I reacted quickly when I read in Shipmate that Jim DeFrancia would be involved with the Guam Military Buildup as a member of SECNAV's Advisory Panel. I swamped Jim's email system with many lengthy documents on the buildup. Sorry, Jim!
I have been involved in the buildup for the past two years from the local Guam government perspective as the Chief of Staff for the Chair of the Guam Legislature's Committee on the Military Buildup and Homeland Security. The buildup is a $12-15 billion dollar project, with more than half covered by the Japanese, to relocate to Guam from Okinawa 8,600 Marines with 9,000 dependents and 2,000 transient Marines on any one day. All of that money is programmed to build infrastructure inside the bases. Guam's population will jump from 173,000 now by 79,000 additional people in the peak year of the buildup, 2014. Vehicles will jump from 105,000 now on the roads to 130,000. GAO has estimated that Guam needs $2.9 billion dollars for infrastructure outside the bases directly needed for the buildup. This is the main problem for the people of Guam since Guam has reached its public debt ceiling and the local government's $500 million annual budget is barely able to satisfy the current needs. Thus far, only minimal money (less than $30 million) has been obtained from federal grants and loans for the civilian buildup needs. For example, the only port needs an upgrade costing $195 million to have the throughput capacity for the buildup and a federal grant request for $50 million for starting up that project just got rejected by the federal government. So, as of now, this vital national security program is stalled: No federal money for civilian needs to support the buildup results in no buildup at all. The military needs the civilian power, waste water, roads, port, etc., upgrades in order to exist on their bases. It is as simple as that. The Committee's motto is, "If it is not win-win, we both lose."
On a personal note, my daughter, Debbie, from Northern Virginia, joined the Iwo Jima Veterans historical tour and I went to Mount Suribachi with her in early March.
