In May 2006, Richard Lawless, deputy undersecretary at the U.S. Department of Defense, and then Gov. Felix Camacho hosted a news conference.
Lawless shared the news that 8,600 U.S. Marines would be moving to Guam from Okinawa — at a cost of $10 billion — most of which would go toward the cost of the infrastructure to support that move. Camacho speculated on what Guam would request as the move drew near.
In the years immediately following, Guam hosted several conferences related to the buildup. Visiting contractors made contacts locally and the talk was about teaming.
The last conference related to the buildup was hosted in November 2022 by the Guam Post of the Society of American Military Engineers, and like its predecessors was generally valuable in allowing for opportunities for exchange of information, opinions, and networking.
By September 2010, U.S. officials had recognized that the move would not be completed by 2014 as originally planned and the new date for completion was 2016. The U.S. Department of Defense deferred some decisions — such as the site of a wharf for aircraft carriers and the site for a live-fire training range — after environmental and other concerns.
Other issues included island roads and the port’s capacity.
David Bice, then-executive director of the Joint Guam Program Office, talked of “adaptive program management,” in 2014 when he spoke of the looming delay.
Issues with the relocation of the Marines’ Futenma airbase on Okinawa — part of the planned realignment of forces — affected the delay also.
As the charts in our story show, the peak of construction has shifted to the right and construction will continue for years.
Our newsroom has recently seen the phrase “substantially completed by …” in releases related to MilCon awards.
Throw in the projects in the Northern Mariana Islands and Palau, and upcoming plans for the Federated States of Micronesia, and while the number of U.S. Marines has dropped to about 5,000, military construction is broader across the Micronesia region than Lawless or anyone else foresaw.
That original estimate of $10 billion may even be a little generous for the island, with the cost of the Guam buildup now pegged at $8 billion. We’ll see.
Of course, the construction has brought benefits to Guam — a new Rte. 3 — and to Tinian in the NMI where the divert airfield is being built — the prospects of an economic buildup and improved seaport and airport infrastructures.
Other federal funds related to infrastructure — from bridges to telecom upgrades — put the industry’s challenges in the spotlight — the need for imported labor in that industry and others, and the recently increased supply chain challenges that come with doing business in our region.
As “a free and open Indo-Pacific” and “geo-political tensions” pepper speeches by officials, there is one benefit — our islands have developed an increasing international profile.
The stories about contractors drawn to Guam were legion as we progressed towards a buildup that was finally going to happen. One major U.S. federal contractor came to Guam, left and came back again. Another came, bought several cranes, leased apartments, furnished them well and then waited. And waited. And left.
Our coverage encompasses a variety of views from large contractors to small businesses that share an understanding of opportunities. Military construction — or any construction in Guam and in our region is serious business and while there are more environmental impact statements yet to come, those original promises from 2006 are now well underway.
Maureen N. Maratita is the publisher at Glimpses Media. Publications at Glimpses Media include the Marianas Business Journal, MBJ Life, The Real Estate Journal, Guam Business Magazine, Beach Road Magazine, Buenas and Drive Guam.