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By Amritha Alladi - Pacific Daily News (Guam)
via Gannett News Service
Posted : Wednesday Dec 30, 2009 8:11:30 EST
Guam residents voiced a range of concerns at Tuesday’s public hearing on a territorial resolution that demands the military use negotiations of “good faith” to obtain private lands, as opposed to condemning the lands under eminent domain.
Guam Sen. Judith Guthertz, chairwoman of the Legislature’s buildup committee, had introduced the resolution after Joint Guam Program Office Director retired Marine Col. John Jackson recently stated “every option is on the table” to obtain Guam lands for the military buildup. Guam residents brought all their concerns — and personal stories — to the table, in response.
Gloria B. Nelson, wife of former Sen. Ted Nelson, brought tears to the eyes of those listening, as she retold the story of how her family had suffered “enough” through numerous relocations during the war years. The condemnation of lands would further add to that suffering, she said.
About 8,000 Marines and their 9,000 dependents will be shifted from Okinawa to Guam by 2014. Per the preferred alternative listed in the draft Environmental Impact Statement for the main cantonment area, the Defense Department may require an additional 680 acres of private land.
In other passionate testimony supporting the resolution, Catherine McCollum of the Colonized Chamorro Coalition said her family continues to fight for land in Tiyan and Ritidian.
JGPO public information officer Capt. Neil Ruggiero told the Pacific Daily News last week the Defense Department has tried to utilize its own property for the military realignment, but must follow federal environmental laws and planning processes to determine the best locations for the facilities and ranges necessary for the military realignment.
“We have also learned that it may be wise to develop property near existing bases to allow functions to be grouped together in one location and eliminate the need to travel from one range or training area to another. This will ease impacts, such as traffic, on the surrounding community.”
Guthertz said she was assured two years ago by JGPO Executive Director Retired Maj. Gen. David Bice the military wouldn’t use condemnation to obtain lands, and would utilize the 40,000 acres already belonging to the Defense Department.
But a recent statement Jackson made on TV contradicted the previous assurance, according to Guthertz, and the resolution is an attempt to make certain the federal government negotiates with the landowners instead of resorting to condemnation, she said.
Guthertz hadn’t received a response from Bice until Dec. 24:
“During the EIS process, DOD personnel, especially those in a position of leadership, must refrain from taking any action that could be viewed as pre-determining the manner in which a decision would be implemented or otherwise limit choices among reasonable alternatives,” Bice’s letter stated. “Should I or other DoD personnel testify regarding the proposed resolution, our testimony could be interpreted as pre-decisional actions indicating that alternatives contemplating the acquisition of non-DoD lands will be selected.”
Local businessman James Adkins urged Guam’s senators not to challenge the military, because buildup plans are hanging by a thread.
“The military is starting to look at some of the things that are being said by our senators that they do not want the military here. You couple that with the other things that are going on in Japan [and] we are not sure that we will even get this buildup,” Adkins said.
He said the buildup would be the primary solution to resuscitate Guam’s economy.
“We have to have something to bring cash money back onto the island,” Adkins said. “We are spending more money than we are bringing in. Now’s not the time to go and challenge [the military].”
By Gidget Fuentes - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Dec 13, 2009 9:07:21 EST
8,600 Marines to come from Okinawa
Navy officials have outlined their plans to build a Marine Corps base in Guam and expeditionary field training sites on the nearby island of Tinian, measures meant to support the relocation of 8,600 Marines from Okinawa beginning in 2014.
A draft environmental impact statement released in November provides the first detailed look at how a military buildup in the archipelago would work. The final EIS should be complete by summer.
In addition to the 8,600 Marines, 9,000 family members and about 1,800 Defense Department civilian workers would make the move, which is expected to be complete by 2020. The Corps’ biggest project will be construction of a new base covering 2,500 acres. It would include headquarters offices, unit spaces and supply warehouses, as well as barracks, family housing and day care. Officials have studied eight locations in the island’s northern area, not far from Andersen Air Force Base.
Those facilities would support about a brigade’s worth of troops composing a Marine air-ground task force, to include combat elements from III Marine Expeditionary Force, 3rd Marine Division, 3rd Marine Logistics Group and 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. To accommodate all those troops, training areas south of Andersen would expand.
Plans call for the construction of a convoy course, an urban-combat facility and additional live-fire small-arms ranges. The Corps also plans to add drop zones for parachuting, landing zones for helicopters, and facilities along the waterfront that can support amphibious vehicles, assault craft and small boats. Aviation structures would be put at the Air Force base.
Officials want to provide individual and small-unit training for the Marines based on Guam, meaning they would need facilities for rifle qualifications, combat-swim quals, gas-chamber training and other requisites. They’re looking at adding various simulators as well.
Marines also would get to train on Tinian, a small island about 100 miles north of Guam. The U.S. leases land on about two-thirds of the island and uses it now for company-level non-live fire training.
Military officials want to build several live-fire ranges there to support even more company-level field training. Doing so “provides reliable access and maximum opportunity to realistically train with their weapons and equipment while minimizing time lost when traveling to training locations,” according to the environmental report.
The Corps does not intend to build permanent facilities on Tinian. Instead, officials are designing the ranges to be expeditionary, meaning portable toilets and solar-powered systems likely would be used.
Neither Tinian nor Guam would be able to support the types of large-scale training that the Corps’ bigger bases can. Marines based there would have to travel to other sites that allow them to complete core competencies such as Mojave Viper pre-deployment exercises. Although the proposed Military Operations in Urban Terrain facility likely would serve an entire battalion, companies and platoons would use it in round-robin fashion as they do at other MOUTs.
The 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review is expected to address whether additional training facilities that can support larger Marine units are needed in the Pacific.
Military officials plan to hold six public hearings on the proposals Jan. 7-15 in Guam, Tinian and Saipan. Comments on the proposal also can be submitted online at www.guambuildupeis.usuntil Feb. 17.
The numbers
• The planned move of 8,600 Marines from Okinawa to Guam is expected to cost $13 billion by the time it is complete in 2020.
• The Japanese government would provide up to $6 billion as part of cost-sharing agreement.
• Guam’s current population is 178,000.
• The U.S. military footprint there now is about 15,000.
• By 2020 it’s expected to be 39,000.
Other changes
Apart from the influx of Marines, additional projects in Guam may include:
• The addition of 600 soldiers to establish an Army Air and Missile Defense Task Force.
• Expanded port operations in Apra Harbor to support a transiting nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.
Kyodo via The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Nov 14, 2008 7:25:03 EST
YOKOSUKA, Japan — A council formed by four one-time navy ports in Japan decided Friday to ask the U.S. military via the Foreign Ministry to make sure it notifies the Japanese side before any U.S. nuclear-powered vessels make port calls in the country.
The move came after an unannounced port call by a U.S. nuclear-powered submarine in Okinawa Prefecture on Monday drew protests from both the national and local governments.
Under a bilateral agreement, the United States is supposed to notify local governments via the ministry of any port calls by such vessels at least 24 hours in advance.
The council, headed by Ryoichi Kabaya, the mayor of Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, said it will request that U.S. forces not repeat such an occurrence so that local residents can be assured of safety and feel at ease.
”The importance of this prior notification system has grown, partially because of the revelation of radioactive leakage from a U.S. nuclear submarine,” Sasebo Mayor Norio Tomonaga said in a news conference in Yokosuka. ”I want (the U.S. forces) to adhere to the rules.”
The council consists of the port cities of Yokosuka, Maizuru in Kyoto Prefecture, Kure in Hiroshima Prefecture and Sasebo in Nagasaki Prefecture, which were home to Imperial Japanese Navy vessels before and during World War II.
Ever since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on the United States, the local governments have refrained from informing their citizens of planned port calls by U.S. nuclear-powered vessels at the request of the Foreign Ministry.
But the council said it will request that such a restriction be lifted for fear that the withholding of information from citizens might effectively render the notification system irrelevant.
On Monday, the Los Angeles-class attack submarine Providence made an unannounced port call at White Beach in Uruma, Okinawa, in the first such call by a U.S. nuclear sub since Japan and the United States confirmed the notification rule in writing in 2001.
The United States said the situation was the result of a communication error within the U.S. Navy and that it was regrettable.
The U.S. submarine Houston had radioactive leaks during its visits to the ports of Yokosuka, Sasebo and Okinawa between July 2006 and April this year.
The United States later said that the levels of radioactivity leaked from the sub had posed no significant health or environmental threat, but concerns among Japanese about port calls by U.S. nuclear-powered vessels remain strong.
Kyodo via The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Nov 14, 2008 7:25:03 EST
YOKOSUKA, Japan — A council formed by four one-time navy ports in Japan decided Friday to ask the U.S. military via the Foreign Ministry to make sure it notifies the Japanese side before any U.S. nuclear-powered vessels make port calls in the country.
The move came after an unannounced port call by a U.S. nuclear-powered submarine in Okinawa Prefecture on Monday drew protests from both the national and local governments.
Under a bilateral agreement, the United States is supposed to notify local governments via the ministry of any port calls by such vessels at least 24 hours in advance.
The council, headed by Ryoichi Kabaya, the mayor of Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, said it will request that U.S. forces not repeat such an occurrence so that local residents can be assured of safety and feel at ease.
”The importance of this prior notification system has grown, partially because of the revelation of radioactive leakage from a U.S. nuclear submarine,” Sasebo Mayor Norio Tomonaga said in a news conference in Yokosuka. ”I want (the U.S. forces) to adhere to the rules.”
The council consists of the port cities of Yokosuka, Maizuru in Kyoto Prefecture, Kure in Hiroshima Prefecture and Sasebo in Nagasaki Prefecture, which were home to Imperial Japanese Navy vessels before and during World War II.
Ever since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on the United States, the local governments have refrained from informing their citizens of planned port calls by U.S. nuclear-powered vessels at the request of the Foreign Ministry.
But the council said it will request that such a restriction be lifted for fear that the withholding of information from citizens might effectively render the notification system irrelevant.
On Monday, the Los Angeles-class attack submarine Providence made an unannounced port call at White Beach in Uruma, Okinawa, in the first such call by a U.S. nuclear sub since Japan and the United States confirmed the notification rule in writing in 2001.
The United States said the situation was the result of a communication error within the U.S. Navy and that it was regrettable.
The U.S. submarine Houston had radioactive leaks during its visits to the ports of Yokosuka, Sasebo and Okinawa between July 2006 and April this year.
The United States later said that the levels of radioactivity leaked from the sub had posed no significant health or environmental threat, but concerns among Japanese about port calls by U.S. nuclear-powered vessels remain strong.
By Philip Ewing - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Aug 12, 2008 19:57:45 EDT
The editor of a Washington defense trade publication appeared Friday on Fox News to downplay reports that a nuclear submarine leaked tiny amounts of radiation across the Pacific Ocean for two years. What the editor didn’t say was that he’s also a Navy Reserve public affairs officer.
Reserve Lt. Cmdr. John Robinson, who is editor of Defense Daily in his civilian job, told Fox News’ Bill Hemmer that the radiation leak of the fast-attack submarine Houston was “not serious” and a “non-story from many angles.” Robinson repeated a point, which had been part of earlier messages from Navy spokespeople, that the Houston had released about as much radiation as would be found in a household smoke detector.
“The Navy has such extremely high standards for safety when there’s any sort of infirmity or anything that’s at least a little bit out of line,” he said. “But clearly no one was ever in any danger.”
During the interview, Robinson wore civilian clothes and was identified only by his name and affiliation with Defense Daily.
In his reserve job, Robinson is the operations officer with the Navy Office of Information Detachment at Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk, Va. He is a drilling reservist.
When reached by phone Monday, Robinson told Navy Times that, in retrospect, he should have been clearer about his background, and that he was giving his own opinion. “Those were my views and my views alone,” he said.
Defense Daily often gets calls from the news media seeking reporters to give their views on military matters, Robinson said. He acknowledged people could perceive a conflict of interest between his day job and Navy Reserve life, but that could be “managed” by better explaining his reserve duties.
He added later that his reason for coming on the show when asked was to talk about how science is portrayed in the media, not to present the Navy’s side of the story.
“I was interested in commenting on the issue because I have a very strong interest in the larger issue of how basic science is misunderstood by the media,” he said, adding that he has taken advanced courses on radiation at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. He also wrote extensively on the problems the Pentagon faced when implementing its anthrax vaccine.
“I feel very strongly about it. I thought I made it clear in the piece that that was my basic point,” he said. “Not so much the specific incident but the larger misunderstanding of the public when a radioactive event occurs.”
He said he did not tell Fox News officials that he is in the reserve when he was asked to come on the show.
Fox News spokesman Richard White said the producers of the segment didn’t know that Robinson was also a Navy Reserve PAO when they booked him. White said that if Robinson appears again on the network, he’ll be identified as not only a journalist but also a reserve PAO.
Mike Hoyt, executive editor of the Columbia Journalism Review, said Robinson should have volunteered his reserve status, and Fox News producers should have asked him about any conflicts ahead of time.
“He’s paid by the Navy to put out a line, put out certain storylines, and to not disclose it, and to treat him as if he’s a neutral reporter, is just wrong,” Hoyt said. “It’s basic journalism to ask these kinds of questions about your sources, and either not use them, or identify them correctly.”
CNN first reported the Houston leak on Aug. 1, touching off a fresh round of controversy regarding the Navy’s presence in Japan, particularly with respect to nuclear warships. Anti-military activists in Japan and Guam staged protests demanding more information from the Navy.
Click here to watch the Fox News interview
Kyodo
Posted : Tuesday Nov 20, 2007 22:16:14 EST
YOKOSUKA, Japan — Unionized workers at U.S. military bases in Japan went on strike nationwide Wednesday morning for the first time in 16 years to protest benefits cuts proposed by the Japanese government, which covers personnel expenses and other operational costs for the bases.
The 16,000-member All Japan Garrison Forces Labor Union, also known as Zenchuro, said the action covers a limited number of hours and that workers from nine chapters started to go on strike for four hours of each shift. The whole campaign, which started early in the morning, will last until midnight Wednesday, it said.
The striking workers included those at the U.S. Yokota Air Base, where the headquarters of the U.S. Forces is located, and bases in Okinawa Prefecture, which hosts the bulk of U.S. military facilities in Japan.
They are mainly working in restaurants on the bases and are involved in cleaning and housing maintenance jobs, according to the union.
In Yokosuka, a port city south of Tokyo that is home to the U.S. Navy headquarters in Japan, some 200 union members picketed in front of the naval base’s main gate holding placards with messages such as, “We’re on strike.”
“We know the government and some in the public say the amount of special allowances for U.S. base workers is too much. But we hope such people understand the workers are always faced with an unstable employment situation,” said Yokosuka city assembly member Norio Sakuma, 52, a member of the union’s local branch.
Sakuma was referring to an allowance equivalent to 10 percent of the basic pay of national government employees, as well as a retirement allowance and benefits paid for language study.
On the possible impact of the strike on U.S. military functions, Japanese Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba merely said he hopes it will be minimal, while the public relations office of the U.S. military in Japan refrained from commenting.
The move came after the Japanese government proposed pay cuts as part of efforts to curtail host-nation support for the bases, including costs to hire Japanese workers, amid snowballing national debt. The United States is opposed to the cuts.
On Monday, the Finance Ministry’s Fiscal System Council proposed the government cut costs associated with hosting U.S. bases including wages for Japanese workers in the national budget for the next fiscal year from April.
By Amritha Alladi - Pacific Daily News (Guam) 
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