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Sinahi Archipelago // Mariana Islands

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Lawmakers Oppose Pågan Militarization

CNMI, Guam Governors Meet With US Pacific Command in Hawaii

  

By Haidee V. Eugenio
Reporter 

House Speaker Joseph Deleon Guerrero (Ind-Saipan) and other House members are pre-filing today a joint resolution asking Gov. Eloy S. Inos—who is set to meet with the U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii—to “oppose any and all proposed military use of Pagan and oppose any increased military activities in the Northern Islands.” It is set to become the CNMI Legislature’s unified voice against the militarization of Pagan.

Inos left for Hawaii yesterday, a day later than originally scheduled.

Pagan Island (image above) is made up of two volcanoes connected by a narrow isthmus of land.

The U.S. Pacific Command invited Inos and Guam Gov. Eddie Calvo to Hawaii for a briefing about military plans in the region. Accompanying Inos are press secretary Angel Demapan and counsel Wesley Bogdan.

Lawmakers described the proposed Pagan use as “basically a military war game plan that demands continuous use and occupation of the entire island of Pagan for warfare functional areas.”

They said these are not limited to amphibious warfare, anti-submarine warfare, mini warfare, strike warfare, air warfare, surface warfare, electronic warfare, and naval special warfare, among others.

“The CNMI has legitimate concerns that certain proposed military operations on Pagan will adversely affect the socio-economic and other cultural concerns, including but not limited to geo-tourism, geothermal power generation, and planned resettlement,” the nine-page draft joint resolution partly reads.

Marianas Honeyeater on Pagan Island [savepaganisland.org]

The pre-filing also comes days after the lawmakers’ meeting with the Marianas Forces Pacific led by executive director Craig Whelden about changes made to the proposed alternatives related to the use of Tinian and Pagan for live-fire training.

A few days later, lawmakers also met with visiting Federal Aviation Administration officials.

The House of Representatives has tentatively set a Friday session, wherein the joint resolution is expected to be adopted and sent to the CNMI Senate.

This also comes days after the governor said he will not support artillery ranges on Pagan and Tinian for safety reasons, adding that Pagan alone is an “uphill battle.” It was the governor’s strongest statement to date on the military plans for both islands.

Rep. George Camacho (R-Saipan), one of the co-sponsors, said yesterday “there needs to be proper planning and a balance between development and preservation of our valuable resources.”

“Pagan and all the Northern Islands are the few resources that we have for our people. It is in the best interest that we protect those islands for our children and people,” he told Saipan Tribune.

Once adopted by the CNMI Legislature, copies of the joint resolution will be transmitted to the offices of President Barack Obama, the CNMI governor, members of the U.S. Congress including Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP), and the mayors of Rota, Tinian and Aguigan, Saipan, and the islands north of Saipan.

Rep. Ray Tebuteb (Ind-Saipan), also a co-sponsor and chairman of the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation, said yesterday he’s been opposed to the militarization of Pagan since the onset.

“I opposed it back then and I still oppose it today for safety and environmental concerns, among other things,” Tebuteb said.

National Defense

The speaker and co-sponsors said in the draft resolution that the CNMI already contributes to the national defense by being a valuable strategic military defense asset in the Pacific region and by leasing its scarce real property, including but not limited to, over two-thirds of Tinian, valued real property in Tanapag, and Farallon de Medinilla for military training, maneuvers and live-fire bombings.

Aircraft dropping Mark 82 227 kg high-drag bombs over Farallon de Medinilla Island, Marianas Islands, during exercise.
[savepaganisland.org]

Given the significant land, ocean, and airspace that the military has already taken into custody and control for national defense, the 18th CNMI Legislature “opposes the military’s proposed Pagan plan for combined-unit live fire trainings and maneuvers.”

Lawmakers said the wholesale militarization proposed for Pagan will permanently enjoin any meaningful opportunity for resettlement and sustainable community-building redevelopment.

They said Pagan’s planned militarization is incompatible with the Pagan Island Eco-Tourism Master Plan in the Marianas Visitors Authority’s five-year master plan, and the Northern Marianas College’s agricultural master plan.

The House Natural Resources Committee, meanwhile, is recommending passage of a bill that would help pave the way for Pagan homesteading.

Geothermal, Pozzolan

Eifuku Champagne Vent emitting bubbles of liquid carbon dioxide.
U.S. Geological Survey / public domain.

Lawmakers said Pagan’s proposed military use would adversely affect the 50- to 120-megawatt geothermal reservoir that exists on Pagan “which could support the near-term development and resettlement” of the island.

They said geothermal energy from Pagan could be transported to Saipan via submarine cable. They said as a hydrogen economy develops, the CNMI could also become an energy exporter that would no longer be dependent on expensive imported fossil fuels.

House members added that the proposed military use of Pagan would threaten any efforts to use the pozzolan deposits on Pagan, estimated at 200 million metric tons.

‘Untold Destruction’

Lawmakers said Pagan’s militarization will result in untold destruction, contamination, pollution, and harm to the health and wellbeing of the people in the Marianas archipelago.

They said these include mass destruction of cultural resources, critical habitats, and life webs in the Marianas chain “which can never be undone.”

They also spoke of local, regional, national, and international advocates that have publicly rallied against the “impending occupation, destruction and contamination of Pagan by military live firings and training activities.” These include Save Pagan Island, Sierra Club, Roots Action and Care2 Make a Difference.

24 Cents per SQM of FDM

Farallon de Medinilla [US Navy]

A 1971 Use and Occupancy Agreement was executed by the U.S. and Trust Territory governments for annual rent of $20,600.

This has provided the U.S. military, up until the present time, unimpeded access, occupancy and unrestricted use of 83,000 square meters of FDM for live firing and bombing.

Lawmakers said this amounts to about “24 cents per square meter.”

They said over 40 years later, scarce CNMI land is once again being eyed for manned and unmanned military live firing, bombing and related military training and maneuvers by land, sea and air that extends far beyond FDM.

3 Times the Size of California

The speaker and co-sponsors also said the proposed Pagan military roadmap covers not just the entire island of Pagan but also its coastlines and surrounding waters and exclusive airspace, including airspace restrictions extending to Anatahan, Sarigan and as far up north as Pajaros.

The lawmakers said the proposed Department of Defense Mariana Island Range Complex is equivalent to three times the size of the state of California and retains 70,000 nautical miles of airspace for training, equivalent to the size of the state of Washington.

Mariana Islands Training & Testing Study Area

They said when the Record of Decision on the public scoping held in 2013 for the Mariana Islands Training and Testing environmental impact statement is finalized and implemented, the MITT will “nearly double” the ocean space that has been already taken and controlled by the military—from 501,873 nautical miles to 984,469 square nautical miles.

This makes the occupation and use by the military training range in the Mariana archipelago equal to the combined sizes of the states of Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, Montana and New Mexico, they said.

FDM

The lawmakers said under the MIRC/MITT strategic proposal, the Department of Defense would engage in higher frequency military trainings involving a greater tonnage of live fire bombardment over FDM, a greater tonnage of underwater mines detonated, and the use of sonar weaponry. Collectively, these may result in the permanent hearing loss of up to 59 whales and dolphins per year, they said.

Farallon de Medinilla [http://yanai.exblog.jp/i2/]

They said it will also accelerate erosion and the sedimentation of FDM’s surrounding reef causing physical damage to marine life added by underwater demolition. It will significantly increase contamination of surrounding waters from both exploded bomb residue and unexplored ordinance, lawmakers said.

“The CNMI Legislature, for the sake of not just the Northern Islands but also the longterm welfare of the entire CNMI, hereby respectfully requests that the Honorable Governor Eloy S. Inos take all necessary measures to oppose the proposed military exercises on Pagan and also oppose the increased military exercises within the Northern Islands,” lawmakers said.

Taking Too Much from CNMI

Besides the military, environmental activities have also taken away the CNMI’s control of the Northern Islands, they said. They cited the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument, which gave the federal government control over an estimated 100,000 square miles of the entire Northern Marianas, or about a third of the CNMI.

“Taking into account the federally owned and controlled submerged lands, the military-used and federally leased lands, and all environmental lands that are set aside as preserves, the Commonwealth actually controls only a fraction of the area of the CNMI,” the lawmakers said.

Besides the Pagan militarization, lawmakers said the CNMI Legislature is also concerned with the current CNMI Joint Military Training plan, which proposes to place an artillery range on Tinian “that is vehemently opposed by the people of Tinian.”

“Governor Eloy Inos must ensure that our islands, especially, Pagan, are here for future generations by opposing the militarization of Pagan and the increased militarization of the Northern Islands so as to preserve them for social and economic benefit of the people of the CNMI,” the lawmakers said.

Some of Pagan Island’s biological diversity. [savepaganisland.org]

fantasy, exotification of 'other', 'virgin' lands

pagan: heathen; one who has little religion & who delights in sensual pleasures & material goods.

       -Meriam-Webster Dictionary

Gåni: Pågan Island

Chamorros Yearn for Freedom    

By BEN BLAZ B/GENERAL, USMC (RET)MEMBER, U.S. CONGRESS (1985-93)

I can't think of anything that has happened to me lately that has touched me as much as being asked to recall and record in writing, as part of our commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Guam, some of the significant events that have transpired over the recent years that stand out in my memory.

To this day, whenever we speak of the period before the "war" and after the "war" we invariably mean World War II. We do this almost subconsciously despite that sons and daughters of Guam have been involved in other wars since World War II: in Korea, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf. The invasion, occupation and eventual liberation of Guam made such an indelible impact on our people that it is likely to serve as the benchmark, the road junction, and the springboard for what we do for many, many years to come.

In a rare photo of Manengon in 1944, people are shown milling about the camp. The hardships of war and the occupation only served to intensify the people's desire for a better future and for control of their own destiny.

While this difficult period deprived those of my generation most of our tender teen years, it taught us more about life, family and ourselves than I, for one, had ever learned before or since in all the schools I have attended. The Chamorro spirit was not an abstraction; rather, it was demonstrably real during those years and I have drawn inspiration and sustenance from that reality my entire life.

Our World War II experience was harsh by any standard. Severe deprivation, indignities, and punishment were common place. There was always that pervasive sense of personal insecurity. Most members of my generation as well as the older generation prefer not to dwell on the scars of those difficult years.

But those of us who survived the trial of the war years bear witness to a side of the occupation that I will call the "inner Guam," one that the enemy was never privileged to enter. It was the purest product of that cauldron of war, the brightest star in the dark sky of those traumatic times.

They would recall, as I do, the manifestation and magnificence of the Chamorro spirit. Though only a legend to some, it is a living, breathing reality to us; a source of strength that saw us through the worst of times and guides us in the challenging times ahead.

My generation was caught between childhood and adulthood. The unexpected and violent interruption of our lives and the common adversity that we shared gave our parents and elders an unusual opportunity to inculcate in us much more vital learning than we could have received in calmer times.

Challenged by the threatening experience of war and pressed to our limits, we learned things about human nature and ourselves that we might never have been able to grasp in peaceful, less demanding, times.

We learned: to be tolerant when conditions were intolerable; to be generous when there was so little to give; to be patient when our deepest desire was to end our bondage; to be ourselves, preserving our language and culture while the enemy was trying to impose his on us.

Life seemed more endangered, more tentative, and therefore, more precious then. We learned through toil the sweetness of the saltiness of the sweat that trickled down our faces at the peak of a hard day's work.

We clearly saw and keenly appreciated the basic choices of life, between freedom and bondage; justice and oppression; hope and despair; surviving and perishing. Through the heat and dust and smoke, we saw ourselves and what we stood for.

There were many painful experiences in that dark period in our history. But there were also many pleasant memories:

• The long hours on a log with our parents sharing their thoughts and experiences with us much like the generations before them had done; but with greater urgency as the winds of war swirled around the island;

• The groups of neighboring farmers who pooled their strength to push back the jungle so we could plant; The women caring for the sick, working the gardens preparing food over open fires;

• The men echoing each other's folksong at twilight as they cut tuba;

• The labor camps where we realized how we had to protect each other, how we had to care for one another as an island family;

• The devout men and women who emerged as our natural leaders and who would always lead us in prayer during our most trying and fearful moments as we labored to finish our forced labor projects under incredible duress;

•  There was the young Japanese officer who taught me elementary Japanese in exchange for my father teaching him English and who, after getting to know us, innocently asked my father why we were at war;

• There was this same officer who came to say good-bye and as he left to defend against the invasion, I felt an indescribably mixed emotion of seeing a new friend leaving to fight those coming to liberate us;

• There were the U.S. Marines, the soldiers, the sailors and the Coast Guardsmen who, after hopping from island to island, liberated one of their own and seemed as glad as we were that they had come back to Guam;

•  And there were the joyous faces of my fellow Chamorros, 23,000 strong, who had endured 31 months of harsh enemy occupation, including internment in concentration camps, in a war they had no part in starting.

As excruciating and as harrowing as the occupation was, our people did not surrender without a fight and did not stop fighting after the surrender. In the face of an overwhelmingly larger enemy force, a handful of U.S. sailors and Marines stood their ground. Standing beside them, with equal valor and courage but even with greater pride and determination, were the members of the Navy Insular Force Guard.

For these men, Chamorros all, the defense of Guam meant the defense of home, family and honor. Although they wore the same U.S. Navy uniforms, their pay was exactly one-half that of the stateside comrades. Although they fought under the same U.S. flag, they were considered only half-brothers in the patronizing, colonial society on Guam at that time.

Yet, when it came time to shed blood against foreign invaders, the Chamorros of the Navy Insular Force demonstrated their loyalty to the United States in the same way they demonstrated their love for the U.S. principles of freedom and democracy: not halfheartedly, but totally and wholeheartedly.

It is that commitment to home, family and honor that has sustained us over the years as a people. In the years since Magellan landed on Guam, our people have been colonized, proselytized, Catholicized, and subsidized. Guam has fallen under Spanish, American, Japanese and again American rule.

But never have we been asked what we as a people wanted. Progress, whatever there was of it, moved at a pace of the administering authority. It was his choice to uncover or cover at his will what he wished to know about us, and it was our lot to remain mute to the process. The attitude developed that the foreigners' right to dominate the land was established by their finding it, and the people - like the flora and fauna - had no alternative but to acquiesce in silence.

A child peers out of a makeshift shelter in another rare photo of the Manengon camp where Japanese soldiers forced the Chamorro people to stay prior to attacks by American forces.

The Spaniards made Guam their own, but never did they ask the Chamorro people, the Old People, what relationship should be forged with them. Nor, centuries later, when the United States took control of the island did it ask the descendants of those Chamorros and those Spaniards what association should be formed.

We must wonder why the colonizing forces never asked this most fundamental question. Perhaps they felt that the new order they were bringing was so progressive that the people could not help but be overjoyed to embrace it. Or perhaps the ugly hand of racism was at work, and they believed the people could not tell the difference between freedom and subjugation.

Whatever the case, with the close of the war and with increased education opportunities becoming available to the people of Guam, those of my generation realized the disparities we had accepted without question for so long did not have to be the case. It was as if we had been born blind and then miraculously had been given sight.

It came as a shock to realize that darkness was not inevitable nor the natural state of the world. And so it was we who realized that we were not a second class people. Invisible barriers were just that — invisible and without reason. New horizons revealing incredible vistas began to open before us. We had been told for generations, for example, that should we join the Navy, we were worthy to serve as servants, as stewarts. My generation began to ask: And why not officers? There was no reply.

And so slowly at first, and then with accelerating force, we set out on a quest to achieve our self-determination as a people — economically, culturally, and politically.

Genuine self-determination, if the word is to have any meaning, is a self-help program. If you truly want it, if it truly means anything to you, you must reach out for it and grasp it as your own. That we have done.

During the 25th anniversary celebration in 1969, one of the most distinguished officers in the Marine Corps, Gen. Lemuel C. Shepherd, was our guest of honor. Having commanded one of the major units that liberated Guam, Gen. Shepherd had a very special place in his heart for the people of Guam and, in particular for those under his command who were killed in action during the fighting. I remember still his closing remarks before a full house at the Guam Legislature: "When I get to heaven," he said, "my men who died here during the war will be at the gate waiting for me with this question: 'Lem, was dying for Guam worth it?' My answer to them will be that having just visited Guam recently, the answer is, you damn right it was."

In closing my recollections of this very auspicious occasion, I cannot resist the urge to share an exchange I had with my own father as I was about to leave Guam after spending a week's leave following my graduation from Notre Dame and my being commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marines.

 A group of Guam men show their joy at hearing the news of Japan's surrender. Guam emerged from World War II optimistic about its future. However, despite 50 years of progress, Guam has yet to realize true self-determination.

Departing with me that day was a group of young Guamanians who had just been recruited in the Army and on their way to basic training. As with me, most of them would eventually find themselves serving in Korea. Unlike me, however, some of them would die there and others would return home with lives and limbs shattered forever.

It made for a large group, the recruits and their mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, and me and my family. We made our way to the tarmac for our final good-byes, and as I gathered my things for boarding, my father grabbed my arm.

In his eyes was the old fierceness, and despite his failing health, he was the robust and feisty man who had been a boxer and a fighter for equality. To my utter amazement, he said to me, "Since you are now an officer of the United States, Lieutenant, answer me this. Why is it that we are treated as equals only in war but not in peace?"

Still holding my arm, he pulled me to him and said, "You don't have to answer now. Just remember that the quest must endure." My chest was tight as I said, "Yes, Sir."

"... we must remember that the work begun by the Liberators in 1944 is not yet complete. The people of Guam picked up the torch of freedom passed to them on July 21, 1944. All who call Guam home have worked so hard and so determinedly that the entire world can see the island and its people have come so far from that terrible time of long ago. But true self-determination and equality still evade our people. Thus, the quest endures."

As I finished kissing him good-bye, he whispered, "By the way, you never did return the salute I gave you when you first arrived." I stepped back from him, and standing ramrod straight, I brought my hand to my forehead in a crisp salute but my arm was trembling from the unexpected and affectionate admonition from my Navyman father.

To this day, my father's question continues to haunt all of us, but at least we now have that question formalized and on the Congressional table - the Commonwealth of Guam.

On this, the 50th anniversary of our liberation, we will be shedding a few tears — of gratitude to our liberators; of remembrance of our brothers and sisters who suffered with us but are unable to join us; and of thanksgiving as we thank Almighty God for all the blessings that have come our way during these golden years.

But after those tears have stopped and have become a precious memory for us all, we must remember that the work begun by the Liberators in 1944 is not yet complete. The people of Guam picked up the torch of freedom passed to them on July 21, 1944. All who call Guam home have worked so hard and so determinedly that the entire world can see the island and its people have come so far from that terrible time of long ago.

But true self-determination and equality still evade our people. Thus, the quest endures.

Manuel Perez, USN, receives a warm homecoming from his family as he returns to Guam for the first time in five years, but as part of the re-occupying U.S. forces. Welcoming Perez, left to right, are his sister, 24-year-old Mariquita; his 71-year-old gramdmother; his 23-year-old sister, Conchita; kneeling is Perez's brother, Jose, Jr., and in his arms is the sailor's nephew, 2-year-old Jose III.

Agana is left in ruins after the invasion. Though the city never regained its pre-war status as the island's main residential center, the people of Guam were able to rebuild their lives. They did so by first joining in the war effort as part of the military economy supplying and supporting U.S. forces fighting their way to Japan, then rebuilding and reshaping Guam in the postwar era (top). Soon after the American Re-occupation, two boys hold handmade flags. The scene is reminiscent of when U.S. forces first came upon groups of Chamorros and were greeted by people waving aloft the Stars and Stripes - the flags in various shapes and sizes but nevertheless still the Stars and Stripes (bottom, left). 16-year-old Juan Cabrera and 15-year-old Beatrice Perez (Emsley) are treated for their wounds. In the days just before the July 21 invasion, the two youths were among people found in Agana and arrested by Japanese soldiers. After being held in a cave for two days and given no food and water, the 11 people were told to kneel before a bomb crater. An order was given and they were struck down by soldiers' swords and bayonets and left to die. Juan, who suffered five deep bayonet wounds, and Beatrice, all of her neck muscles severed, were the only ones to survive the execution. Beatrice, now 65, has several times testified before federal officials and Congress regarding war reparations to the Chamorro people. Her plea for justice and those of others has been, unfortunately, ignored (bottom, right). http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/npswapa/extContent/Lib/liberation32.htm

Vicente T. ‘Ben’ Blaz, Marine General and Guam Delegate, Dies at 85

By Matt Schudel, Published: January 24

 Ken Feil/The Washington Post -  

Vicente T. “Ben” Blaz, who was the first person from Guam to become a general in the U.S. armed forces and who later represented Guam as a non-voting member of Congress, died Jan. 8 at age 85.









Vicente T. “Ben” Blaz, who survived a Japanese prison camp during World War II and later became a Marine Corps brigadier general and Guam’s representative in Congress, died Jan. 8 at Inova Fair Oaks Hospital in Fairfax County. He was 85.

The cause was acute respiratory failure, his son Tom Blaz said.

Gen. Blaz was 13 when he was captured by Japanese forces who overran the U.S. territory of Guam on Dec. 8, 1941, one day after the Japanese attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He was one of many native Chamorros, as natives of Guam are often called, held in a detention camp and pressed into forced labor, building airfields for the Japanese.

He was later held in a Japanese prison camp, where he saw fellow inmates beheaded.
“As a boy, I stood behind barbed wire,” he told The Washington Post in 1977. “There was a pervasive sense of personal insecurity. That probably is more damaging to your feeling of well-being than hunger.”

In 1944, he was freed when U.S. Marines reclaimed Guam from the Japanese. He asked a young Marine how he could go to the United States.

“The first thing you have to do is learn to speak English,” he recalled the Marine saying. Gen. Blaz spoke primarily the local Chamorro language at the time. “He taught me a few words and told me, of all things, to listen to the radio, and talk as they do.”

After graduating in 1951 from the University of Notre Dame, in Indiana, Gen. Blaz joined the Marine Corps. He served during the Korean War and was an artillery officer in the Vietnam War, where he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal.

He held several jobs with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and once served under Lemuel C. Shepherd Jr., a Marine general who led the U.S. forces that recaptured Guam in 1944.
When he was promoted to brigadier general in 1977, Gen. Blaz became the first person from Guam and the first non-white Marine to reach the rank of general. At the time, he was director of information for the Marine Corps, in charge of rebuilding the image of the Marines after the Vietnam War.

After retiring from the military in 1980, Gen. Blaz returned to Guam to farm and to teach. He made an unsuccessful bid as a Republican for Guam’s non-voting congressional seat in 1982. Two years later he won a closely contested election, defeating Antonio B. Won Pat, who had served as Guam’s delegate since 1973, when the territory first received representation in Congress.

Gen. Blaz, who was a member of the Armed Forces and Foreign Affairs committees, was the only retired general serving in Congress at the time. He had few legislative victories in his limited role in Congress, but he was instrumental in reorganizing the judicial system on Guam and was a strong advocate for improved educational benefits for veterans.

Gen. Blaz served four terms before losing a reelection bid in 1992 to Robert A. Underwood.

Vicente Tomas Blaz Garrido was born Feb. 14, 1928, in what is now Hagatna, the capital of Guam, and grew up in a farming community. Guam, which is about 30 miles long, has a population of about 140,000 and is the southernmost island in the Marianas chain. It became a U.S. territory after the Spanish-American War in 1898.

In 1947, Gen. Blaz received a scholarship to attend Notre Dame. After a 22-day boat trip, he arrived in San Francisco and told a cabdriver to take him to Notre Dame. He was dropped off at a Catholic girls’ school with a similar name, where he presented his papers to the nuns. They put him on a train to Indiana.

While serving in the Marine Corps, he received a master’s degree in public administration from George Washington University in 1963. He had a home in Fairfax County since 1969 and was a member of St. Mary of Sorrows Catholic Church in Fairfax.

His wife of 58 years, Ann Evers Blaz, died in May 2013. Survivors include two sons, Tom Blaz of Fairfax and Mike Blaz of Fairfax Station; two brothers; a sister; and five grandchildren.

After Congress, Gen. Blaz wrote a memoir and books about Guam and also made a series of historical and cultural television documentaries about his native island.

In Congress and later in life, Gen. Blaz became known for a rueful description of the people of Guam, U.S. citizens who serve in disproportionate numbers in the military but do not have full representation in Congress: “Equal in war, unequal in peace.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/vicente-t-ben-blaz-marine-general-and-guam-delegate-dies-at-85/2014/01/23/a41a445c-8397-11e3-9dd4-e7278db80d86_story.html#

Inos, Calvo Meet with US Pacific Command in Hawai'i

‘No to Artillery Ranges’

http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?newsID=153142&cat=1

   

Friday, January 24, 2014

By Haidee V. Eugenio, Reporter

In his strongest statement to date on the U.S. military’s proposed live-fire training ranges on Pagan and Tinian, Gov. Eloy S. Inos said yesterday he will not support artillery ranges on both islands for safety reasons and pointed out that Pagan alone is an “uphill battle.”

Tinian Mayor Ramon Dela Cruz and House Speaker Joseph Deleon Guerrero (Ind-Saipan) separately welcomed the governor’s public statement, hoping it will galvanize the CNMI’s position on simultaneous military plans on the islands.

“It’s going to be a totally different Tinian,” Inos said, if artillery ranges are allowed on the island, two-thirds of which is already under lease to the U.S. Department of Defense.

The governor is expected to bring the CNMI’s message to Hawaii where he and Guam Gov. Eddie B. Calvo will meet with the U.S. Pacific Command. He said he is set to leave this Sunday.

Inos’ statement comes on the heels of his meeting this week with visiting Federal Aviation Administration officials and his administration’s meeting with Marianas Forces Pacific officials last week.

The governor said it was never envisioned that Tinian will host artillery, what he described as “big guns.” He said live-fire training ranges using “small arms” was initially planned and that’s something that’s acceptable.

Inos was referring to a 2010 Record of Decision for the Guam and CNMI military buildup’s final environmental impact statement, wherein four live-fire training ranges will be built on Tinian: a platoon battle course, an automated combat pistol/military police firearms qualification course, rifle known distance range, and a field firing range.

Tåga Latte site, Tinian.

“Tinian is currently under discussion and it’s really the intensity, how large the artillery or ammos that will be involved in there. It was never envisioned to have anything bigger than 50-mm or whatever that is. But since the shift in the Guam firing range up to Tinian, there’s been talk about moving the scale up on Tinian. That’s going to be a major concern because it’s not going to be the same Tinian once you start bringing in those big guns,” the governor said.

He emphasized that having military training on Tinian “300 days a year, 24/7” will have its negative impacts.

“It’s going to be a totally different Tinian,” Inos said in an interview at the signing of three local laws and one public law yesterday afternoon on Capital Hill.

‘On Same Page’

The Tinian mayor, in a phone interview last night, said the governor’s statement is “welcome news” that he said will strengthen the resolve to oppose artillery ranges on both Tinian and Pagan.

“I’m very glad we’re all now on the same page. I appreciate very much the governor’s stand,” Dela Cruz said.

While the Tinian mayor initially supported more military activities on Tinian, he had a dramatic change of heart when he visited artillery ranges in Hawaii that were the similar to the ones being proposed for Tinian.

“Like I said before, there is no way the people of Tinian will accept an artillery range or mortar range on the island. That is just too much. And like I said I can’t speak for the people of Pagan but I’m sure they won’t want the same thing on their island,” Dela Cruz said.

The House speaker, who has been drafting a resolution requesting the governor to take a strong stand against the militarization of Pagan, among other things, also welcomed Inos’ statement yesterday.

‘No Way’

During a public scoping last year, MARFOPAC said the largest artillery that could be used on Tinian is 155 millimeters, and several kinds of mortars.

  Saipan & Tinian. [NASA/US Geological Survey]

“Of course, I’m not going to support any kind of activity like that,” Inos said. “Some live-fire training and so forth, maybe, that’s part of what was envisioned initially and so that’s something that we would support. But to have something bigger, we need to do more study to ensure there is no disruption in civil aeronautics, and so forth. What about the private, commercial aircraft and so forth? Those are the things that we need to look into on Tinian.”

Pagan, he said, is an “uphill battle” at this point.

“It’s a very contentious issue,” Inos added.

The governor said because the military “couldn’t do certain things in Guam” such as the need to use “bigger guns,” they are going to Tinian.

“And then for the things they can’t do on Tinian, they are going to have to do it on Pagan. We’re saying ‘no.’ You do on Tinian what was originally agreed and envisioned and that is some live-fire training exercises,” he said.

The governor added that what is being envisioned for Pagan is “more intense” than the bombings on Farallon de Mendinilla.

“What I understand is that if something were to happen in Pagan, it’s big deal,” he added.

The U.S. military plans to develop live-fire ranges and training areas on Tinian and Pagan, as the U.S. looks to rebalance forces in the Pacific. Military studies have identified a large number of joint training deficiencies in the Western Pacific and these two islands are eyed to address these deficiencies.

The proposal includes three unit-level training alternatives for Tinian and two combined-level training alternatives for Pagan.

Changes, Updates

Meanwhile, Inos and Calvo’s Hawaii trip comes days after a team from the Marine Forces Pacific led by executive director Craig Whelden out of Honolulu briefed the Inos administration and the Legislature about the changes that the U.S. military has made to the proposed alternatives related to the use of Tinian and Pagan for live-fire training.

Lt. Gov. Jude U. Hofschneider said the Inos administration welcomes MARFOPAC’s decision to provide the CNMI with a quarterly update related to the development of an environmental impact statement for the Tinian and Pagan proposals.

MARFOPAC deputy director William S. Febuary and operations officer Tim Roberts, among others, briefed administration and lawmakers last week about the changes made to the proposed alternatives, taking into consideration comments and suggestions from CNMI officials and from scoping meetings as well as further technical work.

Hofschneider added that taking into consideration the CNMI’s concerns is welcome news, referring to issues such as access to different areas on Tinian and Pagan, landfill and economic activities.

In response to lawmakers’ questions last week, Roberts said the goal is to allow civil or commercial aviation in and out of Tinian at the same time the military is conducting live-fire training, among other things.

atomic bomb pit at Tinian.

VIDEO: Gov. Inos Says He Won't Support Artillery Ranges on Pagan or Tinian, for Safety Reasons

Last Updated on Friday, 24 January 2014 17:21  

Written by PNC Saipan Correspondent Mark Rabago 

Friday, 24 January 2014 08:07

 

Saipan -  CNMI Gov. Eloy S. Inos is opposing the Department of Defense’s plan to set up live-fire training ranges on Pagan and Tinian for safety reasons and urged the U.S. military to stick to the original plan to use “small arms” for training on the latter.

The governor told Saipan Tribune that it was never envisioned that Tinian will host artillery, which he described as “big guns.” He said live-fire training ranges using “small arms” were initially planned on Tinian and that’s something that’s acceptable to the CNMI.

Inos also emphasized that having military training on Tinian “300 days a year, 24/7” will have its negative impacts.

He, however, conceded that keeping DoD from setting up live-fire ranges for artillery on Pagan is an uphill battle.

The governor said what the U.S. military is envisioning for Pagan is “more intense” than the bombings on Farallon de Mendinilla.

Rutgers MFA Student Draws Inspiration from Proud Chamorro Heritage

Your Source for University News

Monday, November 25, 2013

By Tom McLaughlin

 'I write to speak my voice ... I want to disrupt the discourse.' 

– Jacob Camacho

As Jacob Camacho recalls, it all started when he got “Goosebumps” – that is, the popular children’s horror fiction novels – when he was 7 years old. Growing up in his native Guam, Camacho voraciously read every Goosebumps book he could find, requiring his mother to keep buying more, along with new shelves to amass his growing collection.

“My mother would say, ‘Jacob, money doesn’t grow on trees,’” recalls Camacho with a laugh.

Camacho’s older brother, Keith, soon challenged him to write one-page summaries of what he had read – sparking in him something much greater. “That lit a fire in me; I wanted to write stories of my own,” recalls Camacho, who was soon trying his hand at his own brand of horror.


Nearly 20 years later, Camacho is inching closer toward his dream – word by word, line by line – as a student in in the MFA creative writing program at Rutgers-Camden.

Almost 8,000 miles away from his island home, he draws much inspiration from his Chamorro heritage. He still carries his culture’s overriding sense of family, and the importance of being a good neighbor. However, he adds, he also carries the weight of nearly 500 years of foreign rule, oppression and dependence.

“I have all of that in me,” says Camacho, who arrived on campus in August.

As he explains, the Chamorro – Guam’s indigenous people –have been subservient to foreign powers since Ferdinand Magellan’s Spanish expedition landed on the island in 1521. Even today, much of the island’s economy is still largely dependent on the U.S. military. Camacho has a torn view of the military’s presence, believing that it offers the promise of education and benefits, but often at the expense of Guam’s poorest and most desperate citizens.

The struggles – and resilience – of Camacho’s native culture now provide the impetus for many of the characters and storylines that he creates. In his poems, short stories and two novels in the works, Camacho poignantly touches on the underlying themes of racial, gender, class and socioeconomic issues. Nodding to his own experiences, Camacho’s stories are set primarily in Guam, Japan and the Philippines, although he notes that the issues he addresses apply to regions and societies throughout the world.

 
“I write to speak my voice,” says Camacho, who especially enjoys crafting horror and psychological thrillers. “I want to disrupt the discourse.”

Camacho recalls that as he matured as a writer he increasingly turned to his pen and pad as a way to express his thoughts and feelings. In his high-school days, he added poetry to his repertoire, and often retreated to the solace of his poems. He and his friends soon formed a creative writers club and gathered on weekends to play guitar and share their poems.

Camacho decided to pursue a dual career as a writer and teacher, and earned a bachelor’s degree in English literature at the University of Guam. He then worked as an intern reporter for the Pacific Daily News. “It was great to write, but it wasn’t creative writing,” he says. Camacho subsequently worked as a tutor for Sylvan Learning Center, and organized a local creative writers group, which included University of Guam faculty, as well as reporters from the Pacific Daily News and Marianas Variety.

Hungrier than ever to find his voice as a writer, Camacho says that he is now prospering from the insight and guidance of the MFA program’s esteemed faculty. He notes that Lisa Zeidner has been instrumental in helping him to develop his story structure, while Patrick Rosal has worked with him to cultivate his characters, and to explore the works of other Asian-American and Pacific Island writers. On Rosal’s recommendation, Camacho recently attended a reading at the Asian-American Writers’ Workshop in Brooklyn. “It was a great experience to see such a tight community of writers who are interested in pushing one another forward,” Camacho says.

 Just as important, Camacho adds, Rosal has offered just the right words of encouragement. “He has helped me to believe in myself,” says Camacho. “That has helped me to be the best writer that I can be.”

Likewise, Camacho says he has benefited from the camaraderie and constructive criticism shared amongst the students in the creative writing program. He appreciates the opportunity to hear feedback from so many gifted writers, all with their own unique life experiences. He likens the constant give-and-take among students to his weekly kickboxing regimen, a hobby he recently picked up at Body Arts Muay Thai in Philadelphia.

“When you are doing drills, one person is kicking, while their partner is holding the mitts and giving that constant feedback,” says Camacho. “The key here is that it’s constant, and that’s what I love about this program. It can be very humbling, but in the end, we are all trying our best to bring out what we want to say.”

Still growing accustomed to his new surroundings, Camacho maintains that the MFA program has already had a profound impact on his work ethic. While he used to write two hours a day, he now spends entire days crystallizing his thoughts. “The way that I see it, I may not be the best writer, but I can be the best that I can be,” he says.

Copyright 2013, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution.