Jack Miller, First Island Chain integrator, Pacific Multi-Domain Training and Experimentation Capability, gives a tour of PMTEC Forward-Guam following a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Building 4175 on U.S. Naval Base Guam, June 22, 2026. (Shaina Marie ONeal/Joint Region Marianas)
Once a dilapidated, disused Defense Department schoolhouse, the PMTEC Forward – Guam is now a forward location for U.S. and allied forces to organize training and operations across the Indo-Pacific region.
U.S. Pacific Command opened the new, 5,100-square-foot facility on Monday at Naval Base Guam that is designed to link commanders, exercise controllers and participants in the Pacific and the United States.
The site is operated by Pacific Multi-Domain Training and Experimentation Capability, or PMTEC, a component of PACOM, and hosts an array of communication networks, configurable workspaces and other resources to support “live, virtual and constructive training,” according to Andre Stridiron, program manager for PMTEC.
“What’s located here, in a nutshell, are networks — resilient and redundant networks — to maintain communication and situational awareness,” he told Stars and Stripes by phone Monday.
The building was originally built in the 1960s as bachelor officer quarters and later served as the first location of Guam’s McCool Elementary Middle School before the school relocated in 2008.
Redesignated the Santa Rita Office Complex, it went largely underused and fell into disrepair, according to information provided by PMTEC information integrator Tai Prohaska.
In 2023, PMTEC secured space on the third floor of the building’s second wing and began extensive renovations.
“In two years, we took a rundown, dilapidated schoolhouse that had no air conditioning, broken windows, floors that were flooded, you name it,” Stridiron said. “Every bit of this building was a problem, and we have now turned it into a weapons platform, essentially, where you can run [continuity of operations] sites.”
U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Josh Lasky, commander of Joint Task Force-Micronesia, and John Wood, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s J7 training and exercises deputy director, cut the ribbon opening the Pacific Multi-Domain Training and Experimentation Capability Forward - Guam at Building 4175 on U.S. Naval Base Guam, June 22, 2026. (Shaina Marie ONeal/Joint Region Marianas)
The facility already provided space in 2025 for organizing exercises in the Indo-Pacific, including Sea Dragon, Pacific Griffin, Pacific Vanguard and Malabar, according to the ceremony program.
This year, staff at the facility are helping coordinate Valiant Shield, which began Monday and runs through July 1, according to Steve Matson, the lead planner for the exercise.
He described the facility as a “force multiplier” — meaning it allows fewer people to do more — and prevents the degradation of communication even when forces are far apart.
“We have about 80 people here working — about 50 during the day and about 30 at night — but back in Hawaii, we’re fully connected and fully integrated,” he said by phone Monday.
In addition to military exercises, the facility can also be configured to support disaster relief in case of a typhoon, earthquake or other natural disasters, Stridiron said.
