Occupation of the Falkland Islands control on 14 June 1982. The Falkland Islands () had been under British administration since January 1833, when the United Kingdom re-established sovereignty over the islands which, at that time, housed an Argentine settlement. Argentina has claimed the Falklands as part of its territory ever since. The UK first claimed South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in 1843, and incorporated them as Falkland Islands Dependencies in 1908. The Compañía Argentina de Pesca had an operation on South Georgia in the early 20th century, and Argentina had claimed sovereignty over South Georgia since 1927 and the South Sandwich Islands since
Military of the Falkland Islands recapturing the territory in June 1982, the UK invested heavily in the defence of the islands, the centrepiece of which was a new airfield at RAF Mount Pleasant, west of Stanley. The base was opened in 1985, and became fully operational in 1986. The Falkland Islands maintains its own part-time volunteer force, the Falkland Islands Defence Force (FIDF), previously known as the Falkland Islands Volunteer Corps. Although this unit existed in 1982 as a reinforcement for the Governor's detachment of Royal Marines, it did not play any part in the main conflict during the war of 1982, its members having