Diego Garcia, << dee AY goh gahr SEE uh, >> is an island in the Indian Ocean. It is part of the Chagos Archipelago, an island group. The island serves as a communications center and as an air and naval base used jointly by the United States Air Force and the U.S. Navy.
Diego Garcia is a U-shaped coral island called an atoll. It is about 15 miles (24 kilometers) long, and about 7 miles (11 kilometers) wide at its widest point.
Diego Garcia came under the United Kingdom’s control in 1814, and until 1965 was administered as a dependency of the British Colony of Mauritius. In 1965, Diego Garcia became part of a newly formed British dependency called the British Indian Ocean Territory.
The U.S. naval facility on Diego Garcia was built during the 1970’s. By 1973, British authorities had moved all of the island’s inhabitants to Mauritius and Seychelles. Since 1982, Mauritius has claimed the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia.
During the 1990’s and early 2000’s, the United States used Diego Garcia as a base for airplanes and ships destined for missions in the Middle East, Asia, and elsewhere.
See also Mauritius; Persian Gulf War of 1991; Iraq War.
