Guam Braces for Military Buildup

Four years from now, the U.S. military plans to transfer thousands of Marines from the Japanese island of Okinawa. The move is part of a larger military realignment in the region and it is one that could reshape the future of the U.S. territory.

Residents on the Pacific island of Guam are bracing for big changes. Four years from now, the U.S. military plans to transfer thousands of Marines from the Japanese island of Okinawa. The move is part of a larger military realignment in the region and it is one that could reshape the future of the U.S. territory.

All over Guam, the big topic of discussion is the military - and the U.S. Marines moving to the U.S. territory from the Japanese island of Okinawa.

At a diner in central Gaum, Robert Jones says it is a good thing for the island.

"It's going to drive the economy up and that's what we need right now, you know," he said.

Eight thousand Marines are expected to move to Guam over the next four years. The transfer is part of the Pentagon's effort to reduce the troop numbers on Okinawa, where the U.S. has maintained bases since World War II. Most of the Marines will move to new facilities in the northern part of Guam, but Carl Petersen with the Chamber of Commerce says the effects of the buildup will extend beyond military gates.

"Literally everybody who wants to get a job will get a job," he said.

Petersen says the buildup will create 30,000 new jobs on the island. More than half will be temporary construction jobs mostly taken by foreign laborers. But Petersen says permanent, high-paying jobs will go to island residents. He says those jobs, combined with the business from Marines, will help improve an economy suffering from 8 percent unemployment.

"They will become our customer which means we will have greater economy of scale. That will benefit all of us here," he said.

Jim Espaldon is a senator in the territorial legislature and helps oversee the island's infrastructure. He says Guam is not ready for the buildup. He points to an environmental impact statement that says the buildup will attract thousands of military family members and construction workers. The population could increase by 40 percent.

"We are not ready and we are getting no solid assistance from our federal government," he said.

Espaldon says the population surge will overwhelm the island's only public hospital, cause gridlock on major roads and strain the only port. Container shipments there are expected to jump from 100,000 to 600,000 a year, once construction for the buildup begins.

U.S. troops have been on the tropical island for more than a century. After World War II, and well into the 1980s, the island was seen as an outpost of the Cold War and at times more than 20,000 troops were based there. But starting in the 1990s, the Department of Defense closed bases, reduced troop numbers and shut down old facilities. Now there are about 15,000 troops and military family members on the island.

The U.S. and Japan have pledged $10 billion to build or renovate facilities for the Marines but they have not guaranteed funds for infrastructure projects in the civilian community. Senator Judy Guthertz, who oversees the legislative committee on the buildup, says that is partly because Guam's hands are tied, politically. It does not have a vote in Congress, and Guamanians cannot vote for President.

"Guam is U.S. territory. We fly the U.S. flag, we proudly fly the flag. We're patriotic Americans but oftentimes we're the forgotten Americans," said Guthertz.

The military says the federal government is trying to secure money to improve the civilian infrastructure. The Defense Department has consulted the governor, the legislature, and community leaders frequently over the past several years as the plans have been drafted.

The military already controls about a third of the island, and will need to acquire more land for the buildup, which goes beyond the Marines. The Army is building a missile defense system on the island and the Air Force is adding more drones. The Navy is expanding its port so it can accommodate visiting aircraft carriers.

University of Guam Professor Victoria Lola Leon Guerrero says that expansion threatens the native Chamorro culture. She worries the military will take ancestral land from Chamorro families.

"These families and their homes are not visible on these maps but they live there. That is their land. They have their homes built. They are being approached by the military as we speak, to give up their land," she said.

The plans for the buildup are not set in stone. The military frequently reviews the plans and consults with island officials and residents about possible changes.

And a new government in Japan may seek significant changes. Officials in Tokyo are reviewing the plans and many politicians in the governing coalition want to move even more Marines off Okinawa, something the United States says is not practical and could delay the Guam buildup. The Japanese government plans to release its recommendations for moving the Marines in May. voanews.com

Guam Officials ask for more time to review DEIS

BY BRETT KELMAN • PACIFIC DAILY NEWs

If Japan gets more time to consider the coming military buildup, Guam deserves more time to comment, according to letters from some of the island's political leaders.

Vice Speaker Benjamin Cruz and Delegate Madeleine Bordallo have both written letters in support of extending the amount of time residents can comment on the draft Environmental Impact Statement.

Capt. Neil Ruggiero, local spokesman for the Joint Guam Program Office and the military buildup, did not respond to an e-mail yesterday that asked if an extension was possible.

The draft EIS is a massive document that details how Guam will change when the coming military buildup occurs. Comments from the public may reshape the military's plans.

On Thursday, Cruz wrote letters to Bordallo and Gov. Felix Camacho asking them to ask the military to allow the public more time to comment. The thousands of people who attended four public hearings on the buildup proves the public is concerned, he said.

"The DEIS has raised many questions that remain unanswered. Each review of the DEIS raises more," Cruz wrote in the letter.

Yesterday, Bordallo sent a letter to Ray Mabus, secretary of Navy, asking for a 45-day extension to the draft EIS comment period.

"The public release of the DEIS is the first opportunity the people of Guam and our elected leaders have to see the specific plans and proposals for the military build-up on Guam," Bordallo wrote. " As you are likely aware that has already been a significant amount of interest in the DEIS and many have noted its complexity."

The draft EIS was made public on Nov. 20, 2009. A 90-day comment window is scheduled to close on Feb. 17.

During that time, the draft EIS has been available for public review at mayors' offices, public libraries and a dedicated room at the Agana Shopping Center.

The document is also available online.

Delay

Both Cruz and Bordallo mention the federal government's decision to give Japan more time to consider an international agreement about the buildup in their letters.

According to an Associated Press article published this week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has accepted a decision by Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada to consider relocation of the Futenma air station until May.

The allied nations agreed to move the air base off Okinawa in 2006, but a question lingers: Where should it go?

Although there has been no official word the base would come to Guam, if it did, thousands more military servicemen would be added to the island on top of the planned buildup.

In their letters, Cruz and Bordallo said Japan's delay provides the perfect opportunity to give local residents more time to comment on the draft EIS.

"The courtesy extended by the United States to the government of Japan reflects the difficult decision involved with implementing the realignment of military forces that I believe that similar considerations would benefit the DEIS on the Guam military buildup," Bordallo wrote.

Guam Military buildup hearing receives mixed reaction

By Haidee V. Eugenio - Saipan Tribune Reporter

Residents weighed the pros and cons of the $15- to $20-billion military buildup in Guam and Tinian during Friday night's public hearing on Saipan, with some individuals expressing support to the multi-year project due to economic benefits and national security issues, while others oppose the project altogether for its ill social, environmental, and cultural impacts.

“Our economy is drying up. The local people are leaving because of lack of jobs here. We need the military, but we need to work together,” said former Rep. Manny Tenorio.

Martin Manglona, for his part, said there's no reason to be scared about military training ranges on Tinian.

“All plans on Tinian are for small ranges, nothing else. We have it in Kannat Tabla, so there's no problem,” said Manglona, adding that local people could get jobs and could find other business opportunities such as supplying fresh produce to the military.

Victoria-Lola Leon Guerrero of the Guam-based We Are Guahan which is opposed to the military buildup, said the buildup intends tso carry out U.S. Department of Defense plans, and “does not intend to help residents.”

She said that CNMI residents should never forget the environmental problems caused by the U.S. military in Tanapag, referring to the polychlorinated biphenyl contamination of soil and land crabs on Saipan's northern village.

Leon Guerrero also urged people to visit their website, www.WeAreGuahan.com, to know more about the group's strong opposition to the buildup.

Among other things, the group said the majority of the 18,000 jobs coming through the buildup will go to off-island workers and not local residents, and the buildup's draft Environmental Impact Statement does not mention military commitment to give Guam the money necessary to develop infrastructure to support a huge population influx.

They were among the estimated 30 members of the community, and another 30-plus Navy personnel and military contractors at the Pedro P. Tenorio Multi-Purpose Center in Susupe on Friday night for the Joint Guam Program Office's public hearing on the buildup's draft Environmental Impact Statement.

The number of people who showed up in both the public hearings on Tinian and Saipan were far below the numbers on Guam wherein the hearings drew 200 to 400 people.

Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (D-MP) said there are issues not related to the military buildup that the people of Tinian also want to be addressed, including the needed repair of the outer seawall and piers.

“It would be great (if the military funds it) but they won't because it's not a military wharf. That has to be a Commonwealth project or funded from a separate funding because it's not a military harbor; it's commercial. And I've also been telling people that this is a military buildup in Guam. Tinian is only ancillary of the buildup and if people think that someone is going to get rich from the Tinian portion of the buildup, I would like to know how because I haven't seen it,” Sablan told Saipan Tribune.

'No more comment period extension'

Sixto Igisomar, speaking as a member of the public, asked for more time to review and comment on the draft environment impact statement on the military buildup.

There are some 11,000 pages of documents on the draft EIS/Overseas Environmental Impact Statement on the military buildup.

The draft EIS/OES can be accessed online at www.guambuildupeis.us.

Retired Maj. Gen. David Bice, executive director of the Joint Guam Program Office, said JGPO believes that the 90-day comment period ending on Feb. 17 is sufficient.

“We've had well over 1,600 people come out to our public hearings where they asked questions and got their questions answered by experts. We've also gotten a lot of comments online as well as during the hearings,” Bice told Saipan Tribune.

Bice said there had been enough public outreach programs on the project, including public scoping in 2007, as well as partnership sessions with the local government and the regulators like the Environmental Protection Agency.

“We believe that our effort has been really unprecedented because this is a pretty large realignment and we had an unprecedented approach in terms of reaching out to the public and the regulators to ensure that our document is complete,” he said.

Bice said “every comment is important,” and every comment will be evaluated. The comments will also be recorded in Volume 10 of the final EIS.

“I can tell you that we are going to make adjustments to the EIS. We've heard comments made by people as we go along. I would make a mental note (when I hear) a solid comment that we need to take a look at either the plan or the phraseology that's in the EIS that may not be as clear as it should have been. So I can tell you that we are going to make adjustments to the EIS based upon the comments we received,” he added.

Townhall meetings

Despite the end of the six public hearings held in Guam, Tinian, and Saipan, there are still opportunities for residents to know more about the draft EIS/OES.

Tom Linden, coordinator for the CNMI Military Integration Management Committee, said MIMC, in partnership with the Office of Economic Adjustment and the Guam Advisory Consulting Team, will be hosting a public forum on Jan. 27, Wednesday, at the Multi-Purpose Center in Susupe.

He said representatives of the OEA and ACT will break down the 11,000-page EIS and be willing to answer any questions regarding the military buildup. The public is encouraged to submit questions ahead of time to the MIMC coordinator by sending e-mails to cnmi.mimc@commerce.gov.mp.

MIMC, created in June 2009, serves as the planning and policy making entity for all activities related to the expansion of military training and other defense transformation initiatives in the CNMI and Guam. It is the official entity through which the CNMI will interface with the U.S. Department of the Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps, JGPO, the Department of Defense, and all other military representatives regarding the military buildup.

The Tinian plan

Because Guam cannot accommodate all training for the relocating Marines, the military looks at Tinian to provide opportunities for training groups of 200 Marines or larger due to greater land availability.

Tinian is only about 100 miles or 160 kilometers away from Guam.

The northern two-thirds of Tinian are leased to the U.S. Department of Defense. Company and battalion level non-live fire training areas already exist and are used on these lease parcels.

“The land, however, could be developed to accommodate live fire ranges,” the draft EIS/OES stated.

The proposed actions on Tinian include firing ranges for rifle known distance, automated combat pistol, platoon battle course, and field firing; and airspace use.

Comments on the draft EIS/OES can be submitted online, or during the public hearings set by the U.S. Navy in Guam and the CNMI.

Guam infrastructure aid coming slowly

HAGATNA, Guam (UPI) -- Guam's governor says while he supports a U.S. military buildup on the island, needed infrastructure improvements have been slow coming.

Gov. Felix Camacho told the military niche newspaper Stars and Stripes that Guam has had a tough time securing money for transportation, water, sewage landfill projects.

He says the new infrastructure will be necessary if the U.S. territory is to cope with buildup plans that could temporarily bring nearly 80,000 people to the island of 178,000 people to build a new base for 8,000 Marines to be transferred from the Japanese island of Okinawa.

"It's been very frustrating for the government," Camacho told the newspaper. "It's such a bureaucratic mess to secure funding. It's been slow to come."

Another issue is the land needed for the base. Opponents of the plans point out some of the land the U.S. military wants has been set aside by the government for a homesteading program for native Chamorro families, Stars and Stripes said.

Camacho told the newspaper a deal for the military to buy the land may put Guam in a better position to negotiate for money to improve its ailing infrastructure.

Guam bracing for human tsunami

When U.S. forces move in from Okinawa, population will rise 25%

By DARIO AGNOTE - Kyodo News

HAGATNA, Guam — Guam is bracing for a deluge.

Thousands of American service members and their families are to relocate to the island from Japan in what could be the biggest such shift in forces since the war.

Already concerns are being raised over the "boomtown effect" — the rapid and large spike in population and related economic activity — on Guam's limited resources and inadequate infrastructure.

At least 8,600 marines and 630 army personnel plus their estimated 9,900 dependents are expected to move here from Okinawa. There will also be a transient military component up to 9,000-strong.

Joining the crowd will be the thousands of outside workers needed to build new roads, deep-draft wharves, aircraft carrier berthing, barracks, houses and similar infrastructure on Guam and on Tinian off Saipan, 160 km to the northeast.

Construction will begin next year despite funding concerns that stem from the Hatoyama administration's reluctance to share in the multimillion dollar relocation cost.

The immediate concern is whether the Japanese government will honor the 2006 deal struck by its predecessor to chip in $6.09 billion for the relocation, which has an estimated price tag of $12 billion to $15 billion.

The biggest concern, however, is the social cost.

The relocation of most of the marines and their dependents is expected to start in 2014, coinciding with the peak in construction activities and expenditures.

"At this peak, the total increase in Guam residents from off-island would be an estimated 79,178 people," says a draft environmental impact statement commissioned by the U.S. Defense Department.

After 2014, when the infrastructure projects are completed, the population is expected to level off to an estimated 33,608 people, on top of Guam's current population of about 178,000.

Based on the estimates of project planners, the endeavor will result in approximately $12 billion, in 2008 dollars, worth of construction occurring on Guam between 2010 and 2016.

Although the desired completion date moving the military personnel is 2014, the construction will likely continue into 2016, the study says.

Guam's population will increase by more than 25 percent during the four- to six-year buildup, said Paul Shintaku, executive director of the Guam Buildup Office.

"The impacts will be wide-ranging and far-reaching. It would be every aspect of the community and our social structure," Shintaku said.

"It's overwhelming," added Shintaku's deputy, Nora Camacho. "It can be from traffic to the hospital to our social services, schools, transport of goods coming into Guam and goods going out of Guam to Micronesia. It doesn't only affect Guam. It affects the entire Micronesia because we're a regional hub."

People from the Philippines, the United States, Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Marshall Islands and even Samoa are expected to descend on the island in search of jobs.

"There is cause for concern over the impacts on crime and social order due to other factors," the EIS study says, adding construction booms "are typically accompanied by a sense of loosened norms and social disorder."

People "from the Freely Associated States of Micronesia — whose numbers may increase in both the construction and operational stages due to more job opportunities — have high crime rates associated with adapting to less traditional social structures," it says. "There is a potential for more prostitution, alcohol and substance abuse, and family violence associated with young military populations in general, including sailors taking shore leave after weeks at sea.

"The particular reputation of marines as fighters could well trigger a transitional period of adjustment in which local young men test themselves against marines in fights," it says.

There are also concerns over the possibility that some of the workers will stay on the island for good and contribute to the "growing minoritization" of Chamorros, the indigenous people of the Mariana Islands.

Prior to World War II, Chamorros comprised more than 90 percent of Guam's population. The percentage dropped below 50 percent by 1980 and fell to 42 percent by 2000, the study says.

"There will be an expansion in non-Chamorro voting population that could affect the proportion of Chamorro office-holders and government workers, eventually affecting the current government budgets and activities dedicated to cultural issues and practices. It could also affect outcomes of any future votes about Guam's political status," it says.

"The buildup is so beneficial, beyond our comprehension and beyond what you see in the past," Camacho said.

David Leddy, president of the Guam Chamber of Commerce, says there is overwhelming support for the relocation.

"We treat it as another industry," he said. "The local government is the biggest beneficiary in terms of revenues that can be generated from the economic activities.

"There are positive and negative impacts. We just have to weigh the positive and negative and see what's good for the people," Leddy said.

BUILDUP HOUSING: $200 million workforce housing project deal sealed

PACIFIC DAILY NEWS

Korean construction company STX Construction on Dec. 22 signed a $200 million contract with Guam's Younex Enterprises Corporation, sealing a workforce housing project deal, a press release from Younex stated.

STX Group Chairman Kang, Duck-soo and Younex Enterprises Corporation Chairman Yoon, Kil Koo signed the contract to design, build and assist with the operations and management of an 18,000 bed, fully integrated workforce village to house the surge of thousands of temporary labor expected to come to Guam in the near future, the release stated.

The Ukudu Workforce Village is strategically located in what is referred to in the Defense Department's Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) as the Harmon Annex, bordering the Navy's South Finegayan family housing facility and just north of Two Lovers Point.

Yoon said Younex has responded to the call by the Defense Department to provide a private sector solution to a DoD mission.

“We recognize the major challenges the Guam buildup will thrust upon our community, and we believe our project provides an optimum solution to the need for workforce housing while minimizing the impact to Guam's community," Yoon stated in the release.

Japan To Spend $518M On Guam Buildup Next Year

But Tokyo Holds Back On Futenma Replacement Funding

Written by Jeff Marchesseault, Guam News Factor Staff Writer

GUAM - A financial news service reports that while Japan will hold off on substantial FY10 spending for the relocation of a U.S. airbase in Okinawa, it will spend more than half a billion dollars in 2010 for constructing U.S. military installations in Guam. That, according to iStockAnalyst.com. About 8,600 Marines and their 9,000 dependents are scheduled to transfer from Okinawa to Guam by 2014.

Japan's appropriation is undoubtedly welcome news to Washington, especially after word broke in mid-December that the new coalition government in Tokyo would delay until May its decision on whether to honor a 2006 U.S.-Japan security accord for the region. This document spells out an arrangement in which Marine Corps Air Station Futenma is to be relocated from Okinawa's crowded Ginowan City to remote Cape Henoko near Camp Schwab in Nago, Okinawa. The same agreement stipulates that nearly 20,000 Futenma personnel including Marines and their families will move to Guam.

Tokyo's $518 million in FY10 support for the partial move to Guam looks promising as a boon for Guam's buildup, as a pressure-release valve for Ginowan, and as a signal to Washington that Japan appreciates the critical, time-sensitive nature of the Okinawa-Guam transfer. After all, Marine Commandant Gen. James Conway remarked recently that Japan's delay tactics on Futenma's replacement were compromising the stability of the region.

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama reportedly admitted on Friday that the 'option' of moving all of Futenma's operations to Guam is no longer even a consideration. According to ZeeNews.com, Hatoyama explained on Saturday:

"It looks as though having everything at Futemma transferred to the US territory of Guam is unrealistic in light of the deterrence" provided by the US military, Hatoyama said.

Hatoyama's pronouncement may lend qualified encouragement to an Obama-backed diplomatic corps exasperated by what they see as Tokyo's intransigence for refusing to commit to the 2006 accord, even as plans are fast afoot to begin building up Guam for the realignment by as early as next summer.

Domestically, the pressure is on the Hatoyama Administration to find an alternative replacement site for Futenma. According to the Wall Street Journal, an upcoming January 24 mayoral election in Nago has come to be viewed as a de facto referendum on the U.S. military's presence in Japan. The sitting mayor is in favor of building the airbase in Nago, his challenger opposes the idea. There is a swelling notion in Okinawa and in government that other parts of Japan should begin shouldering a larger share of the responsibility of hosting U.S. bases in Japan.

However, the U.S. remains firm in its stance that there is no alternative to moving the airbase now in Futenma to Camp Schwab. And the U.S. has insisted that until Japan's new government sees fit to honor the bilateral agreement to make the internal move within Okinawa, the transfer of Marines to Guam can't happen.

Read the iStockAnalyst.com story, "Japan to forgo earmarking spending for new airfield in Okinawa", December 25, 2009.

Read the Wall Street Journal story, "Okinawa Mayor Race May Hold Key To U.S.-Japan Base Spat", December 24, 2009.

Read the Kyodo News story, "Hatoyama nixes Futenma relocation to Guam, eyes alternative Japan site", December 26, 2009.

Read the Zee News story, "Japan PM eager for decentralization of power", December 26, 2009.

Read the Press TV story, "Japan's PM says decision on US base by May", December 26, 2009.

No Decision On Okinawa-Guam Transfer Till May: Japan Prime Minister

$300M For Summer Construction Now Thrown Into Question

By Jeff Marchesseault - guamnewsfactor.com

GUAM -Japan Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama says he'll wait till May to announce his decision on where to relocate a U.S. airbase from a crowded city in Okinawa. That, according to Reuters, Mainichi and Asahi news agencies.

This development now throws into question whether the military buildup will proceed as scheduled on Guam and raises questions about whether the House and Senate will indeed earmark $300 million in FY2010 funding for a related military buildup on Guam. The transfer of 8,600 U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam depends on the new Japan government's commitment to honoring a 2006 bilateral accord cementing the realignment.

Construction to relocate and house the Marines on Guam is due to start between the summer and fall of next year. Washington had been hoping that Tokyo would decide by December 18th whether to abide by the agreement. The decision came sooner. But it's not what the U.S. wanted to hear.

December 18th is the last day the military construction earmark can be included in pending appropriations legislation.

Kyodo News had reported as late as this morning that Hatoyama was expected to reveal his decision on the relocation of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma at a ministerial committee meeting regarding the policy agendas of the three political parties comprising Hatoyama's coalition government. But his only decision so far today is simply not to decide.

U.S. officials have consistently maintained that there is no alternative to moving Futenma's functions from their present location in crowded Ginowan City in southern Okinawa to a remote peninsula in northern Okinawa. The U.S. also continues to assert that 8,600 Okinawa-based Marines, their 9,000 dependents, civilian staff and equipment cannot be transferred to Guam as planned until Hatoyama agrees to abide by the 2006 accord - an agreement that took about 15 years of careful political maneuvering and exhaustive research to formulate.

Despite expectations, Hatoyama wasn't saying whether he would reveal his intentions on Futenma today. He told Kyodo, "I will determine a government policy soon, and do so by consulting with my Cabinet ministers, while I can't mention the date because it is sensitive."

According to Kyodo, Hatoyama denied reports the the administration intends to propose talks with the U.S. to discuss a new relocation site for the airfield by the end of the week.

Finally, commenting on the fate of the suspended high-level bilateral talks on the relocation issue, Hatoyama told Kyodo: "It depends on the U.S. response. We can think of various options."

Read the Reuters report, "Japan to put off decision on U.S. base row: report", December 14, 2009.

Read the Kyodo News report appearing in The Japan Times, "Decision on Futenma said in the offing", Tuesday, December 15, 2009.