The Marshall Islands is an island nation located in the central Pacific Ocean, just north of the equator. It has a population of around 59,000 people and the official language is English. The majority of the population are Protestant Christian, with some other Christian denominations as well as traditional beliefs.
The military of the Marshall Islands consists of three branches; Army, Navy and Air Force. The total active personnel in the military are around 400 people. The Army has around 300 personnel with a focus on ground operations and border protection. It also has a small Navy with two patrol boats for maritime security operations as well as three helicopters for air support operations. The Air Force has around 100 personnel operating mainly transport aircraft for reconnaissance missions and logistics purposes.
The Marshall Islands is not a member of any international military or defense organization but does maintain close ties with other countries in the region such as Japan and United States of America. See naturegnosis to learn more about the country of Marshall Islands.
To see related acronyms about this country, please check ABBREVIATIONFINDER where you can see that MHL stands for Marshall Islands. The United States, which also had the islands of the Marianas and Carolines as protectorates, proposed in 1979 to transform the area’s four administrative zones into free associate states. In the case of the Mashall Islands, the United States agreed that the local government was given not only decided authority in the interior but also in external affairs. At the same time, however, agreements were made according to which the islands are declared military zone for special purposes. In this way, the reality was formalized, namely that the Bikini and Kwajalein atolls had been used for extensive atomic explosions between 1946 and 58, which has transformed the Marshall Islands into the most radioactive polluted area in the world.
In 1961, Kwajalein was targeted as a target area for missiles and specifically ICBM – Intercontinental Balistic Missiles – rockets fired from California. In the 1980’s, the United States military decided that the atoll should be used as a test area for the new MX missiles. For these reasons, the United States military – using recession and indemnity – decided to forcibly displace the entire civilian population of the atoll and prohibit civilian access.
Best known is the Bikini Atoll. Between 1946 and 58, 23 nuclear test blasts were carried out – including the testing of the first hydrogen bomb. Despite the threat of thyroid cancer and leukemia, Bikini’s indigenous population insisted on returning home. They had previously been forced into the atoll Rongerik. Of the original population of 600, 130 lived in the atoll in 1979, but at the same time it was noted that the plutonium levels in their bodies were well above the limit values.
- COUNTRYAAH: Do you know where is Marshall Islands on the world map? Come to see the location and all bordering countries of Marshall Islands.