by Ken Quintanilla

Guam - The Guam Chamber of Commerce's Armed Forces Committee is back on Guam after a trip to the nation's capitol and Hawaii. According to the AFC's past chairperson Carl Peterson the six-member delegation met with several prominent members of the U.S. Marine Corps, the Army, and the Navy. They also met with members of Congress including Senate Armed Service Committee member Senator Jim Webb and the chiefs of staff for Senators Carl Levin and John McCain.

The three contend the plans for the buildup in Guam and the Defense Department's plans for Korea are unworkable, unaffordable and undoable. The Chamber delegation presented a white paper listing significant issues that affect Asia, the importance and attributes of Guam and what opportunities lay ahead after the buildup. "We got no pushback whatsoever from all the politicians," said Peterson. "I mean, like, Webb and those guys were saying 'you're preaching to the choir, I've been saying the same thing for 26 years, we need to have a buildup on Guam as a strategic realignment of forces' and everybody supported that."

Peterson adds other topics discussed were infrastructure needs and how to create a stronger economy on Guam.