Posts Tagged ‘Marine Corps realignment’

The military’s existing force structure in the Asia-Pacific needs to realigned and should include a greater presence on Guam and the Mariana Islands, the authors of an independent review of the nation’s force posture in that region told lawmakers this week. Some steps can be taken immediately, David Berteau, senior vice president and director of the international security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told the House Armed Services’ Readiness Subcommittee on Wednesday. “There are some initial investments in Guam and the Marianas that make sense, both in terms of robust infrastructure and in terms of training capability that are to some extent not dependent on the total number of Marines that are going to move …

An independent assessment of the nation’s realignment plans for the Asia-Pacific region generally supports the Pentagon’s current approach, and recommends DOD go ahead with plans to transfer 9,000 Marines from Okinawa to Guam and other Pacific locations. Completing the study, conducted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, was one of the requirements Congress included in the fiscal 2012 defense authorization bill before lawmakers would reconsider funding the Marine Corps realignment to Guam …

The congressionally mandated study of the U.S. defense posture in the Asia-Pacific region suggests that fewer than 5,000 Marines should move from Okinawa to Guam, according to a statement from Guam Delegate Madeleine Bordallo. “While the report is positive overall for Guam, it also includes a vague suggestion that fewer than 5,000 Marines on Guam might be more operationally viable. I do not agree with this suggestion; however, it is important to note that the recommendations included in this report do not represent the views of the Department of Defense …

During meetings with the governor of Guam and other leaders last week, Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter described the planned relocation of almost 5,000 Marines from Okinawa to Guam as “in a much better place than it was even six months ago,” according to a senior DOD official traveling with Carter. The plan now calls for transferring about 4,800 Marines to the island, rather than the 8,000 originally projected. About two-thirds of the relocating troops will do so on a rotational basis, meaning the island will not need to accommodate as many family members as had initially been planned …

A member of the Guam legislature plans to recommend the Defense Department turn to its family housing privatization initiative to provide housing needed to accommodate up to 5,000 Marines slated to move there from Japan. “The MHPI [Military Housing Privatization Initiative] is a workable alternative to what was previously announced by the DOD, which saw the government of Japan taking advantage of constructing military housing and reaping the benefits of the repayment by the DOD …

The impact of the decision by the United States and Japan to scale down the scope of the realignment of Marine Corps troops from Okinawa already is being felt in Guam, the island territory that had been preparing for the influx of military personnel. Homes built in Guam for thousands of temporary construction workers sit vacant, with some now serving as affordable housing for island residents. In April, the two nations revised their roadmap for moving troops off of Okinawa. Under the new agreement, between 4,700 and 5,000 troops will be stationed in Guam; initially, 8,600 Marines and their families would have relocated from Okinawa …

The freeze on spending funds to prepare Guam for an influx of Marines from Okinawa would continue under the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill approved last week by the Senate Armed Services Committee. DOD would need to provide Congress three reports before the prohibition is lifted: a master plan detailing construction costs and a schedule of all projects needed to implement U.S. Pacific Command’s strategy; a plan describing necessary repairs and restorations to Marine Corps Air Station Futenma …

Despite a reduction in the number of Marines relocating to Guam, the island still needs funding from the United States or Japan to pay for badly needed upgrades to its environmental infrastructure, Gov. Eddie Calvo told Japanese reporters during a visit to Okinawa. The original buildup plan between the United States and Japan earmarked $700 million for Guam’s water and wastewater systems, but the revised agreement leaves the issue murky …

The stated $8.6 billion cost for the revamped realignment of 5,000 Marines from Okinawa to Guam is still a preliminary estimate and most likely will shift after more detailed planning is completed. The cost of moving thousands of Marines to Hawaii, for instance, was not included in the estimate, reported Stars and Stripes …

The Navy plans to broaden the scope of an ongoing environmental impact study to assess the impact of reducing the number of Marines relocating from Okinawa to Guam, the Joint Guam Program Office said Tuesday. The expanded supplemental EIS — initially intended to identify locations for a live fire training complex — will evaluate new alternatives for locating the Marine’s main base and family housing, and take a fresh look at how changes in the size of the influx will affect Guam’s civil infrastructure …