Tag:military=base

The tag military=base is used to map the location of any military base.

A military base is a facility or establishment, directly owned and operated by, or for, the military forces of any country, which houses military personnel and equipment or material, and facilitates training and operations.

It is the area of buildings, or occasionally tents, and related structures, where military personnel work and live, and equipment is stored and / or maintained etc. A base could be located inside a military=training_area, it could form a large area by itself, or it could be only a small building in the suburbs of a town or city.

This tag is to be used for permanent / semi-permanent facilities only, not temporary locations e.g. in the field; and is to be used for all military forces, be they Regular, full-time forces, or part-time, volunteer Reserve forces.

This tag is not to be used to map the locations of groups such as youth-based military cadets (although cadet training depots may be found inside a base), military historical or re-enactment groups, or Veterans groups.

How to map

Draw an area around the outline of the base and then add:

• landuse=military mandatory
• military=base mandatory
• military_service=* recommended - The value should be the branch of service that the Base belongs to e.g. army, navy, air_force - if this can be determined
• service_branch=* recommended - To show what type of Unit is housed at the Base e.g. infantry, artillery, fighters, submarines etc - if this can be determined
• base_function=* recommended - To show what type of Base it is e.g. Operational, Headquarters, Logistics etc - if this can be determined

For small, one building, installations, draw the outline of the building and tag as:

• building=military mandatory
• military=base mandatory
• military_service=* recommended
• service_branch=* recommended
• base_function=* recommended

However, if the facility is fenced, you should still attempt to map it as an area, also tagged as landuse=military.

For individual military offices in a non-military location e.g. recruitment offices in a commercial area, place a node on it's location and tag as:

• military=office mandatory
• military_service=* recommended
• base_function=* recommended

You should also add the name and operator of the Base, if known:

• name=<name of the base> eg Edwards Air Force Base / HMNB Portsmouth / HMS Collingwood / RAAF Base Amberley (may be abbreviated, depending on signage or usual use)
• operator=<name of the main Service which operates the base> eg United States Air Force / Deutsches Heer (spelt in full, in local language)
• Also include the Wikidata tag for the operator, & also the individual base, if known

Optionally military_service=* could also be combined with admin_level=* to indicate the level of government associated with a base, as there are sub-national military installations, as well as national. e.g.

An army base associated with the national government would be tagged military_service=army + admin_level=2

A state defence force base, such as for the California State Guard Naval Militia would be tagged military_service=navy + admin_level=4

Tags used in combination

• landuse=military - Area used for military purposes
• military_service=* - the branch of service that the Base belongs to e.g. army, navy, air_force - if this can be determined
• name=* - <name of the base> e.g. Edwards Air Force Base / Her Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth / Enoggera Barracks
• operator=* - <the main Service that operates the base> e.g. United States Air Force / Deutsches Heer (spelt in full, in local language)
• access=private - also use on all perimeter gates, together with all entrance & internal roads / driveways

See also

• club=cadet + cadet=military - the locations of youth-based Military Cadet groups

Rendering

Would continue to use the existing hatched pink of landuse=military