Commandant says Marines looking for
alternatives to Okinawa training areas
By Jan Wesner Childs,
Seoul bureau
YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea — The Marines’ top general is heading to
Okinawa this week to discuss the possible relocation of Marine training on the island.
For years, the Marines have been exploring ways to reduce their presence on
Japan’s southernmost prefecture. Marine survey teams have recently visited Guam and
Saipan to see if some training could be moved there.
Finding new places for Okinawa-based Marines to train is "not going to be a
particularly difficult thing," Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James L. Jones said
Wednesday during a visit to South Korea.
As a matter of practice, the Marine Corps’ expeditionary forces try to expand
their training opportunities in the Pacific, Jones said. He did not list any possible
locations.
A 10-person site-inspection team recently toured facilities in Guam, but found the
region lacks significant space for some live-fire training.
Some two-thirds of the United States’ Marines are stationed in the Pacific,
including about 16,000 on Okinawa. There are fewer than 100 based in South Korea.
The visit to Korea was Jones’ third since he became commandant in 1999.
Jones addressed several other issues during Wednesday’s question-and-answer
session:
¶ Quality of life, recruiting and retention: Jones said the military needs to focus
more on family issues such as housing and schools, even though those types of things can
be expensive to address.
"Readiness should be measured in a more holistic way," he said. "We have
to address things that affect the welfare of families so that the individual servicemember
can have a viable career."
Knowing that families will be taken care of makes deployments easier for
servicemembers, Jones said.
¶ The future of the Marine Corps: The Marines will focus on new technology, including
new ways to move troops and supplies by sea, land and air.
He said young Marines have a lot to look forward to.
"If you like what you are doing, there are some great things coming down the
pike," Jones said.
¶ The budget: Marines are facing budget challenges, just like the rest of the
services. He said Marines in the Pacific won’t be hit any harder by budget shortfalls
than Marines anywhere else.
But he said the $5.6 billion supplemental defense budget now being considered by
Congress will cover the Marines’ expenses for now.
"I don’t think for the rest of this year you’ll see any degradation of
training or readiness," he said.
¶ The Corps’ new martial arts program: Jones said the program, which teaches
martial arts to all Marines, is helping to boost recruiting.
"We’re not just going into martial arts to create a Marine Corps full of
ninjas," Jones said.
He said martial arts instills self-discipline and confidence, and the skills learned
can be used in non-lethal situations, such as crowd control.
"I want to equip our young Marines with an option that is complementary to pulling
a trigger," Jones said.
Jones is one of a handful of candidates being considered by President Bush to be the
next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. No Marine has ever held the post.
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