Guam seeks federal help for $11.7 billion impact of US military buildup on island

Guam will need an estimated $11.7 billion in infrastructure and public services over the next 30 years to accommodate a growing U.S. military presence, the island’s governor said this week as she called for greater federal support.

Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero said what her office described as the largest U.S. military buildup in the Pacific since World War II could require more than $415 million a year in additional government services by 2034.

“We have held up our end of the commitment,” she said in a news release Thursday. “What Guam carries is not a local burden — it is the direct consequence of a national mission. A national mission demands a shared responsibility.”

Leon Guerrero first made her case Wednesday in San Francisco to more than 100 representatives of federal agencies involved in health care, utilities, education, cybersecurity and other services during an Interagency Regional Convening, according to her office.

Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero visits the Guam National Guard Barrigada Readiness Center in Barrigada, Guam, April 12, 2025. (Samantha Jetzer/U.S. Navy)

The Defense Department’s Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation, which assists communities dealing with the economic and infrastructure effects of military installations, convened the meeting.

“Guam is a living American community with finite land, aging infrastructure, and limited capacity,” Leon Guerrero said. “There is no other place under the American flag where national strength and national risk meet so directly.”

The 210-square-mile U.S. territory is home to Andersen Air Force Base, Marine Corps Camp Blaz and Naval Base Guam, including the submarine facility at Polaris Point.

Its military population is expected to grow from about 17,000 service members to 24,000 by fiscal 2033.

About 4,000 Marines are expected to relocate to Guam as part of a 2012 agreement between the United States and Japan to reduce the American military footprint on Okinawa, which hosts the bulk of U.S. forces in Japan.

Guam is also preparing for an $8 billion Enhanced Integrated Air and Missile Defense system, which is expected to bring an additional 2,300 service members and dependents to the island by 2031.

“The scope of the buildup is taxing on an infrastructure for an island the size of Guam,” John Ryan, the governor’s communications director, said by phone Friday.

Some bridges along the island’s defense access highway connecting military installations “wouldn’t even be able to hold the weight of some military caravans or cargo or materials that go across them,” he said.

Housing is another concern.

Guam has approximately 51,000 housing units, while its military community could exceed 45,000 people by 2034, according to the governor’s office.

In San Francisco, Leon Guerrero described the situation as “an unprecedented structural and social challenge that is forcing generations of local families off the island,” according to Thursday’s release.

The Defense Department announced plans in September 2025 to acquire or build 2,400 housing units over 10 years for the thousands of additional personnel expected on Guam.

Leon Guerrero called for the federal Economic Adjustment Committee to be convened immediately to coordinate what she described as a “One Guam” response to the buildup.

The committee includes representatives from 22 federal departments and Cabinet-level agencies that can assist communities affected by significant defense growth.

“The federal government already has the authority, the programs, and the tools to act,” Leon Guerrero said. “It is time to use them.”