Photo By William Busby | SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands (Sept. 25, 2025) — Department of War officials,...... read more read more
Leaders from the Department of War, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands government, federal agencies, and community representatives gathered for a CNMI Stakeholders Meeting in Garapan, Saipan, Sept. 24-25.
The two-day engagement confirmed the DoW’s commitment to the CNMI and emphasized the importance of collaboration in strengthening defense in the Marianas and throughout the region.
DoW representatives delivered a report of economic impacts from the recent exercise Resolute Force Pacific and announced upcoming training; discussed biosecurity efforts to continue protective efforts for the CNMI from invasive species; addressed concerns in regard to unexploded ordnance, hazardous materials, and waste management; shared details for the upcoming Innovative Readiness Training medical wellness mission; and provided updates to current and future infrastructure improvement projects.
Construction for the Tinian Divert Airfield Project is nearly 80 percent complete, with concrete and asphalt placements in progress. A redesign of the fuel system is complete, with contract modifications in progress. The project is currently projected to be complete in 2027.
Officials provided updates on the Marpo Heights Road Project in Tinian, a warehouse project and future support structures at Camp Tinian, and proposed construction at the Saipan International Airport. In addition, DoW representatives announced the deployment of the first Navy Seabees (construction personnel) on Saipan in August, which will provide an enduring presence to support projects in the CNMI.
The U.S. Air Force is conducting environmental analysis for potential military construction in Rota, with potential improvements to the Rota International Airport to include an apron extension, aviation fuels facility, and fire protection facilities.
Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Marianas presented a proposal for CNMI’s Small Business Development Center to take lead in future Industry Days, which are designed to promote business and economic opportunities for the CNMI community. The proposed change in lead agency would work to streamline the coordination process and allow the CNMI SBDC to tailor Industry Days to meet the needs of local businesses.
U.S. Pacific Fleet provided a status report of updates to the Mariana Islands Testing and Training Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement/Overseas Environmental Impact Statement with an estimated completion of the draft in early 2026.
The U.S. Marine Corps is reviewing public comments for the CNMI Joint Military Training Environmental Impact Statement, which proposes land-based ground and aviation training operations within the Military Lease Area on Tinian to support ongoing and evolving requirements.
Edward Camacho, special assistant to the CNMI governor for military affairs, announced the creation of working groups that will take action on various projects and interest items and provide progress reports to stakeholders in future meetings.
CNMI Gov. David Apatang welcomed meeting attendees to Saipan, and shared his hope to see progress with military construction projects and initiatives.
“We’re the first line of defense for the United States of America,” he said. “We are with the military, we are with the United States, and we want to see our Commonwealth move forward to continue to defend the United States of America.”
U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Josh Lasky, commander, Joint Task Force - Micronesia and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s senior military official in the region thanked the CNMI government for their participation and partnership that allows for key defense capabilities in the Indo-Pacific.
“I’m reminded at each one of these meetings that we always have a lot more work to do, but we got where we are today because of a lot of cooperation and teamwork,” Lasky said. “We’re grateful to everybody for coming together to move things down the line.”
U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Brett Mietus, commander, Joint Region Marianas, said he was looking forward to learning and building relationships with the people of the CNMI.
“We recognize that our activities here make ripples in all aspects of the CNMI community,” Mietus said, “It’s important to make sure that we take these into account and include the people’s concerns and needs into our calculations as we look at future growth of our presence in the CNMI and its sustainability.”
Other key leaders in attendance included CNMI Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives Kimberlyn King-Hinds; Mayor of Tinian Edwin Aldan; Mayor of Rota Aubrey Hocog; 22nd Commonwealth Legislature Speaker Sen. Edmund Villagomez; U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Christopher Faurot, mobilization assistant to the commander, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command; U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Athanasia Shinas, mobilization assistant to the director of logistics, engineering and force protection, U.S. Pacific Air Forces; U.S. Marine Corps Installations Command Executive Director James Balocki; and U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific Executive Director Mark Hashimoto.
Following meetings in Saipan, a public meeting was held at the Bar-K in Tinian to share updates and answer questions from the local community.
The CNMI Stakeholders Meeting was established to foster collaboration among the DoW, local government, and federal agencies to share information, discuss and provide recommendations for military activities and opportunities in the CNMI. The next meeting is slated for later this year.
For more information about JTF-M, visit https://www.pacom.mil/JTF-Micronesia
For more information about JRM, visit https://jrm.cnic.navy.mil
| Date Taken: | 09.26.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.26.2025 23:58 |
| Story ID: | 549473 |
| Location: | SAIPAN, MP |
| Web Views: | 210 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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