The United States has had a significant military presence in Greenland dating back to World War II, when it established facilities to protect the island after Germany’s occupation of Denmark. Under a 1941 agreement (and formalized further in the 1951 Defense of Greenland Agreement between the US and Denmark), the US built and operated numerous installations.
Historically, the US operated dozens of military facilities in Greenland:During WWII, it built around 17 military facilities, including various air bases (often coded as “Bluie West” and “Bluie East” sites, such as Narsarsuaq Air Base and Sondrestrom Air Base), army bases, and navy facilities. Some sources note up to 13 Army bases and 4 Navy bases at one point.
In the early Cold War era (1950s–1960s), additional bases were added, including the major Thule Air Base (constructed starting in 1951 under the secret “Blue Jay” project) and experimental/outpost sites like Camp Century (a subsurface camp tied to Project Iceworm for potential missile basing, abandoned in 1967 due to ice movement).
At peak, the US had well over a dozen active installations, though many were smaller weather stations, radar sites (part of the Distant Early Warning/DEW Line network), or temporary airfields.
Most were closed or handed over to Denmark in the post-Cold War drawdown, with sources describing the US abandoning “dozens” of posts.
Today, the only active US military base in Greenland is Pituffik Space Base (formerly Thule Air Base), operated by the US Space Force. It supports missile warning, space surveillance, and related missions, with a small permanent US presence (around 150–200 personnel).
Regarding reactivation of former bases:The 1951 agreement (amended in 2004 to account for Greenland’s autonomy) remains in effect. It allows the US broad rights to establish, operate, and expand “defense areas” in Greenland if deemed necessary for mutual/NATO defense, without requiring new bases to be limited to the current one.
Many former bases could be restarted or new ones built under this framework, subject to consultation with Denmark (and increasingly, Greenland’s government due to its self-rule since 2009). There are no major legal barriers preventing reactivation, and the agreement gives the US significant latitude. Practical challenges include environmental degradation (e.g., abandoned sites with waste or pollution), shifting ice conditions in some areas, high costs/logistics in the Arctic, and political sensitivities (Greenlandic opposition to expanded foreign military presence, plus recent discussions around US interest in the region).
Recent reports indicate upgrades to Pituffik are underway, but no confirmed moves to reactivate old sites as of now.
For context, Greenland’s strategic value (Arctic location, proximity to potential threats) has kept the agreement relevant, but any major reactivation would likely involve diplomatic coordination rather than unilateral action.
We don’t have to acquire Greenland to fortify security for the United States; we just re-occupy the bases which Greenland and Denmark would support.
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