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Military buildup conference sparks discussions

by Heather Hauswirth

Bridging the communication barrier between the government, residents and the military was the focus of the second day of the Military Buildup and Beyond Conference at the Legislature.  With all eyes on the massive Draft Environmental Impact Statement document now available online, and in printed forms around the island tomorrow, today's conference provided a forum for all the major players in attendance to break things down.

Guam's perspective of America's largest buildup in history was rounded out by the keynote speaker from the Philippines.  Labor Undersecretary Romeo Lagman explained why Filipino labor will play a vital role in the buildup, saying, "Many Filipino workers have worked side by side with Guam workers in building this paradise island. We just want to maintain that relation and we stand ready to commit whatever labor force they need to augment the buildup."

To compliment the influx in labor required for build up related projects, University of Guam Associate Professor Dr. Claret Ruane, who specializes in economic development, explained that diversification is essential. Ruane stressed that the island faces a number of challenges by relying on tourism and the military as its dominant industries.

"A very undiversified island is always subject to the whims, the booms and the busts of again the same three sectors we rely on. There's so much promise for the island, so much human talent, so much natural resources, there is so much we could do," she said.

As the tip of the spear in Asia from a security perspective, Commander Ray David from the Australian Consulate in Honolulu says he has a variety of interests at stake and that attending the conference gave him a better sense of what the wild cards are.  He told KUAM News, "My challenge is to see how the defense conducts this. It's not often you see a major defense force build a brand new base - that is the sort of thing that I am looking at and also the opportunities from an Australian defense force perspective cooperatively and even there's going to be business opportunities for Australian businesses."

Officials from the Department of Defense, members of the Legislature and members of the business community have all been involved in the process, but the senior officer in charge of the Marine Forces Pacific, Colonel Robert Loynd, says this conference helped bridge the gap between the DoD and the island residents.

"What this provided for us was an opportunity to hear local citizens express some of their issues concerns, hopes and gives us an opportunity to move forward," he said.

And as the Guam military build up perspective comes to a close, island residents now have a chance to give their perspective on the Draft EIS document.