Wednesday, February 28, 2001

By David Allen
Okinawa bureau chief

NAHA — Okinawa Gov. Keiichi Inamine says he’d like the U.S. Marines to consider moving their training to Guam.

In response to questions during a session of the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly on Monday, the governor said that moving the training of Marines sent to Okinawa on six-month deployments is one way to reduce servicemembers’ off-base crimes.

"I am considering asking the national government about relocating the six-month training, in which Marines move between their bases on the U.S. mainland and Okinawa, to Guam," Inamine said.

Of the more than 15,000 Marines on Okinawa, 2,500 are ground combat troops on six-month deployments, Marine spokeswoman Capt. Tanya Murnock said. She was unable to provide the number of aviation troops on Okinawa for the six-month Unit Deployment Program.

Even though statistics show Americans on Okinawa commit fewer offenses per capita than Okinawans, every incident is sensationalized by the local media and used by anti-base activists as ammunition in their demands to reduce the military on the island.

Inamine’s comment Monday was seen as a sharp turn in his attitude toward the Marines’ presence. He was elected in 1998 on a platform of being flexible on base issues and had criticized then-Gov. Masahide Ota for suggesting U.S. troops could be moved elsewhere.

Recent incidents, however, including the burning of a row of small bars in Chatan by a Marine lance corporal, have caused Inamine to support calls by the prefectural assembly and some municipal councils to reduce the number of Marines on Okinawa.

Inamine told Japan Foreign Minister Yohei Kono on Sunday that the U.S. military presence was becoming "unbearable."

About 25,200 of the 51,600 U.S. troops in Japan are based on Okinawa, according to U.S. Forces Japan. U.S. bases on Okinawa cover 20 percent of the island.

It is the first time the Marines have been singled out in demands to reduce the U.S. military presence here — even though members of the other services also have been arrested recently.

Some training, such as live-fire artillery training, already has been moved to mainland Japan. And Marine officials say they always are looking for ways to reduce the impact of training troops on Okinawa.

"Force (deployments are) a matter determined by our two governments," Murnock said. "We are here in support of the U.S.-Japan Security Agreement.

"We are always seeking opportunities to train in other places, including Guam."

Murnock said that to train effectively, the ground, aviation and logistical people need to work together. "This is the reason that our helicopters are on Okinawa, near the ground combat and logistics units they support," she said.

"It is feasible to locate the fixed wing assets at Iwakuni because of their speed and range. It is possible for them to support Marine units training here on Okinawa within a day from Iwakuni. However, separating helicopters and ground combat units would degrade their ability to train and operate together."

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