U.S. engineer soldiers have begun technical surveys of the closed airstrip at Narsarsuaq in South Greenland, work the U.S. military says could inform future operations and that has unsettled residents in the settlement.
American soldiers started taking measurements this week at the disused runway in Narsarsuaq, deep inside a fjord in southern Greenland. DR first reported the activity on Thursday morning.
According to DR, a group of American engineer soldiers with measuring equipment is surveying the runway and other facilities that could serve a military base. The settlement sits at the foot of a glacier and was once home to an American wartime air base.
The civilian airport at Narsarsuaq closed in April, and a considerable number of residents have since moved away. With the airport shut, fewer tourists reach the historic airfield settlement.
Kunuk Grønvold, who works in the local grocery store and still lives in the settlement, told DR that the closure has affected everyone there. He said people who have left speak of homesickness and a wish to return.
U.S. says work is coordinated with Greenland and Denmark
The U.S. military’s Northern Command confirmed to DR that a team of specialists is carrying out technical surveys at the site. The stated purpose is to identify future operational possibilities at Narsarsuaq.
A spokesperson for U.S. Northern Command told DR that the team is gathering standard airfield information. That includes dimensions, existing facilities and runway characteristics, for possible use by the United States, Denmark or other NATO allies.
The command stressed that the mapping is taking place in close cooperation with Greenland’s government and the Kingdom of Denmark. A separate DR report on the same day described the soldiers as engineer troops equipped with surveying instruments.
Grønvold said he hopes aircraft return to Narsarsuaq, but not with American flags on the tail. He told DR he would prefer a Danish or European defense presence at the airstrip.
He added that Narsarsuaq’s past as an American base belongs to another time, and that American statements about taking over Greenland should not be forgotten. As long as the current U.S. administration continues on its present course, he said, caution about how Greenlanders view the United States is wise.
