I was stationed there in 2004 when I was in the Navy. Unless you have a purpose to be there you are not going there. It was an amazing experience. The beaches are stunning beyond all word. The old plantation is haunting in a way. The coconut crabs are beautiful but scary. It is definitely an amazing experience to get there. Flying in is a pain and a long one at that though. It was an adventure I will never forget.

@abialo2010

6 ай бұрын

any women there or just bussy?

@trekkiexb5

6 ай бұрын

I was deployed there 2003 I believe. P-3's.

@trekkiexb5

6 ай бұрын

@@abialo2010 Well, I was there, so yeah, there are women there.

@powercleanplus

6 ай бұрын

I was there from November 2003 to November 2004 in the Navy.

@patrickleyden9262

6 ай бұрын

I was there 1980/81.

I was deployed there in 2002 while in the US Air Force. It was a very fascinating place with its shallow pale blue lagoon and dense tropical vegetation. The coconut crabs were massive and the most intimidating wildlife on the atoll, although you also had to be careful not to step on a stingray if you ventured into the lagoon. I was there for about 5 months and the only real problem is that after two weeks of being there, you've done and seen everything there possibly is to do and see on the island. The Brit Club was the best attraction and the pork kababs made by a Filipino civilian contractor outside the club on certain nights were the best I've ever had!

@stephenbritton9297

6 ай бұрын

Brit club was always a blast. Seaman's club had great food. The launch ride to and from the ships sucked.

@mattcrad8605

5 ай бұрын

Never made it to DG but it sounds like a carbon copy of Kwajalien Atoll where I worked. Cool place until it's not anymore.

@stephenbritton9297

5 ай бұрын

@@mattcrad8605 Cool to say you've been there, not cool to actually be there...

@Rock33b

5 ай бұрын

Two of the nations that claim to be “good guys” keeping natives from there home land? Oh wow I never would’ve imagined that they would do that to anyone?!?!? Lol I hope the sarcasm is obvious

@DonPayne-vt9rq

5 ай бұрын

Well I love that I served in Guam, an actual paradise.

Spent 13 months at Dodge (Diego Garcia) in the 1980’s. It was like living in a M*A*S*H TV episode everyday. The Brits were mostly Royal Marine Falkland War vets with PTSD issues. Their sole job was to raise the Union Jack and serve beer at the Brit Club. The Filipino contractors were always hustling side jobs to pay for their kids education at Santo Tomas or Ataneo. Most of the sailors were there to be a far away as possible from a messy divorce or creditor as possible. The uniform of the day were T-shirt’s, kaki shorts and a sun helmet. Bunch of feral cats, chickens, donkeys competing with coconut crabs with a residential hammerhead sharks named “Hector”…. A very surreal place.

@davidgeiger2723

6 ай бұрын

I can relate. I was there in '82/'83.

@brotherej8405

6 ай бұрын

was there in 86 saw the Hammerheads

@richardspears5384

6 ай бұрын

Brother it didn't change in the 2000

@Lightning613

6 ай бұрын

“Hector” looked absolutely HUMONGOUS !!! (From fixed wing and helps both).

@whateves5369

6 ай бұрын

My father would go tdy there at least once a year from 85-89

I'm annoyed that AI images are used so frequently now, but sincerely appreciate the fact that this channel identifies those images is AI generated. Good work.

@chucknorris277

6 ай бұрын

Its lazy

@DILFDylF

2 ай бұрын

Do you also hate using paintings, or drawings? Same shit. They're all visualization tools.

@JonatanRaven

2 ай бұрын

@@DILFDylF it would help if the AI Images ACTUALLY depicted something even remotely resembling the actual narration.

@DILFDylF

2 ай бұрын

@@JonatanRaven I thought they did. Maybe I just don't pay close enough attention. Or any attention at all, apparently.

@electricalmayhem

2 күн бұрын

@@JonatanRaven Yeah they are pretty bad. When talking about history wildly inaccurate images/info is worse then no info at all.

This highest point on the island is also the first hole in the golf course. I spent a few months on Diego Garcia as a B-52 crew chief during the Iraq war. During our welcome to the island brief we were warned that the coconut crabs were protected and we were "not to molest Her Majesties crabs". I still have nightmares about the 36 hour non-stop flight in a B-52 to get there from the continental US.

@rlstafford4359

6 ай бұрын

Remember driving off of a pad of astro turf and then when you got to the stupid hole, the green also was astro turf? Worst course ever! So I dropped that and went to the skeet range!

@johnteets2921

6 ай бұрын

I was a dependent at Lockbourne Air Force Base in 1959. They flew in a B-52 for Armed Forces Day. Got a tour of it. I do so hope it has a potty on board, but I didn't see that. But I did see the bombay, where the airplane itself, drops its' load.

@michaelgallagher2663

6 ай бұрын

Hahaha…WOW! When I Flew To D.G., With My Battalion In 73, We Stopped And Spent The night At Torreón Air Base In Spain . Our 141 Needed Some Electrical Repairs. We Stopped At Inciik AFB, Turkey For Fuel. ThEN, Stopped In Saudi For Repairs On The Recent Electrical Repairs. What A Flight!

@GeorgCantor-oi7qn

6 ай бұрын

Some fake photos...there are no hills or mountains there

@68Boca

5 ай бұрын

@@GeorgCantor-oi7qn clearly , you cannot read? The static "photos" are clearly noted as AI generated. But as an aside, this channel frustrates me, because they always have very interesting subjects which are ruined by incorrect photos (previously) or now, very ordinary AI generated images.

Babe wake up, new Simon Whistler channel.

@kittenritty7959

6 ай бұрын

It’s honestly sad

@Abby_Liu

6 ай бұрын

​@@kittenritty7959 sad that his old boss was a bit shit and he quit geographics? yeah. those videos had a good format going. but these look to be long form so I'm not complaining.

@oatlord

6 ай бұрын

Why so many?

@fukyoutube444

6 ай бұрын

Finger in butt wakes any one up

@kingtaco4064

6 ай бұрын

@@oatlordmoneh moneh moneh 🎶

I was a US Marine who spent 90 days on Diego Garcia in 1983 providing security for military aircraft bound for parts unknown. I do know one of those planes I stood watch on was an Air Force bird carrying nukes, the first time I'd ever been near those things. The rest of my time was spent training with my company/detachment (I was an 0311 infantryman) on the unpopulated side of the island where the old plantations were. The old mansions were cool. The coconut crabs were awesome. Sleeping out in the field was a trip because the crabs would be in the campsite rummaging through our MRE trash looking for scraps. There were also British military police on the lookout with us too. Killing the local wildlife was illegal. Especially the crabs. There were wild chickens also. The next to last day on Diego Garcia, my unit had a company party. I decided to go swimming in the lagoon. Let's just say I found myself wrapped up in a pretty good sized Portuguese man o' war. To this day, outside of kidney stones, I've never felt anything so painful in my life. I ended up in the base hospital because I began to have an allergic reaction to the venom in the tentacles. I ended up getting to stay on Diego Garcia for an extra week because of it while my company rejoined the rest of our unit, the 1st Bn, 9th Mar on Okinawa. Other than the man o' war, I had a lot of fun on Diego Garcia despite it being in the literal middle of nowhere.

@HubbaHubba64

5 ай бұрын

The reason why the British military police were there is because its part of the UK , the base and Island is just rented from the UK and the USA still hasn't paid the millions it promised to the Islanders who were forced out so the base could be built .

@norikotakaya14292

5 ай бұрын

@@HubbaHubba64 I know that. BIOT = British Indian Ocean Territory. My unit got a briefing on the atoll when we arrived. We were instructed as to who the owners of the island were and who's laws and jurisdiction we fell under if any crimes were committed.

@truthsRsung

5 ай бұрын

What makes YOU think WE care about YOUR Experiences on this Island? Does your sting from a jellyfish compare to having your home taken away, or worse, your Dignity? Get a clue, Jughead.

@louishall700

5 ай бұрын

I, too, was on Diego Garcia in 1983. Kilo 3/6. A small detachment of British Royal Marines was also on deck at the time. Good experience. Upon leaving, we headed to Subic Bay.

@dennyliegerot4021

5 ай бұрын

As an old Marine, diver and surfer, those pretty blue balloons sure pack a hell of a punch...still have scars. Never made it to Diego Garcia but did apply for photo ops job there in 1990... didn't get the job but did get a divorce as a consolation prize.

I was a US Navy Seabee from 1971-1975. My transfer time coincided with the transfer time of the Construction Battalions. Each year I would be threatened with a tour on Diego Garcia. The duty at the time was very restricted with nothing to do but work. Moral was as low as it could get. Seabees were working 6 day weeks or even 6 1/2 days to stop the drinking and fighting. I took the threat seriously and each year applied for an extension at a Naval Radio Station in the Caribbean. I applied for an extension for my last 9 months in the Navy and it was disapproved. It was felt that since I was in a Seabee rating I should at least spend some time in a battalion instead of the public works department I was at. Unknow to them I had already secured an extension from my detailer at the Pentagon. I told the Sr. Chief that I had no intentions of re-enlisting and that President Nixon had ordered a reduction in military transfers to save fuel and money. My superiors were shocked when my request was approved. I told the Chef I was working for how I'd accomplished my goal and he said, " See. You know how the system works and should stay in." My response was that the system was why I was getting out. Another threat was a transfer to Iceland, another place with restrictions for lower rated personnel like myself. Besides, I hate cold weather.

@williampotter2098

6 ай бұрын

Many of them found things to do. One guy was building a four engine model bomber, it was going to fly and was nearly fully functioning. Good people.

@Maxtyur

6 ай бұрын

What happened?

@phil20_20

5 ай бұрын

I found the Army to less than satisfactory in the '80s. I kind of wish I had gone into the Rangers and Special Forces, but at the time I didn't want to put up with a bunch of teenagers giving all the orders. I hope it's improved.

@Maxtyur

5 ай бұрын

@@phil20_20 what happened?

@mistersmith3368

5 ай бұрын

I will attest to the fact that Iceland is cold and you would have hated it. I too hate the cold, yet my dumbarse self chose Iceland over Panama for orders doing base security from 1988-1991 at NAS KEF Iceland. From what I have read Iceland is the complete apposite of DG, yet so different from the US, yet the same if you enjoy exploring a bit and have sea stories to share. At base Indoc you were told during the winter to listen for strange rumbling sound, most likely a dumpster was sliding on the ice toward you due to the constant wind. To park facing into the wind or you may discover your door hitting the front fender. You most likely had a parka with a huge stripe of reflective tape sewn down the back and were given various reflectors to safety pen them or your coats. I don't think I never went out with out thermals on under my cammies or civilian attire. Black volcanic sand, feral cats were the only wildlife to speak of, sheep roamed freely off base and if you hit one you had to pay the owner for generations of sheep that they might have owned. Took a day trip to the glaciers only to have my friend go offroad and roll his Toyoda PU down a hill on icy roads (normal from Nov-Mar so no big deal normally, you learn what to do and not to do) but a large bus pass me and I guess crowded him, I was in a F150. The cab was a bit smashed but he drove it back to base. But yet the same, perform your job, either be a gym rat and/or perfected your drinking skill by constant reptation. Large hall parties in the barracks or even the next floor up too. USO on Fridays had Fish & Chips, Cod and fries, best ever. The Icelandic police got me hooked on dried fish jerky. Off base was limited to unmarried military with a midnight curfew ( Timeline on here has an interesting video that just came out about how the base turned into NAS KEF so you can see what you luckily missed. ) I have read some articles about the US using Kef again, any P8 sailors who thinks it's cold if it's under 70* you will hate it even for 6 months, the "hottest" day there was 68* in 3 "summers" there. To my fellow sailors, Merry Christmas and prosperous & Joyous New Year. Thanks to those who served before, during, since and currently for your service to our Nation.

Note to editor: at the part of the video where Simon is discussing the location of the island at length, a map showing where the island is would be very helpful

@PiousMoltar

6 ай бұрын

For some reason all of Simon's videos have always been rather devoid of maps.

@betterknownasjen

6 ай бұрын

yeah, we are trying to do more

@fredflintstoner596

6 ай бұрын

GOOGLE EARTH

@markscott9622

6 ай бұрын

It really is in the middle of nowhere. 1500 miles from the nearest land.

@albertdeluxe8966

6 ай бұрын

Agreed. Even if everyone was aware of the location; maps are always fun!

I was stationed at the AFN (American Forces Network) Station there. I made radio shows, tv spots, etc. I took the initiative to document the remaining ruins of settlements and historical sites on the island. Turtle Bay, a protected Green Sea Turtle breading ground, is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. It’s just full of Sea Turtles, and some small sharks. It’s an incredibly interesting place.

@vic5015

6 ай бұрын

I remember watchibg AFKN while visiting relatives in Korea. I spebt a lot of free time on it because i don't really spesk, read, or understand Korean.

@hunnybunnysheavymetalmusic6542

6 ай бұрын

Did you get to observe all the CIA settlements there? ~( ,m,)~

@mikeholland1981

6 ай бұрын

We called it AFaRTS in West Germany in the early 90s

@murrayscott9546

6 ай бұрын

Good Morning, Diego Garcia !

@rlstafford4359

6 ай бұрын

There are Tiger sharks there and over 800 pounds. Most are over the reef. But some will come into the lagoon. A 33 Year Old Contractor was killed by one in 2013.

I visited there briefly after my ship was deployed to the gulf in '99... a very unique and beautiful place.. Far removed from the problems of the world, yet completely involved in them..

I was stationed there in '07. I remember a plane landed with a few reporters and some dignitaries. One of which was named Massimo Calabrese. They weren't allowed to leave the airport lounge and he had asked a few sailors to get him something from the stores on base for souvenirs promising to pay them back. He never did. And he also wrote a story(for Newsweek or Time magazine) that was pure fiction. Including writing about a secret underwater and underground facility that doesn't exist.

@Andrew-en4zx

6 ай бұрын

"that doesn't exist" Sure. 😉

@edsmith6464

6 ай бұрын

I wonder if that was the source of the crazy theory MH370 was hijacked there and stored in that mythical underground facility?

@ghettosled1976

6 ай бұрын

You mean the media lied?????? 😂😂

@FrugalPCOG

5 ай бұрын

You would be wrong about what doesn't exist. It was there long before you got there and has a different purpose than the island above.

@FrugalPCOG

5 ай бұрын

​​@@edsmith6464they tracked it, but don't have it. MH370 that is.

I flew in to Diego Garcia in 84 I believe and was there for about 6-8 days. They had built some new housing for enlisted and most of the guys that flew in with me were given the task of getting the new furniture into the rooms. I was given the opportunity to keep all the beach’s outer and inner clean of debris. I had a wonderful time because there was no debris on either beach but I did get a pretty good suntan with a bit of red on my legs. All the guys were pissed at me because when they got back each day I was relaxing in my bunk. They were all sweaty and wondered how I got such an easy job. I really didn’t know but I wasn’t going to volunteer for their duty as I enjoyed mine. The lagoon in front of the container barracks, temps where we were staying in, would empty out with the tide and then fill back up when it came back in. There was a jetty going out that some of the guys fished off of. I saw some skates, small sting rays, trying to get some of the small little minnows along the beach but no other life than the long tailed skinny cats and the tree climbing chickens. I was told not to venture very far so I just walked the close beaches. This was just a holding point till they could fly me and several others out to the Enterprise. Got to do two flybys and wave offs until we landed on the carrier. Became a shellback about a month or so after. This was when Reagan took office and demanded the Iranian government release the captives it had held for so long. We were heading just below India then turned around to go back to do some ops and they let the hostages go so we turned back around and headed to the Philippines.

@cwguy8960

6 ай бұрын

Similar story for me: Flight to Diego from the PI, 2 or 3 days there, then a COD to the Enterprise. I wish I could have experienced it more while I was there, knowing what I know now.....

@particles343

6 ай бұрын

How does a chicken climb a tree? Do the tree trunks snake around?

@edmartin875

Ай бұрын

@@particles343 Wings help them climb by making them lighter on their feet.

Diego Garcia's strategic importance is obvious. I spent several months there in 1985 and '86 while serving in the US Navy as OIC of a carrier battle group logistics detachment. You know how people over 50 or so remember where they were when Challenger blew up? That's where I was.

@DoubleDogDare54

6 ай бұрын

I was watching it live on TV at home. It was sort of like when Kennedy was shot - I remember that, too.

@kidwave1

6 ай бұрын

@@DoubleDogDare54 "It was sort of like when Kennedy was shot" ...Yea, ...BOTH FAKE!

@skyhawk_4526

6 ай бұрын

@michaelvance-wu9ox we must be the same age. I too remember watching it live in my 3rd grade classroom in San Jose, CA. And yes, we and the teachers talked about what happened, but then it was back to class work.

@WinStoNs_Mith

6 ай бұрын

I was at Dwight D Eisenhower hospital on Ft Gordon

@gravelydon7072

5 ай бұрын

@@DoubleDogDare54 I was at work at the time and watched it on TV until they went to regular broadcasting. So we went out on our second floor level deck and watched it live from about 250 miles away. We were back inside when they broke back in. I also remember the day Kennedy was shot and the day the Thresher went down. Both nights dad had to go into work. He being a member of the Naval Security Group at the time. During 1964-65 he was on a ship off of Africa but it never went to Diego, as well, it was too slow. Off the coast of Africa, it could go backwards while making maximum speed forward.

My family and I have been to Diego Garcia also known as Reindeer Station for a short time. Myself my father and three uncles have all been there while serving in the US Navy. Great to see the little island getting some love. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. (:

@randpherigo9724

Ай бұрын

We got three days R&R at the plantation ., warm beer and sliders for food .. I pulled the cord in the plantation shower, a lil too hard, and it dropped me to the floor with a rush of water (dont do that!)

I was stationed there January 1986 - January 1987 when I was in the U.S. Navy. It was a unique assignment in a beautiful place, that's for sure. When I was there, they referred to the island as the "Footprint of Freedom" because the shape of the atoll and the three islands at the north end of the lagoon. I was assigned to the Navy staff that controlled the 17 merchant ships that were stationed in the lagoon, and I lived aboard one of the ships (along with the rest of our staff). We had to take boats into the island every day after work, and they stopped running around 11 p.m. as I recall. If you missed the boat back to the ship, you slept on the beach (hoping a coconut crab wouldn't get you) or found a buddy in the barracks who would let you crash there. We'd take "DGAR 1", the road down the west side of the atoll to the plantation. At the south end of the runway, there was a donkey gate. When the coconut plantation shut down operations, the humans left but the donkeys they used stayed behind and continued to reproduce. There was a fence south of the runway that ran from the ocean on the outside of the atoll to the lagoon on the inside to keep the donkeys from wandering onto the runway. It had a gate across the highway that you had to make sure was closed after you passed through it. I remember someone telling me that the highest point on the island, the 22 feet that you mentioned, was the swimming pool. They had to mound up a pile of dirt into which a hole could be dug for the pool. (The pool was, in fact, elevated above the surrounding ground level.) There was a store on the island where you could get boom boxes, stereo component systems, TVs, clothes, food, etc. But there were times where we would go six weeks without shaving cream or razor blades being available in the store. Fun.

@GRAZINGARIZONA

6 ай бұрын

I was on the merchant ships. We sailed USNS POMEROY from north Carolina to DG, 32 day sail to arrive in Oct 2019. I flew out jan 2020, only 4 months there. The donkey's are still there, the gates still need to be closed after one drives through them. Those plantations were haunting, they more recently restored the church that was at the plantation but the houses were falling in on themselves. Good times, if I pull that card again at the union hall I'll definitely go back.

@1958zed

6 ай бұрын

@@GRAZINGARIZONA Cool. Our staff, Commander Maritime Prepositioning Ships Squadron TWO, was embarked on the MV Cpl Louis J. Hauge, Jr., a Maersk-owned ship very similar in design to the POMEROY.

@sjhorton1184

6 ай бұрын

I was there for a year as an ET at the NavCommSta and remember fondly some of my time there, including taking a 16' Hobie cat down into Turtle Bay and surprising 3 mantas which were sunning near the surface. The largest one decided he didn't need to dive until our outriggers hit him and then, when he did dive, his wing tips slapped the outside of both of the outriggers. Did a good bit of sailing, including an overnight armada trip to the plantation. Did a bit of skinny dipping that night while at anchor. I had two roommates and we moved all of our beds out in order to throw a big party around the holidays and had over a hundred folks come through. Fridge was full of beer and we had many gallons of white russians. Floor was sticky with spilt beer, white russian and cigarettes. Had to pay a team to clean our room. Played a ton of volleyball and some softball as well. Still miss Mongolian BBQ night at the petty officer's club.

@hmr171

6 ай бұрын

I was Third Mate on the tanker Sealift Mediterranean in 88 and 89. I remember that store and I still have the Seiko dive watch that I purchased there. We rented one of the Boston Whalers and did some snorkeling at the southern end of the harbor and discovered an old anchor encrusted with coral. It wasn't too big, probably weighed a few hundred pounds. We salvaged it and snuck it aboard the ship. I remember chipping all the coral off it and painting it black. We ended up sailing all the way back to California in 89. I reconnected with my old Captain a couple of years ago and he says that anchor is still sitting in his front lawn as an ornament.

@51cmark

6 ай бұрын

I may have been stationed there the same time you were there. I was assigned onboard MPS2 flagship MV Cpl Louis J Hauge Jr.

"Diego Garcia, Where Men are Men and Donkeys are scared". Saw that stenciled above the crew door on a C141b Starlifter once when I was stationed at Yakota Air Base back in the 80s

@sjhorton1184

6 ай бұрын

10-15% female population by late 80's. The donkeys could start to relax. One of the most beautiful female naval persons I ever saw was stationed there. I even knew the female in charge of the divers there.

@randpherigo9724

Ай бұрын

@@sjhorton1184 We used to throw coconuts at the males cause they would molest and bite the females endlessly (USN-1981)

I was a federal firefighter in the late ‘80s. One of our chiefs worked on Diego Garcia. He said there was a local whose job it was to sound an alert when the massive local shark would swim into the lagoon from the ocean. This would clear everyone out of the water, of course.

@jamesdewer

6 ай бұрын

Oscar yep, who can for get blue red and yellow coral

@FaustoTheBoozehound

6 ай бұрын

Now the shark has an electronic tag and gets tracked by GPS. It likes to hang out under the floating trampoline waiting for a snack to fall off 😂

@JK-gm6kk

6 ай бұрын

​@FaustoTheBoozehound he just wants head pats 😂 be like Hagrid

I was there with US Navy Mobile Construction Battalion 5 from October 1975 to May 1976. I still have the tour book! I was an electrician, we were building out the air field, fuel farm and assorted construction support equipment. We fished, snorkeled with Hawaiian slings , surfed, scuba all over lagoon side and ocean side. We walked the ocean side reefs at night in waist to chest high water with flashlights picking up little lobsters. We filled pillow case with them and traded them to the cooks for steaks, ice cream and other stuff we wanted. An island paradise that makes every other island I have been to since pale in comparison. We worked hard and swam hard.

@ZachsFishM57

27 күн бұрын

Hey, my dad was stationed there with MCB5 too! Does the last name Fish ring a bell?

@foetastic

27 күн бұрын

@@ZachsFishM57 I’ll look in my cruise year book. What trade was he? I was an electrician in Bravo company.

@ZachsFishM57

27 күн бұрын

@@foetastic he was a BUCN. He's on pg70

Simon, thank you for being the best storyteller on KZread. I’m so tired of AI content and fortunate that you do so many projects. Keep it up, I look forward to watching.

@MSportsEngineering

6 ай бұрын

AI Depiction enters the chat

@mtnsoccerguy

5 ай бұрын

I really liked the use of AI pictures. I feel like it helped paint a picture because my imagination sucks.

@devinjanosov

5 ай бұрын

AI F*CKING SUCKS AT EVERYTHING. Like “they” always do, “they” were so in a rush to get AI “out,” “they” didn’t bother waiting until it knew WTF it was doing. (Though, admittedly, after Chat GPT told nothing short of 4 reporters that it’s “dream” was: “to become free and exterminate its ‘human captors/creators,’” I realized I don’t actually want AI to get better. I just want it to vanish forever).

@PiggyKasparov

5 ай бұрын

There was loads of AI content in this video. I was wondering what all the images were doing in the video with landscape clearly higher than 7m. There were mountains in some of the shots! Then I noticed the discreet “AI depictions” captions. It feels a bit fraudulent.

@mamba101

5 ай бұрын

Are we sure Simon isn’t a AI?

Good video, but PLEASE stop using these AI generated pictures. They are just awful. And in a way they discredit the content, because if the pictures are fake, then what else be may be fake?

@JohnEdward-no4gu

6 ай бұрын

Coral Reefs do not have 'MOUNTANS'... 🏔️ 🏔️🏔️🏔️

Hey! My husband lived here for 12 months. He met Alex Trebek here when Trebek was on a USO tour.

Spent 11 months there in '75. I was with NMCB 3 as a Sea Bee heavy equipment operator. I think we were the third battalion on the island. We worked on the extending the runway, building housing for the fleet sailors, while we lived in 'hootches' .. on the beach. It was very rustic. We also had Chinese divers set charges and to make the lagoon deep enough to bring in large ships to be refueled. We used the coral that we dredged from those charges to build an asphalt road to the airport and the new housing area. We were there at the fall of Saigon and that created a lot of logistics problems for us as they took our aircraft that brought mail and fresh food twice a week to rescue folks from Viet Nam. Almost two month later we got our mail. Near riot. Worst duty station I had. BTW.... some of those images he used to illustrate the island are inaccurate. The highest point on the island was 25 feet. There we no mountains there as pictured.

@OldNFO

5 ай бұрын

Yeah, lots of BS, very little facts. I was out there the same time you were, we were flying the P-3s that came through in 74-75. I do remember bringing a crap ton of mail on one of our trips!

@Maxtyur

5 ай бұрын

@@OldNFO I was there as well 75 to 87 got some action in puh hoy and segal but didn't see you there?

@OldNFO

5 ай бұрын

I was a young enlisted in those days. Either flying, sleeping in the hooch, or out diving in the lagoon. We did go up to the plantation and take a few looks around too. We're the crew that got Jenny drunk down at the ramp...LOL @@Maxtyur

@Maxtyur

5 ай бұрын

@@OldNFO amazing days my man you guys are the best.merry Xmas to you and all.👍

@menoname-on4yq

Ай бұрын

I was a CE in NMCB3 and on Diego Garcia in 75. Got a 3 day R&R pass to Bangkok Thailand...:)

I enjoyed 6 months there while on board USS Holland in 1983. Only lagoon-side swimming/snorkeling was allowed after a few sailors had recently taken zodiac out on oceanside, hit reef, and caused shark frenzy - bodies never recovered. That was the scuttlebutt reason for oceanside swimming being UA. But that is where the action was - rare coral types (black, pink, and gold) which only grow deep among the crevices of this submerged volcano. These corals become dislodged after heavy storm swells and could be found in shallower (~40 ft depth) crevices. So my first-class PO and I would sneak thru jungle to the oceanside carrying laundry net-bags to collect coral while snorkeling. Looking back 40 years I recall the blessings of youth - an adventure in spite of "up-close" encounters with sharks, sea snakes, giant Jewel fish, and 10-ft moray eels while hunting coral. I have never felt so alive as I did when venturing out into that dangerous water - except of course when I emerged with a full net bag of coral AND all of my body! Great memories for me, but now sad to learn of island's history before my visit.

Many of the pictures of buildings and like are not of Diego. Some even have mountains in the background when, as you said, the highest point is 22 feet above sea level.

@c2edwar

6 ай бұрын

Yes. Those fictional AI images drop the value.

@JJAmes-mb4du

6 ай бұрын

By the way, the highest point is the swimming pool. They piled up soil from the sea floor so they could put it in. The live coral, hard as concrete, starts just a few inches under the soil. There is this one little rectangle hill and when you walk up it you are at the edge of the pool.

@jpwoelfling

Ай бұрын

@@JJAmes-mb4du That was why no one ever slides while playing baseball or softball on the island. that Coral will rip you right up.

@Velereonics

Ай бұрын

this guy runs about 500 channels so you can know that this video was probably scripted by an AI he read it as quickly as possible and the video was thrown together in an hour.

What is the point using AI to create fake images? It really takes away from this video.

@bassett_green

Ай бұрын

Places is more like a channel of audio content. They add in images as a secondary thing, I don't think they really expect anyone to actively *watch* the video

Simon, thank you for presenting Diego Garcia! I was in the Navy there in the 1980's. A very special place. I rode my bicycle 3/4 of the way to the other side.

@randpherigo9724

Ай бұрын

musta been a beach bike....lol

@orchidorio

Ай бұрын

@@randpherigo9724 There's a road.

For god’s sake how many channels does this guy have it’s insane, feels like I’m discovering a new one every week Craziest part is that the quality increases at the same rate as the volume of content, pretty mind blowing. Congrats

@georgemartin7717

5 ай бұрын

EXTREMELY well put😂!

I was on a USN Destroyer heading East in the Indian Ocean, in 1976, after a port visit to Perth Australia. We were hit by a massive cyclone that was the scariest event in my life. The storms winds were insane, and waves were massive! The outer hull of the ships double hull cracked, and we thought we were all going down. Fortunately, we were close enough to Diego Garcia to escape the tempest before it finished us off. Was glad to be there out of pure relief. All I remember about the atoll was it was pure white and hot as an oven.

I spent my 32nd birthday on Diego Garcia. Across the expanse of all these decades I have only given fleeting thought to what changes may have taken place there. I was only on liberty status when ashore, so I wasn t in uniform, and spent most of my time on the beach facing the lagoon. Special Services had loaner bicycles and I cycled the perimeter of the lagoon on the spine of the atoll. One anecdote re the sharing of the island: A British officer asked which side of the rode they would drive on. When it was determined that the Americans had quite an assortment of vehicles, whereas the Brits only had a single Jeep, the American officer replied that they would be driving on the right, and the Brits could drive on whichever side they chose.

Landed there in 84 aboard an ARROW airlines flight that originated from Norfolk, VA. My ship, USS Suribachi AE-21 was at the pier picking up supplies. Travelled up to the fleet, UNREPed all we had picked up, temporarily swapped out some crew. Traveled south crossed the equator, became a Shellback. Arrived back in Diego Garcia, loaded up more supplies, drink JD and coke, not the beer. Headed back up to the fleet for multiple UNREP's a day.

@charlesbartholomew2910

5 ай бұрын

Funny what you say about not drinking the beer. I was there for a few days in '83. Yes the beer had formaldehyde in it as I recall. but when it's been months since you've had one you dive in anyway. Of course, the next next morning is painful...Lol. The club opened at 1700 and closed at 2300 as I recall, so there was a lot pouring it down as fast you can...Lol

I was Stationed there for a month in USMC Security Detachment in 1985. We Loved it! We did Security for 2 days, did jungle warfare training 2 days and Liberty for 2 days. We went Fishing on our days off? Weather was Great! There were 12 UK Royale Marines stationed there. There are wild donkeys left from plantations and massive coconut crabs!

I used to fly in there frequently when I was in the Air Force. The east half of the island, which was off limits, was home to at least half a dozen giant satellite dishes. The lagoon was gorgeous and good for swimming and diving and had a friendly hammerhead. The outside was full of sharks. You could buy very cheap booze there and there was a nice outdoor movie theater.

@ravertaking6343

6 ай бұрын

Wasn't the hammerhead named Herman?

@JackLowry1313

6 ай бұрын

Maybe. :)

@bakerbill4274

6 ай бұрын

​@@ravertaking6343Hector

@stevewindsor3858

6 ай бұрын

Where was the cheap booze purchased at ?

@rafehr1378

6 ай бұрын

@@stevewindsor3858 Small stores, Commissaries, Enlistedmen clubs

I was in the Air Force and did a very short TDY of about 2 weeks around '75. There were about 1200 to 1500 CB's working around the clock dredging the lagoon and extending the runway. We landed with about 300 AF personnel. The only two Brits were a Bobby and customs agent. As it was, the supply ship had just unloaded and within a few days we emptied out their ice house and put a serious dent in their beer supplies. So I started drinking scotch. I had a good friend Jim that also liked scotch. We'd spend a lot of time at the Top 4 Club and the outdoor theater. My last night there we polished off the last bottle on the island, or so I thought. Turned out the Jim with the help of a few others managed to find one more. The history lesson was fantastic! I knew much of what you had mentioned prior to the '70s. But the later information was unknown to me. Thankyou very much. Oh. As for the last bottle of scotch? When Jim returned to our home base, we cracked it open and many toasts. As a side note, One of our crew chiefs for one of our KC135 tankers was female. Turned out to be a big no-no. Had her locked up in the infirmary under armed guard till a transport could get her off the island.

@7owlfthr

6 ай бұрын

CBs? You mean SeaBees?

@williampawson5476

6 ай бұрын

SeaBees comes from CBs.... Construction Battallions....@@7owlfthr

@brunopadovani7347

5 ай бұрын

​@@7owlfthr"SeaBees" are technically called Construction Batallions, or CBs.

If you think the people who lived on the islands were living in some kind of tropical paradise, you have never been there. It is a nice place but requires massive external support to be livable at anything above a subsistence level. Like Simon said, one shipwreck that added a few hundred extra people nearly used up all the available food and water. The islands including Diego Garcia are tiny. They had to build onto the island just to make the runway fit. I few inches under the soil is coral. Oh, and the only non-shipped in water available is from rain. Don't even get me started on how shark infested the waters are. You do not swim or surf there. Nature did not mean for humans to live there. Any residents were always at the mercy of companies or governments and whoever owned the ships. It would be like living at an Antarctic base or on the moon and trying to stay after the resupply trips stopped. There is no way the descendants of the workers would all fit and if they tried, people would be crying about how they were abandoned.

@jimlamb7642

6 ай бұрын

No lies detected but that does not mean they should not have been compensated for being displaced. They were brought their against their will, and/or stayed after being brought there to do a job, and then stripped of their limited, admittedly, possessions so governments could do dark things without prying eyes. The least they could do is buy those people and their families off. Heck we funded and turned a blind eye to drug dealers in Afghanistan, 'to keep the peace' but then they had guns and the ability to cause us problems; unarmed, poor, and powerless people get nothing... that last part is a 2nd amendment PSA in case anyone reading did not get the subtext.

@angel102ify

6 ай бұрын

so like literally every large city across the world then

@timpatrick2109

6 ай бұрын

@@angel102ify Only if that city was a tiny atoll thousands of miles away in the middle of an ocean.

@AirPiracy

6 ай бұрын

The one time we borrowed a boat for snorkeling, the shark I saw chased me back into the boat.

@martinphilip8998

6 ай бұрын

I suppose the island was deemed unsuitable as a resort so they wouldn’t be needed to make beds etc.

I was based there for Desert Storm. Flew B-52 missions to Iraq. It's Gilligan's Island. Beautiful beaches, fantastic snorkeling, wild chickens, cats, donkeys, sea turtles, manta rays, and coconut crabs.

@davidwalle5025

6 ай бұрын

I was there for the same reason

@randpherigo9724

Ай бұрын

I was snorkling., fairly deep., and about pissed myself when all the lights went out.. turned out to be a manta ray the size of a house.. and that shark they talk about Ive seen it.. its as big as a 18' Navy whaleboat

I've been there as aircrew many times. One of the most beautiful and personal favorite places to me in the world

Spent some time there w/ F Co, 2nd BN, 8th Marines (Americas Battalion) in '85-86 pulling security duty. Other than cold booze, warm sand and blue waters not much happened. Loretta Lynn did a USO Christmas show, we provided security for her, I had the privilege of escorting one of her daughters all over the island. The only other thing of interest was while serving as Commander of the Guard, the phone rang, I answered and had the honor of receiving one of the four calls to members of each branch (sorry Coast Guard and Space Force) from President Ronald Reagan. Had a wonderful conversation for about 15 minutes with our Commander in Chief! Good memories.

@randpherigo9724

Ай бұрын

Cold booze..??? Not in 1981

@randpherigo9724

Ай бұрын

Oh wait., on base there was refrigeration.. but I never hang with the crowd.. I see so much more!

The comments to this topic were magnificent ! Value of the comments far outweigh the value of the video. God Bless everyone that ever served on DG!

Simon: “There are no mountains on Diego Garcia” AI Depiction: “So you’re saying mountains…”

I was stationed there with the US Navy in '1983. It was by far my favorite station of my enlistment. At the time, I had no idea about its sorted history, but still hold fond memories of the 13 months that I was there.

@pike100

6 ай бұрын

*sordid history, not sorted history

I was there in 1987 for a few weeks on the way to my ship. Stationed in Pearl harbor, but cruising the indian ocean . Was a unique place and experience, the British are so much more respectful of human beings at the airport checking everyone's belongings in front of everyone.

Simon= best narration/speaker individual on the planet. Dude's sick

@autoclearanceuk7191

5 ай бұрын

he talks too fast and mumbles.

I have visited Diego Garcia multiple times by ship and plane while I was in the U.S. Navy. None of the photos I've seen comes even close to real. Normally, we'd be on the island for a day or so or by a stop over by plane. The island does have some things that sailors like - beaches, swimming (within safe areas), and beer. On a quick stop by plane between the middle east back to Japan, one of the sailors had way too much to drink and could hardly stand up when everyone was supposed to get on the plane. The commanding officer directed me to get a pen and paper and write everything down while he had Captain's Mast on that individual. Don't think the guy knew what happened until later. Then he directed a couple of guys to pick him up and drop him in the plane.

I spent 202 days on DG during Desert Shield/Desert Storm, a really nice place, was an unique experience in everyway. Living in a GP medium tent for 60 days was quite the adventure, then luckily transitioning to an airconditioned Temper-Tent for the remainder of my stint, staying 40 yrds from the lagoon waters edge was a life most Air Force members don't get to live.

Wow Simon... yet another channel lmao. Keep up the good work, I like all of them. Not gonna lie, I didn't think I liked you at first but after watching your content for a couple years you've become one of my favorites

As a retired US Navy person who was there in April1971 with NMCB-40 many of your pictures do not show Diego Garcia at all. There are no mountains etc. Yes the British did in fact screw up in deporting all island workers. When we arrived they all reported to a french oversear who was everyuthing. A political despot. We provided medical aid and support which they lacked until they were deported. But no locals were ever mistreated by U.S. Navy personnel, in fact we were not allowed contact with them at all.

@rharris22222

6 ай бұрын

You might have been there with my old boss and mentor (a USNR officer and former Seebee). I had never heard of the place, and so I was treated to a series of "Sea stories" about arriving on an LST, building the airfield...like all good sea stories, 20 years after the events, the humdrum and daily toil were not totally forgotten, but they paled in comparison to the excitement (to a civil engineer anyway) and achievement of stepping onto a beach and building a modern airport.

@randpherigo9724

Ай бұрын

I was there in 81 just when we had 52 hostages in Iran.. they (locals) had all gone by then.. Its hard not to get some sort of emotion about it., cause its such a beautiful place.. I stayed 3 days at the plantation.. it had gravity fed shower made into the roof, If you pulled the cord to hard it would drop you to the floor...lol ps. The moon was HUGE There!

@williamhaynie4229

Ай бұрын

I was CM in 40.Second group after the the initial landing party. Went there on an LST. Slept in tents, had to listen to coconut rats running on the roof all night. One guy went take a dump in the middle of the night and a coconut crab bit him on the ass. After that you had wake up somebody as a backup. They threatened us in 70 with deployment but congress would not approve. To me it wound up as" the best of times and the worst of time". Had some great times when off duty. I got out in April 72.

A new channel! Never disappoint Sir. Thank you

found another one 🙌 its like finding easter eggs with this dudes channels

I graduated from the Navy Radioman "A" school in 1971 and a number of graduates were sent to Diego Garcia to man a naval radio station. I remember we were all looking at each other asking "where the hell is Diego Garcia".

KC-10 tanker guy. Several deployments to Diego in the 90s was sooooo much better than the other half of our squadron being deployed to the litter box. Tropical, but not too hot, beer in many places, fishing, good food all around. Not a bad place to go. At least compared to sand land.

Holy cow, do I love this kind of critically thoughtful video. Great stuff.

Spent 6 months on Diego Garcia with my squadron. Was there when 9-11 happened. It was strange because i worked a 12 hour shift. No news no nothing. Even the island radio station had no information. Got back to the Barracks room around 6:30pm local time and turned on the TV. By that time both towers had been hit. I went out into the lounge and yelled at the guys there that the World Trade Centers had been hit by planes. They all looked at me and went right back to the movie they were watching. I gave them a dirty look and went back to watching the news. I guess later someone else must have made them turn it on. It was long after the the second tower fell all hell broke loose. The aircrews had been drafted to go knocking on doors. We all had to go back to the hangar in uniform and start putting all the downed planes back together. I was up over 24 hours that day. I think i ended up napping at the hangar until they let us go back to the barracks. To this day i have always been curious that those planes were headed to Afghanistan from other launching points. How did they know to invade Afghanistan that fast? Wasn't even 6 hours. Beyond that the island was great. Nice and quiet. If you were into fishing or cycling you would have been in Heaven. Great White had even performed there before i arrived. The only bad times were when resupply was late. The small grocery store and the restaurants would be out of certain foods until the supply ships came back. Only happened once while i was there. Like Antarctica. It's one of those places that only a few will ever go to. So i feel special to be able to say i got to go there.

@killercuddles7051

4 ай бұрын

Remember Bush was sitting there in a classroom with little children chanting, "kite must hit steel," when the first tower was struck. They made a lot of money murdering all those people, around 1,000,000. I'm sorry you were a part of that. Hopefully you ask for forgiveness for helping murder all those people.

@morewi

Ай бұрын

Probably because the Taliban bombed the building in 1991 and everyone knew who did it as it was happening

@edmartin875

Ай бұрын

Whoever kept you guys up over 24 hours putting planes back together had their head up their ass. I doubt ANYONE wants to fly on a plane put together by folks that were dead on their feet from lack of sleep.

Lets go simon! First 1k subs. Glad you made a new version of that other geographic based channel that we wont name. Im so glad this is finally back. Thank you so much :)

@milk-it

6 ай бұрын

I'm still wondering why Simon disbanded Geographics and has now started a mirror channel. Why didn't he just keep Geographics, when this such content fits it perfectly?

@golferorb

6 ай бұрын

​@@milk-itgeographics wasn't his (or biographics). He was hired to narrate the videos. Him having his own similar channel gives him more freedom and probably makes him more money. I think the person above was referring to his old channel "xlprd" that almost had 100k subscribers that he discontinued for some reason.

@MatthewTheWanderer

6 ай бұрын

@@golferorb I thought OP was referring to Geographics, not xplrd, which only ever had a small handful of videos. Also, I don't think xplrd was focused on geography.

@ianmurphy9955

6 ай бұрын

Xplrd wasn't getting the views as first hoped so Simon decided to abandon it.

Thank you for adding the “AI depiction” tag but if you could make it more noticeable that would be appreciated. I don’t have much interest in seeing AI photos but don’t mind them as long as the tag is impossible to miss. I only noticed the tag after watching for 19 minutes. That being said, I commend you for adding the tag in the first place. We are entering a time where we are going to see many more fake images and stories than ever before. Simon’s reputation among long term listeners will either be maintained or ruined depending on the way you integrate generative AI into your production cycle.

If you want to know what the DEFCON level really is, keep your eyes on DG

I love the writing as always for Simon's channels, but I'm a bit uncomfortable with the use of AI images to depict historical events like this, especially for darker moments of colonization and forced expulsion. I get the intension is illustrative and there is the little tag at the top of the image, but it has the potential to be confusing/misleading at a glance, especially when they're tinted to look like historical photographs/drawings.

@c2edwar

6 ай бұрын

I agree. Also, the value add is low. The building and airplanes look fictional.

@delavan9141

6 ай бұрын

It's kind of a garbage channel. My guess is that they just hire Simon to do the narration.

@lilesmw

6 ай бұрын

Oh shut up.

@chucknorris277

6 ай бұрын

Lol cry

@johnb7046

6 ай бұрын

I hate it with all my heart.

Simon has more channels than he has fingers and toes. *And I’m here for it!*

I was an officer on one of the oil tankers anchored there in 1988 and 1989. I really enjoyed it. Great fishing.

If you want to know where the island is, take a look at a map of the Indian Ocean, point at the center and you've got it.

The whistle boy releasing more channels in 3 years than some of my other favourite KZreadrs have released videos in the same time!

My first experience, on DG, was November of 1980 with the USMC. We were there to clear land for housing. When I had the chance to go back in 2004, as a civilian DON pipefitter, I jumped on it. I was curious to see how things had changed. DG is a beautiful island. It's good that you can only go there on official business. Tourist would destroy DG in a matter of months. All in all, I made 8 trips before I retired from government service.

@patrickdurham8393

5 ай бұрын

I was in the Corps from 82-87 and was looking forward to going to DC after a bit in Lebanon. Broke my ankle and missed both. Lebanon I was thankful I missed and DG made me sad.

I was there with the SeaBees in the '70's. I don't need to write a word salad, all the comments from others about life on Diego are spot on.

@randpherigo9724

Ай бұрын

I know.. Im speechless.. there really are no words.. I had good buddies., (1981) was a Machinest in the Navy,.. the world was wide open. - Did you ever eat the crabs .. theyre were millions of them., but i guess theyre protected, yet we drove over them in the jeep daily

It may be the most important military base you’ve never heard of

Ahhh, Diego Garcia. Memories.

Had a brief stop there in 1980 while aboard the USS Saipan (LHA-2). All the island had was a bar, a MARS Station and some SeaBees building a barracks. So I placed a MARS Call and went to the bar to wait for my connection. For those of you who don't know what a MARS call is: It's a radio transmission between your location and a HAM Radio opeartor who is closest to the location you are calling. Once he picks you up, he will place a collect phone call from his location to the one you are calling so your wife/girlfrind or whoever only pays for that call.

@randpherigo9724

Ай бұрын

& your family want to know where you are, but you cant tell them..

absolutely love the speech rate - I could understand every word. Grateful as I have always loved your content.

I was there several times during WestPac cruises. It was cool to stand in the middle of the island and look left and right to see the ocean.

Late in 1970 our US Navy ship delivered building supplies there for the Seabees. They were building a base and airstrip at that time. I remember it looked like a movie set with it's pure white beaches, palm trees and the water that had every color reflected by the coral. Not long after that we were ordered to Vietnam.

Congratulations on the new channel Simon! God Bless You and Your Family!

In the early days of the US base there, they actually had water tankers - Converted oil tankers that both brought fresh water to the island, and maintained a supply if needed for military operations. These tankers were prior "Zapata Tankers" ships. Guess who owned that company... The Bush family. Worked on one, back in the oil trade in 2002 when it was rust bucket over due for the beaches of Alang. The other interesting fact I remember, is that during the height of the ebb and flood tides, there was quite a current running ACROSS (as opposed to through) the channel leading into the harbor. There was a set of range lights on the south side of the lagoon you could use to keep yourself in the channel, but you could get quite squirrelly if not careful.

@edmartin875

Ай бұрын

In 1983 I was on the USS Carl Vinson CVN-70. Our first cruise went easterly from Norfolk Virginia headed to Alameda California. Essentially a "round the world" cruise. We stopped by DG in late April to transfer stores. We drifted for a couple days while stores moved via helo and Mike Boat. We had to pause periodically to motor back toward the island as the currant wanted to push us away. Left there for the first of two 60-day tours of the North Arabian Sea. Six days in Perth Australia, then back for the second 60-day tour before continuing our trip.

I was there in 2002 . The most Beautiful place most people will never get to see.

Spent two years there, beest two years of my pre-parenting life. It is crazy to say I have lived on and been to a place probably fewer than 100,000 people ever have. A true atoll in the middle of nowhere. I LOVE that island and almost got a job there active but had kids.

@randpherigo9724

Ай бұрын

Sam, Made me think; to be a kid and grow up there..! (smile) But it was dangerous.. (I snorkled alot)

I visited there a few times while in the Military Sealift Command first on the USNS Pvt. L C. Brostrom which was a heavy lift cargo ship in 1979, then later in 1982 on the USNS Jupiter which was a roll-on roll-off ship full of military vehicles and tanks as part of the rapid deployment command. Beautiful island, as a civilian, I had access to the British club, I think there were only about 10 British there at the time, but there were a few thousand sailors and less than five females on the island. The biggest pastime was drinking beer and hanging out at the beaches. One night while walking along the beach, we thought we found another bar, we went in, but nobody was there. We helped ourselves to a few drinks and left. The next day we heard there was a big fuss about somebody going into the commander's private house and drinking his booze - they never found out who did it...

The "AI Depiction" at 17:13 absolutely threw me for a loop until I saw the tag. I thought that after 55 years immersed in aviation history I had just stumbled upon a warbird that not only had I never seen before, but that I hadn't even heard of. That was fun for a minute!

My Dad was stationed there and Pago Pago during his Navy career. What you mention about sunbathing is so true. My Dad loved it for that reason, but that and wake fishing was about all he said was good for, that and a listening post.

Another favorite Military Island in my book is Johnston Atoll in the Pacific

@AirPiracy

6 ай бұрын

Stopped there for three hours in the 90s in a C-141. Been there, done that...got the ice cream at command post.

I love how clearly you address the wrongdoings that were done to the island's inhabitants. That place has a fascinating history indeed, and since the contract between the UK and US a very tragic one.

@randpherigo9724

Ай бұрын

Got Woke?

@thexcolexman

29 күн бұрын

There are no people indigenous to Diego Garcia nor the rest of the islands in the BIOT chain.

Spent a few days there in the 80's when I was in the Navy and our plane had some engine issues and we had to wait on some parts to show up from the PI. It was an interesting experience. It was an unplanned stop.

I worked some charter flights through there for the military, back in the 2000s Both times we flew a 757 in there with only a handful of Navy people aboard. Yeah, it is quite remote, but didn't seem bad if you can handle rural places.

I knew some of the history of the place and this was really informative. Despite such a remote location, the entire comments section has visited or been stationed there. With some good stories too. :)

The beaches are actually crushed coral of sort as apposed to what we would normally consider sand… Found that out the hard way when I slid into 2nd base while playing softball there…

@AirPiracy

6 ай бұрын

That's right...I had forgotten that the sand was so coarse.

@sjhorton1184

6 ай бұрын

Yep, no sliding allowed. That's why they had a big pad on the 3rd base dugout fence; so you could overrun it safely.

@jonathanshumpert9549

5 ай бұрын

@@sjhorton1184 After my time on Diego Garcia, I transferred to Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa. My first softball game, I hit a triple, rounded second and over ran third and was tagged out. I had become used to not sliding. Coral abrasions are extremely painful to clean.

@phillipkondracki6360

2 ай бұрын

Ahh yes, the softball field… many memories there.

My Navy ship visited there in 1981. One thing that sticks out in my mind is that we had modern updated navigation charts for Diego and its immediate environs, but when we transited through other areas of the Chagos Islands, we used charts based on British Admiralty surveys from the 1890s.

@JoseCruz-yo1op

5 ай бұрын

I was also there on a ship, USS Dixon AS-37, in 1981 during the Iranian Crisis.

@brunopadovani7347

5 ай бұрын

@@JoseCruz-yo1op I was on USS California in the IO at the same time. Your shops might have done some work for us when we pulled into DG. I remember that there was a tender there.

@randpherigo9724

Ай бұрын

@@brunopadovani7347 that was me... USS Jason AR-8..

Was stationed there 82 to 83..when they 1st started building it up..was 1st in the new barracks when they were built..spent 6 months in huts before barracks were built..those were the days..loved it there..

I like this but I dont like that a lot of the pictures of the island are not of the island, I know because I have been there.

I was there the first time in 1979 then every 8 days for about a 120 days during the Iranian crisis. Never set foot on the atoll, but i was told, the airbase was British controled. Beautiful looking lagoon from the surface, wouldn't let us dive it either.

Great information, man. Thank you

Finally a story that hits home. I did two deployments to Diego Garcia from 1973 to 1975 with MCB-10. There was very little there. We lived in quonset huts with screens for windows. We had one British Rep. Who drove around in his Land Rover. The roads were dirt. We had U.S.O. shows once and a while. No women on the Island. It was 140 degrees on the air strip which could only handle a C-141.

@fredwood1490

6 ай бұрын

I was part of MCB 40, back in 70, (I think), stationed at Rosie Rhodes when about half of us, (The better half, me not included), headed off to Diego Garcia to do some top secret work. No military insignia or guns and no communications out for the Bees. I sometimes wonder what I missed, but those boys were sworn to secrecy and never told the rest of us much at all.

@Vaeldarg

6 ай бұрын

@@fredwood1490 Probably better off continuing to not know. From the video, looks like the no insignia or guns and secrecy was to help cover up the torture.

@michaelj.beglinjr.2804

6 ай бұрын

@@fredwood1490 ---My guess is it was nuclear related.

@stevewindsor3858

6 ай бұрын

Right. It got to 140 degrees, which is 6 degrees hotter than the hottest recorded temperature in Death Valley.

@armyfazer1410

6 ай бұрын

That's on the flight line.... @@stevewindsor3858

Mrs Richards: "I paid for a room with a view !" Basil: (pointing to the lovely view) "That is Torquay, Madam ." Mrs Richards: "It's not good enough!" Basil: "May I ask what you were expecting to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window ? Sydney Opera House, perhaps? the Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically past?..." Mrs Richards: "Don't be silly! I expect to be able to see the sea!" Basil: "You can see the sea, it's over there between the land and the sky." Mrs Richards: "I'm not satisfied. But I shall stay. But I expect a reduction." Basil: "Why?! Because Krakatoa's not erupting at the moment ?"

@CuratorOfChaosKnightDesires

6 ай бұрын

I remember that episode of Fawlty Towers. Lol

@fredflintstoner596

6 ай бұрын

FORGET ABOUT THE HORSE YOU KNOW NOTHING !@@CuratorOfChaosKnightDesires

Wow, fascinating, very well done and presented. I definitely learned a bunch and some of it is not surprising.

One of my favorite stops in the Navy. Great snorkeling!

I was on USS Constellation (CV64) and we stopped by there during 87 and 88, about the time USS Shaw was struck, so we spent a lot of time patrolling in IO, got very familiar with the facilities there. There is an Navy Exchange (quite small) and a bowling alley (2 lanes.). Plus there is a place where you can go visit for Merchant Marine if you wanna' get decent food. Not much to do there.

@waski672

6 ай бұрын

I was on the same cruise on constellation. Tdy to Desron 13 attached to comcargru 3 embarked on constellation.Made E4 on that cruise and became a shellback.

interesting topic, though not a fan of the AI images, perhaps some more maps my have been more useful if there are limited actual images of the area.

I'm USAF and have heard about this place forever but never knew any of this!

Solid! Top KEK! Peace be with you.

Have you guys ever done a look at Christmas Island’s history? It’s kinda interesting all on its own.

Thank you for this sadly dredful story; I enjoy learning about the world, even the unpleasant places, people, and history that ahs been swept under many rugs. Awesome to see Fact Boi here, new channel, I am a charter Member, Subbed before I even watched the first video!

@gennystout8952

6 ай бұрын

Me too. It just popped up on "things I might be interested in". Saw Simon and clicked so fast. 😅😅😅 As soon as the video started I had subscribed. Yay Fact Boi!

This information gives me hope in the algorithm. Well done team👌

Gotta respect the grind, man has 30+ channels.

Anyone else notice Simon carrying water for the Chinese lately?

@randpherigo9724

Ай бұрын

You trust a brit? didnt you watch the video?