Marines request transfer of excess
land on Guam for training facility
By Donovan Brooks, Guam
bureau chief
FINEGAYAN — The U.S. Marine Corps wants to open a 1,750-acre
training facility on Guam.
The Marines have formally requested the property be transferred to
them from the Air Force, USMC headquarters spokesman Capt. Stewart Upton said in a news
release Friday.
A small contingent of Marines likely would be assigned to the
facility to keep it ready for visiting operating forces, USMC headquarters spokesman Maj.
Rick Long said Monday. However, Long said it was too early to know when the Marines might
make the move.
The next step in the process is for the Air Force to approve the
transfer of the land the Air Force deems in excess to the needs of Andersen Air Force
Base, Guam, Upton said.
The Marines want “Andersen South,” a 2,400-acre annex with
more than 300 vacant housing units and five barracks buildings. Andersen said it
doesn’t need the annex, and the property was in the process of being returned to
Guam.
Upton said the Guam base would correct a major deficiency in
currently available urban warfare training facilities for the Marine Corps.
“The ability to train in an urban environment is paramount for
the Marine Corps,” Upton said.
Upton said most ground force operations take place in urban – or
a mix of urban and rural – areas.
“In order to train as we may be called upon to fight, we must
have access to realistic urban warfare training facilities for our forward-deployed
forces,” he said.
Okinawa-based Marines regularly use Guam military bases for urban
assault exercises. A group of Marines from Camp Lejune, N.C., is presently training at
Andersen.
Noncombatant evacuation operations, patrolling, land navigation,
logistics and other operations could also be practiced at Andersen South, Upton said.
“Because this would be a new expeditionary training site for the
Marine Corps, we have not yet developed a full training package for it, however, training
is envisioned at the battalion level and below,” Upton said. About 1,500 people are
in a Marine battalion.
Although some local residents and officials said any Guam land
declared excess by the military should be returned to Guam, the local Chamber of Commerce
issued a resolution in support of the Marines’ use of the property.
Guam Chamber of Commerce military committee chairman Gerry Perez said
the chamber’s Aug. 23 resolution supporting the Marines’ use of the property was
issued to help the island diversify its economic base. Once the Marines establish a base
on Guam, they may expand their presence, said Perez.
“Making it available to DoD is a form of priming the pump for
future use,” Perez said.
Perez said the economic diversification is needed because tourism,
Guam’s main industry, has been taking a beating due to regional economics.
Guam Lt. Gov. Madeleine Bordallo has welcomed the plan.
“We like to see Andy South come back, but if the benefits to the
island are substantial, so be it,” Bordallo said.
Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Jim Jones directed a Marine inspection
team in June to visit the Andersen annex that is on mostly flat land away from local
residents.
After the June inspection, the Marines said Guam lacked a range for
heavy weapons like mortars and TOW missiles, which might affect their decision.
Guam has recently seen a stepped-up military presence that includes
basing three submarines here and increasing Navy ship visits, $100 million worth of
improvements to Andersen’s aircraft fueling systems and the storage of cruise
missiles.
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