109. Memorandum From Chris Shoemaker of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Brzezinski)1

SUBJECT

  • Military Construction in Somalia (U)

Madeline asked that I provide you with some details on DoD’s FY81 plan for military construction in Somalia. (U)

The purpose of the FY81 program is to upgrade Somali facilities sufficiently to support increased US presence in the region in peacetime. When this phase of the three-year plan is completed, Somali facilities will be able to support P–3 ASW flights, fleet logistics aircraft, and will have limited storage for naval task forces. The FY81 program is an essential first step in improving Somali facilities to support combat operations in major contingencies, but it can be justified solely on the basis of its improvements for peacetime forces as well. This may become an important point because DoD is unsure how much it wants to spend in FY82 and 83 in Somalia. The following is a summary of the FY81 program. (C)

Program Total: $10m

Berbera Port: $4.2m

—mooring and fuel buoys.

—small boat landing.

—administration building.

—cargo terminal.

—communication and navigational aids.

—storage facilities.

Berbera Airfield: $5.1m

—upgrade of power and water utilities.

POL equipment and storage.

—aircraft arresting gear.

—sweep and seal of runways.

—prefabricated housing and storage.

—mobile control tower.

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Mogadishu Airfield: $0.7m

—upgrade of runway.

—mobile navigation beacon.

—warehouse construction. (U)

  1. Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, Country File, Box 69, Somalia: 1/80–1/81. Confidential. A stamped notation indicates that Brzezinski saw this memorandum on September 10.