Hailston: Saipan, Guam too small for
relocating U.S. Marines from Okinawa
By Carlos Bongioanni,
Okinawa bureau
U.S. force reductions on Okinawa are still possible, even though the
top Marine Corps commander in Japan said alternate sites to accommodate the troops are too
small.
Lt. Gen. Earl Hailston said Thursday that relocating some U.S. Marine
Corps drills to Guam or Saipan would be difficult.
Although the idea of relocation is good, he said, Guam and Saipan are
not large enough to host drills involving the Marine divisions stationed in Okinawa,
according to reports in the Japanese press.
That should not be the last word on the issue, according to Seiichi
Oyakawa, the director general of Okinawa’s governor’s office.
“Hailston is talking about an entire division, which is about
5,000 to 6,000 Marines,” noted Oyakawa. “In that case, Guam is probably too
small.
“But Guam’s governor said they can take 2,000 or 2,500
Marines. Whatever number of Marines they can move from Okinawa is good … because that
will reduce the military presence in Okinawa, which is the desire of the Okinawan
people.”
Oyakawa said the governor’s office is hopeful that the
discussions will proceed and that a decision will be made to transfer troops to Guam.
A Marine Corps official in Okinawa said he could not comment on
Hailston’s assessment as reported in the Japanese press, but said it does
“absolutely say that there are challenges with those sites because of their size.
… Nobody from Marine Corps top brass is saying this will or will not work. We’re
still in the process to see if it will work,” he said.
Chiyomi Sumida contributed to this report
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