When your signal goes down, something's going on': life next to a US air base in the UK

Internet and phone outages signal activity around the US air force base. Low-flying bombers trigger pauses in school assemblies until sonic booms pass, and local officials receive briefings about sonic boom effects. Car insurance costs rise because Americans sometimes cannot drive locally and may end up on the wrong side of the road. After 9/11, the base became less open to neighbors, while secrets are widely believed to exist beyond barbed wire, including nuclear weapons storage. RAF Lakenheath is the largest US air force base in Europe, part of a tri-base area in Suffolk. RAF Mildenhall supports aerial refuelling and special operations, and RAF Feltwell houses active duty personnel and families. A local village ecosystem includes many US citizens, businesses, and services catering to base residents.

"The local people know there is something going on when the internet and phone signal drops dead, they say. If the heavy bombers are flying low, the teachers will pause their school assembly until the thunderous din has passed. The parish council has been briefed on the intricacies of sonic booms. Car insurance is more expensive here as the Americans can't drive and sometimes find themselves on the wrong side of the road."

"The base became less open to its neighbours after 9/11. But everyone knows there are secrets held beyond the barbed wire, not least that this is where the nukes are stored. RAF Lakenheath is the largest US air force (USAF) base in Europe, part of what is known as the tri-base area of Suffolk, a stretch of 20 sq miles (52 sq km) of land leased to the US government around which a peculiar ecosystem has developed over the eight decades of the American presence."

"Less than a 10-minute drive south-west of Lakenheath is RAF Mildenhall, which supports aerial refuelling and special operations. On the other side of Lakenheath Fen, to the north, is RAF Feltwell, a home for some of the 7,000 active duty personnel and 11,000 family members working across the three bases, although many Americans call the surrounding villages home too. One of the most popular places to stay is the village of Lakenheath, population 10,000, of which just under half are US citizens."

"The village is long and narrow, dominated by a busy main road, but it is not without its charms; tastefully designed new-builds complement the 19th-century cottages and a medieval church. Its inner world could be lost on a driver whizzing by on the way to Newmarket were it not for the disproportionately large number of barbers, tattoo salons and car rental outlets. A car for every American, offers Fly Rentals at the southern edge of the village near the turn-off to the base."

Read at www.theguardian.com