the Base lands, Naval Air Station Commanding Officer Capt. Tim Bryan said yesterday.

Only Cooper's Island and two antennas -- one for the Coast Guard and one for the Air Force -- will be kept, Capt. Bryan told The Royal Gazette .

Both antennas are on the present site of NAS Bermuda, which is scheduled to close on September 1.

Capt. Bryan said he received word yesterday that a diplomatic package was waiting at the State Department in Washington for pick-up by the British Embassy.

"In that package is the clarification on exactly which properties are being retained and which are being abandoned,'' he said. "It's being passed to (the United Kingdom) Government this afternoon.'' It is no surprise that the Americans are planning to keep Cooper's Island -- the nearly 50-acre site of the National Aeronautic and Space Administration tracking station.

But the US earlier said it might keep the US Naval Facility at Tudor Hill as well.

Capt. Bryan said he was pleased that he had been successful in convincing his Government that Tudor Hill should be returned to Bermuda.

"I think it's the best thing for everyone,'' he said. "The US Government doesn't need Tudor Hill. It doesn't need the US Naval Air Station.

"If you don't have a requirement, you shouldn't retain property.'' Both the American and Bermudian Governments have said there is a possibility the public will have use of the beach at Cooper's Island, even with NASA remaining.

The ageing Tudor Hill facility is part of a $16-billion worldwide US Navy listening complex called the Sound Surveillance System, or Sosus.

While some American scientists have expressed interest in saving the system to track whales or other marine life, Capt. Bryan expected the equipment would be dismantled and returned to the States.