ASAN, GUAM– Guam Gov. Lourdes Leon Guerrero; Commander, Joint Task Force-Micronesia U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Joshua Lasky; and Commander, Joint Region Marianas U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Brett Mietus convened the Civil-Military Coordination Council at the Ricardo J. Bordallo Governor’s Complex in Adelup, July 1.
U.S. Department of War officials from the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, Army, and Coast Guard attended alongside representatives on behalf of various government of Guam agencies to include the Guam International Airport Authority, Guam Department of Labor, and Guam Department of Revenue and Taxation, Guam Environmental Protection Agency.
Leon Guerrero expressed her appreciation for the partnership with the military, highlighting the progress made through the CMCC.
“Our relationship with our military partners has been solidified in every area,” she said. “Through this working meeting, we have really done a lot of good things, a lot of good initiatives and policies in the area of housing, in the area of infrastructure, in the area of health care, and we’re moving forward with the Defense of Guam plan.”
She said the CMCC has evolved into a broader forum for addressing the impacts of the military presence on Guam and expressed hope that future civilian and military leaders will continue it to share information, discuss challenges, and develop solutions together.
Lasky echoed the governor’s remarks and thanked the government of Guam for their continued support.
“Everything we do should be in partnership with the government and people of Guam,” he said. “We’re shaping up our thinking for what things need to look like and trying to take a broader look to see how we can align on priorities going forward.”
During the meeting, Mietus provided updates on several JRM initiatives, including the Military Housing Pilot, which seeks to partner with local developers to provide future housing for service members; the proposed establishment of a Quality of Life Working Group to address issues affecting military families relocating to Guam; and ongoing coordination with the Guam Environmental Protection Agency to investigate the source of dieldrin.
Mietus also highlighted the value of the longstanding partnership between the military and the Government of Guam and shared some of the work done behind the scenes to obtain gantry cranes for the Government of Guam, which was made possible through the CMCC.
“One of the best parts of this job is watching a team of dedicated professionals work together to solve problems the right way,” he said. “I am grateful for the partnership we’ve built with the Government of Guam and for the opportunity to deliver results that benefit both the people of Guam and our service members.”
As the meeting concluded, Guam Lt. Governor Joshua Tenorio shared Mietus’s confidence in the continued partnership between the Government of Guam, JRM, and JTF-M.
“I tell people that at JRM and JTF-M, there are a whole lot of experts from Guam that are embedded into your operation, and I like to tell people that some of the best environmental professionals have gone to work there, which is a safeguard for the entire community,” he said. “They are the continuity when we’re looking at the big picture. People don’t realize how many people are embedded that are doing great work.”
Leon Guerrero closed by thanking the group for the open and frank discussions.
“Thank you for the opportunity for your team to answer some of our questions about any issue,” she said. “We saw that with the housing issue and also the willingness to work our programmatic agreement, to make sure that we put the concerns that the people of Guam have brought to the table.”
The CMCC was established in 2010 to foster collaboration among the DoW, local government, and federal agencies to share information, discuss, and provide recommendations for construction activities for the U.S. Marine Corps relocation to Guam. These meetings have expanded to include all DoW items of interest and military construction on Guam. The next CMCC meeting is scheduled for November.