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News | Sept. 1, 2015

Department of the Navy Releases Record of Decision for Relocation of Marines to Guam

By Joint Guam Program Office Joint Guam Program Office

The Department of the Navy (DON) Aug. 29 released the Record of Decision (ROD) for relocating U.S. Marine Corps forces to Guam.

"The Department of the Navy has selected the preferred alternatives as described in the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS), which is cantonment/family housing Alternative E and Live Fire Training Range Complex Alternative 5," said Cmdr. Daniel Schaan, Director, Joint Guam Program Office (Forward). 

"Alternative E includes the cantonment to be located at Navy Computer and Telecommunications Station - Guam (Finegayan), and family housing to be located at Andersen Air Force Base," Schaan added. "The Live Fire Training Range Complex (LFTRC) Alternative 5 is for the range complex to be located at Andersen Air Force Base -Northwest Field." The LFTRC also includes a stand-alone hand grenade range at Andersen South.

The ROD is specific to the relocation of Marines and dependents as analyzed in the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for Guam and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Military Relocation (April 2012 Roadmap Adjustments). In July 2015, the Department of the Navy published the Final SEIS identifying the alternatives considered for the ROD.

The ROD enables the DON to ensure that the relocated Marines are organized, trained and equipped as mandated by 10 USC 5063. 

"This proposed action is needed to ensure consistency with the new force posture adopted by the Department of Defense in accordance with the April 2012 Roadmap Adjustments international agreement," Schaan said. "It provides for a materially smaller force on Guam than was originally proposed in the 2010 Final EIS, while fulfilling U.S. national security obligations in the Western Pacific."

Underscoring the strategic importance of Guam to the U.S. rebalance to the Asia Pacific, LtGen Ronald L. Bailey, Deputy Commandant for Plans, Policies and Operations, Headquarters Marine Corps, noted, "The Marine Corps has a historic friendship with the people of Guam; we look forward to continuing that partnership."

The ROD is required at the conclusion of the environmental review of a federal project or program and outlines the decisions the Navy has made to implement the proposed realignment actions and specifies associated mitigation measures. The community is encouraged to read the ROD for additional information on the preferred alternatives, how the selected cantonment/family housing Alternative E was developed, and the rationale behind the selection of LFTRC Alternative 5 at AAFB-NWF. These decisions are a result of thorough consideration of public and resource agency comments on the SEIS, interagency discussions, and Guam community and leadership discussions.

The ROD is available for review at the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Library located in the University of Guam, the Nieves M. Flores Memorial Library in Hagatña, and electronically on the Final SEIS website, http://guambuildupeis.us.

For more information about the proposed military relocation and the associated NEPA process visit the Final SEIS website at http://guambuildupeis.us. You may also sign up at this website to receive updates.