Guam may get $9.4M for sub repair
facility; Navy wants it finished by 2004
By Donovan Brooks, Guam
bureau chief
FINEGAYAN — Guam will receive $9.4 million for a submarine
repair facility under a $6.5 billion supplemental appropriations bill passed Wednesday by
the U.S. House of Representatives.
The Navy pushed for the facility to be built by 2004, said
spokeswoman Lt. Monica Richardson, because it will improve Guam’s repair
capabilities.
The submarine tender USS Frank Cable — stationed on Guam —
regularly repairs subs traveling through the area. But the ship routinely deploys for
months at a time, meaning repairs cannot be made to visiting subs, Richardson said.
The Navy also has reactivated Submarine Squadron 15 on Guam and plans
to base three fast-attack submarines here by 2003.
The inclusion of the repair facility project in House legislation was
unusual, said Guam congressional delegate Robert Underwood, and showed Guam’s
strategic reputation is getting support from defense planners.
“Usually, a supplemental appropriations bill is designed to take
care of unanticipated costs,” said Underwood, a member of the House Armed Services
Committee. “Military construction projects are rarely unanticipated. They are planned
out well in advance.
“But … it was easy to make the justification since the
submarines are coming to Guam next year, and this was a decision that had to be made
rather quickly,” he said.
In a floor speech supporting the resolution, Underwood also noted
that $44 million is being set aside to repair the USS Cole, which was damaged by a
terrorist attack in Yemen last fall.
Other parts of the bill:
$970 million for flying-hours requirements of Air Force and Navy
pilots
$463 million for increased utility costs
$100 million for environmental cleanup and waste management
$33 million for the Navy and Marine Corps to increase security
against terrorist attacks.
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved the bill Thursday,
sending it to the full Senate for final approval.
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