Background:
After almost four decades under US administration as the
easternmost part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands,
the Marshall Islands attained independence in 1986 under a Compact
of Free Association. Compensation claims continue as a result of US
nuclear testing on some of the atolls between 1947 and 1962. The
Marshall Islands have been home to the US Army Base Kwajalein
(USAKA) since 1964.