Text Fwd: Navy Finalizes Plans For U.S. Military Buildup On Guam 미 해군, 괌에서의 미 군대 증강 계획 최종

* Stop NATO

Stars and Stripes
September 20, 2010
Navy finalizes plans for U.S. military buildup on Guam
By Travis J. Tritten

SASEBO NAVAL BASE, Japan: The U.S. Navy firmed up plans Tuesday for a military
buildup on Guam that could lead to a historic shift in military forces in the
Pacific.

The Navy’s record of decision finalizes where facilities will be built for
8,600 Marines scheduled to move from Okinawa by 2014 and identifies the planned
pace of the massive construction effort, according to a brief released by the
Department of Defense Joint Guam Program Office.

But the Navy delayed decisions on controversial plans to build military training
ranges on Guam’s ancestral land and to dredge coral in Guam’s main harbor
for an aircraft carrier berth, according to the brief.

The full report on the buildup was not available immediately after it was signed
by Assistant Secretary of the Navy Jackie Pfannenstiel early Tuesday. The joint
program office said it would post the full document online by Wednesday.
....
Utilities funding from the Japanese government is critical, he said.

The United States is in talks with Japan and the Japanese Bank of International
Cooperation over the country’s $740 million contribution for wastewater, power
and water upgrades on Guam.

Japan agreed in 2006 to fund the upgrades as part of the shift of Marines from
Okinawa.
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* See a text sent from Martha Duenas on Sept. 22, 2010, also.

Guam Build EIS
Associated Press

US Military Postpones 2 Guam Buildup Decisions
By AUDREY McAVOY (AP) – 2:09 PM Guam / ChST

HONOLULU — The U.S. military has postponed two key decisions related to its buildup of forces on the Guam to ensure it's complying with environmental and historic preservation laws.

But it gave final approval to the single biggest part of the buildup: a proposal to move 8,000 Marines and their dependents from Okinawa, Japan to the U.S. territory in the Pacific. The decision was posted online Tuesday.

The Navy put off deciding where to build a live fire range for the Marines while it consults with preservation authorities on how the training area would affect the ancient village of Pagat. Stone bowls, fishing gear, spear points and other artifacts dating back more than a millennium have been found at the village, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The military acknowledged in a document called a "Record of Decision" that a significant new influx of population would affect the island's indigenous Chamorro population, and vowed to be sensitive to this issue.

At its peak, the buildup is expected to boost Guam's population by 79,000 people, or 45 percent, over its current 180,000 residents.

The Department of Defense "is cognizant of the concerns regarding the degradation of Chamorro culture and respects Chamorro social and cultural traditions and will continue to strive to be good neighbors," the document said.

The Navy also delayed deciding where in Apra Harbor it will place a new aircraft carrier berth so it can study how construction of the dock would affect the harbor's coral reef.

The Environmental Protection Agency in February said the military, in a draft environmental impact statement, had underestimated the effect the berth would have on corals that provide essential habitats for fish and endangered sea turtles.

The EPA told the Navy this month it would need to study the coral matter further before it selected a site within Apra for the carrier.

The Navy wants the new berth to accommodate the military's strategy of having its aircraft carriers spend more time in the western Pacific.

Guam is about 3,700 miles southwest of Hawaii and 1,500 miles south of Tokyo.