The closure was postponed for two years to help fight America’s newest war, according to military officials in the United States.

"We basically couldn’t get it done in time," said Lt. Col. Ken McClellan, an official spokesman for the office of the secretary of defense.

McClellan said the C-17s that were on tap to fly out all the military intelligence equipment sitting on the base were diverted to the humanitarian efforts in Afghanistan.

Pilots in the big birds currently haul four loads of rations there daily — as much as 68,000 individual rations. To date, they have dropped about 782,000 rations since the effort began on Oct. 7, according to U.S. Air Forces in Europe officials at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

The crews, originating from Charleston Air Force Base in South Carolina and McChord Air Force Base in Washington state, have a full plate already with the humanitarian drops, said Air Force officials.

"Adding on to the current mission would affect all the parts to the mission," said Air Force Capt. Elizabeth Ortiz, an official spokeswoman for USAFE. She said the air crews already average about 15 hours of flight time each day for the effort, not including ground time before and after each mission.

"That’s exactly the airlift used to close Bad Aibling," McClellan said. He said the base might also be used in the war effort.

Officials at the Office of the Secretary of Defense have suggested that Bad Aibling Station is also being used in the war effort, saying that it remains a valued asset for the Department of Defense. They wouldn’t say how it is being used or how much.

The base is home to about 1,500 Americans and 140 local national employees, according to Eric Griffin, the chief of staff at the base.

The military had planned to begin closing the base in 2002, with closure in 2003.