Naval Air Station Keflavik Iceland protested the invasion but asked the populace to treat the occupying force as guests. Following talks between British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill and President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the United States, Iceland agreed to a tripartite treaty under which United States Marines were to relieve the British garrison in Iceland on the condition that all military forces be withdrawn from Iceland immediately upon the conclusion of the war in Europe. In addition to their defense role, U.S. forces constructed the Keflavik Airport as a refueling point for aircraft deliveries and cargo flights to Europe. With the end of
Naval Air Station Keflavik Corporation or Kadeco which was given the task of converting the base into civilian use. Since May 2008 Keflavik has periodically hosted NATO fighter, AWACS and support aircraft participating in Icelandic Air Policing deployments. In January 2010, Verne Holdings announced that it had received equity funding from the Wellcome Trust to build a data center at Keflavik. The data center will take advantage of the available geothermal power and free cooling to minimize its carbon footprint. In September 2015, news media reported U.S. government officials expressed a desire to reopen aspects of the NATO base of Keflavik Naval Air Station,