A former U.S. Defense Department official said Monday that the Futenma base should be relocated within Okinawa in line with the current bilateral accord, and that moving the facility outside the island prefecture is "not wise."
Wallace Gregson, a retired U.S. Marine general who served as assistant defense secretary for Asian and Pacific security affairs from 2009 to 2011, said that "it makes no military sense" to move the controversial base away from Okinawa.
Gregson, the top commander of the U.S. military forces in Okinawa from 2001 to 2003, spoke in an interview ahead of Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima's crucial decision in connection with the long-stalled Futenma relocation project.