Word: gan
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Middle of Nowhere. Part of the problem is that under the terms of Britain's lease, the men are restricted to Gan. The arrangement protects the Maldivians on other islands from the shenanigans of off-duty airmen and shields London from charges of interference in local governmental affairs. More than 800 Maldivians work at the base, thereby earning a fifth of the country's total foreign exchange, but they cannot live there. Instead, they commute to work by boat. Those from distant islands sail across the lagoon in dhow-like craft called buggalows, a trip that can take...
...Gan was not even an afterthought of empire, but rather, a byproduct of the empire's collapse. Its first military use was as a secret Royal Navy supply base (code-named Port T) during World War II. Abandoned after the war, it was resurrected in 1957 as a substitute for an R.A.F. staging base in Ceylon, which had come under political attack. It is a supposedly vital relay station in Britain's high-frequency military radio link, and is zeroed in on the Skynet military communications satellite. But Gan does not have attack capability. Its only missiles...
...radar, communications and weather station and a refueling base for R.A.F. planes on the London-Singapore run, Gan is little more than a runway in the middle of nowhere. It is so far out and so tiny it literally bristles with radio navigation aids to keep airplanes from missing it entirely...
Marathon Blast. Gan is not entirely without diversions. Its clear waters boil with bright tropical fish. Tuna can be caught from the pier, and fishing for shark and barracuda is superb. The island has a soccer field, golf course, assorted tennis and volleyball courts and no fewer than 21 bars. The specialty of the island is the "gozomie," a marathon blast that is thrown when anyone reaches the end of his nine-month tour and goes home. Over the five-day Christmas holiday, the men consumed 500 quarts of liquor, 12,500 bottles of beer, and 2,000 pints...
Nonetheless, morale is surprisingly high. Says the base's commanding officer, 42-year-old Wing Commander Bryan Gee: "Nobody's got special privileges here. We're all in the same boat." Even so, Gan is a post where service can be endured, but never prolonged. As Flight Lieut. Edward Ratnaraja, the island's accounting officer, says of the island of not having: "I will be happy only when what I am not having is Gan. That should be two months, 17 days, six hours, 35 minutes and 21 seconds from right...