used as a refueling station during the war, and as many as 45,000 U.S. service members were stationed in Iceland.
Despite the base's fading geopolitical relevance, the closure still came as a shock to some of the nearly 600 Icelanders who work there.
"Everybody knew it was reducing, but nobody expected it to happen this quickly," said Sigurbjorn Gustavsson, a 51-year-old computer specialist who worked on the base for 26 years. "I think that's what hurt everybody the most."
Six months ago, Gustavsson and other Icelandic employees heard they would soon be out of work not through their American bosses, but through the evening news.
"It's not the end of the world for us. It's how they did it that was a problem," said Thorey Marinosdottir, 30, a three-year base employee.
The young mother had only been working there for a few months in 2003 when the first layoffs began.
"You never knew if you were going to be the next to leave," she said.
Marinosdottir, like the majority of her colleagues, found other work. Many have been absorbed into the administration of the international airport, which will be taken over by the Icelandic government.
"The first people we saw were anxious and afraid," said Helga Johanna Oddsdottir, director of an employment agency to help base employees.
Like Gustavsson, many hadn't explored the job market for decades, and face lower wages than they were being paid by the military. Oddsdottir said the mood has recently changed: "The past few days, it's been different. There's no panic. There's no anxiety."
With a booming construction market and industrial projects in the pipeline around the country, demand for labor is high and unemployment is low. In Reykjanesbaer, the municipality closest to the base, Oddsdottir says the unemployment rate is about one percent.
In Reykjavik, people like Heimir Jon Heimisson are making a living by helping the Americans sell the material — like razors, Bibles, self-help books, mattresses and office furniture — that won't be going back to the U.S.
As for the institution that indirectly furnished him with a job and his customers with castoffs, Heimisson doesn't anticipate the departure will effect him.
"It hasn't done anything for me, and it hasn't done anything against me," he said. "We're vulnerable now, but we haven't done anything to anybody. We shouldn't be afraid."
REYKJAVIK, Iceland The United States Naval Air Station in Iceland will shut its gates for good on Saturday, ending more than half-century of U.S. military presence on this island.
Under NATO agreements, the United States has been responsible for Iceland's defense since 1951. But in March, U.S. authorities announced they would close the base, west of the island's capital.
The two countries announced this week that the U.S. will continue to defend Iceland with mobile forces stationed off the island. A package of bilateral agreements, including details of the handover of land and buildings to Iceland, and plans for security collaboration between the two countries and NATO, will be signed in coming weeks.
"We are a very special case among the NATO nations because we don't have our own defense," Icelandic Prime Minister Geir H. Haarde said at a press conference in Reykjavik. "We must now really consider defense issues much more than before — issues that accompany being an independent nation."
During the Cold War years, the base was a crucial location for tracking Russian submarines and intercepting aircraft, but by the 1990s, it had lost its strategic importance. In 1980, 120 Soviet aircraft were intercepted from Keflavik. In the past 14 years, that number has dropped to four.
The base officially opened in 1951, but American forces took over the defense of Iceland during World War II. The airport at Keflavik was used as a refueling station during the war, and as many as 45,000 U.S. service members were stationed in Iceland.
Despite the base's fading geopolitical relevance, the closure still came as a shock to some of the nearly 600 Icelanders who work there.
"Everybody knew it was reducing, but nobody expected it to happen this quickly," said Sigurbjorn Gustavsson, a 51-year-old computer specialist who worked on the base for 26 years. "I think that's what hurt everybody the most."
Six months ago, Gustavsson and other Icelandic employees heard they would soon be out of work not through their American bosses, but through the evening news.
"It's not the end of the world for us. It's how they did it that was a problem," said Thorey Marinosdottir, 30, a three-year base employee.
The young mother had only been working there for a few months in 2003 when the first layoffs began.
"You never knew if you were going to be the next to leave," she said.
Marinosdottir, like the majority of her colleagues, found other work. Many have been absorbed into the administration of the international airport, which will be taken over by the Icelandic government.
"The first people we saw were anxious and afraid," said Helga Johanna Oddsdottir, director of an employment agency to help base employees.
Like Gustavsson, many hadn't explored the job market for decades, and face lower wages than they were being paid by the military. Oddsdottir said the mood has recently changed: "The past few days, it's been different. There's no panic. There's no anxiety."
With a booming construction market and industrial projects in the pipeline around the country, demand for labor is high and unemployment is low. In Reykjanesbaer, the municipality closest to the base, Oddsdottir says the unemployment rate is about one percent.
In Reykjavik, people like Heimir Jon Heimisson are making a living by helping the Americans sell the material — like razors, Bibles, self-help books, mattresses and office furniture — that won't be going back to the U.S.
As for the institution that indirectly furnished him with a job and his customers with castoffs, Heimisson doesn't anticipate the departure will effect him.
"It hasn't done anything for me, and it hasn't done anything against me," he said. "We're vulnerable now, but we haven't done anything to anybody. We shouldn't be afraid."
Published: September 30, 2006
REYKJAVIK, Iceland The United States Naval Air Station in Iceland will shut its gates for good on Saturday, ending more than half-century of U.S. military presence on this island.
Under NATO agreements, the United States has been responsible for Iceland's defense since 1951. But in March, U.S. authorities announced they would close the base, west of the island's capital.
The two countries announced this week that the U.S. will continue to defend Iceland with mobile forces stationed off the island. A package of bilateral agreements, including details of the handover of land and buildings to Iceland, and plans for security collaboration between the two countries and NATO, will be signed in coming weeks.
"We are a very special case among the NATO nations because we don't have our own defense," Icelandic Prime Minister Geir H. Haarde said at a press conference in Reykjavik. "We must now really consider defense issues much more than before — issues that accompany being an independent nation."
During the Cold War years, the base was a crucial location for tracking Russian submarines and intercepting aircraft, but by the 1990s, it had lost its strategic importance. In 1980, 120 Soviet aircraft were intercepted from Keflavik. In the past 14 years, that number has dropped to four.
The base officially opened in 1951, but American forces took over the defense of Iceland during World War II. The airport at Keflavik was used as a refueling station during the war, and as many as 45,000 U.S. service members were stationed in Iceland.
Despite the base's fading geopolitical relevance, the closure still came as a shock to some of the nearly 600 Icelanders who work there.
"Everybody knew it was reducing, but nobody expected it to happen this quickly," said Sigurbjorn Gustavsson, a 51-year-old computer specialist who worked on the base for 26 years. "I think that's what hurt everybody the most."
Six months ago, Gustavsson and other Icelandic employees heard they would soon be out of work not through their American bosses, but through the evening news.
"It's not the end of the world for us. It's how they did it that was a problem," said Thorey Marinosdottir, 30, a three-year base employee.
The young mother had only been working there for a few months in 2003 when the first layoffs began.
"You never knew if you were going to be the next to leave," she said.
Marinosdottir, like the majority of her colleagues, found other work. Many have been absorbed into the administration of the international airport, which will be taken over by the Icelandic government.
"The first people we saw were anxious and afraid," said Helga Johanna Oddsdottir, director of an employment agency to help base employees.
Like Gustavsson, many hadn't explored the job market for decades, and face lower wages than they were being paid by the military. Oddsdottir said the mood has recently changed: "The past few days, it's been different. There's no panic. There's no anxiety."
With a booming construction market and industrial projects in the pipeline around the country, demand for labor is high and unemployment is low. In Reykjanesbaer, the municipality closest to the base, Oddsdottir says the unemployment rate is about one percent.
In Reykjavik, people like Heimir Jon Heimisson are making a living by helping the Americans sell the material — like razors, Bibles, self-help books, mattresses and office furniture — that won't be going back to the U.S.
As for the institution that indirectly furnished him with a job and his customers with castoffs, Heimisson doesn't anticipate the departure will effect him.
"It hasn't done anything for me, and it hasn't done anything against me," he said. "We're vulnerable now, but we haven't done anything to anybody. We shouldn't be afraid."
REYKJAVIK, Iceland The United States Naval Air Station in Iceland will shut its gates for good on Saturday, ending more than half-century of U.S. military presence on this island.
Under NATO agreements, the United States has been responsible for Iceland's defense since 1951. But in March, U.S. authorities announced they would close the base, west of the island's capital.
The two countries announced this week that the U.S. will continue to defend Iceland with mobile forces stationed off the island. A package of bilateral agreements, including details of the handover of land and buildings to Iceland, and plans for security collaboration between the two countries and NATO, will be signed in coming weeks.
"We are a very special case among the NATO nations because we don't have our own defense," Icelandic Prime Minister Geir H. Haarde said at a press conference in Reykjavik. "We must now really consider defense issues much more than before — issues that accompany being an independent nation."
During the Cold War years, the base was a crucial location for tracking Russian submarines and intercepting aircraft, but by the 1990s, it had lost its strategic importance. In 1980, 120 Soviet aircraft were intercepted from Keflavik. In the past 14 years, that number has dropped to four.
The base officially opened in 1951, but American forces took over the defense of Iceland during World War II. The airport at Keflavik was used as a refueling station during the war, and as many as 45,000 U.S. service members were stationed in Iceland.
Despite the base's fading geopolitical relevance, the closure still came as a shock to some of the nearly 600 Icelanders who work there.
"Everybody knew it was reducing, but nobody expected it to happen this quickly," said Sigurbjorn Gustavsson, a 51-year-old computer specialist who worked on the base for 26 years. "I think that's what hurt everybody the most."
Six months ago, Gustavsson and other Icelandic employees heard they would soon be out of work not through their American bosses, but through the evening news.
"It's not the end of the world for us. It's how they did it that was a problem," said Thorey Marinosdottir, 30, a three-year base employee.
The young mother had only been working there for a few months in 2003 when the first layoffs began.
"You never knew if you were going to be the next to leave," she said.
Marinosdottir, like the majority of her colleagues, found other work. Many have been absorbed into the administration of the international airport, which will be taken over by the Icelandic government.
"The first people we saw were anxious and afraid," said Helga Johanna Oddsdottir, director of an employment agency to help base employees.
Like Gustavsson, many hadn't explored the job market for decades, and face lower wages than they were being paid by the military. Oddsdottir said the mood has recently changed: "The past few days, it's been different. There's no panic. There's no anxiety."
With a booming construction market and industrial projects in the pipeline around the country, demand for labor is high and unemployment is low. In Reykjanesbaer, the municipality closest to the base, Oddsdottir says the unemployment rate is about one percent.
In Reykjavik, people like Heimir Jon Heimisson are making a living by helping the Americans sell the material — like razors, Bibles, self-help books, mattresses and office furniture — that won't be going back to the U.S.
As for the institution that indirectly furnished him with a job and his customers with castoffs, Heimisson doesn't anticipate the departure will effect him.
"It hasn't done anything for me, and it hasn't done anything against me," he said. "We're vulnerable now, but we haven't done anything to anybody. We shouldn't be afraid."
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