Okinawa’s Marine force shrank sharply during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars without harm

Evidence

And there often haven’t even been fifteen thousand marines in Okinawa, the number frequently cited by proponents of the status quo. During the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, thousands of them deployed from Okinawa, decreasing troop levels by one quarter to one third from prewar averages. If Okinawa-based Marines are so critical to deterrence, how could the military afford to let them leave? — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 883