WEBVTT

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^(upbeat music)

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- Multimillion dollar contracts have recently been awarded

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to build the needed facilities on Guam

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paving the way for the relocation of marines

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to the island as part of an overall restructuring plan

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for US forces in the Asia Pacific region

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first announced nearly a dozen years ago.

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^One of the first buildings nearing completion

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^is this massive aircraft hanger on Andersen Air Force Base.

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Other buildings are beginning to take shape

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on the flight line as well.

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The original proposal had nearly 20,000 marines

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moving to Guam but that has since been scaled back

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trying to find the right amount of marines

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and the right timeline for their arrival.

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^- And that was recently decided over the last few years

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^to bring it down to the 5,000 marines

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^just because that better distributed the marines

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across the Pacific AOR.

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And it was also better accommodating for Guam

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with the additional infrastructure required

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to actually build a base that large

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in that short a period of time,

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^it was actually better to scope it down a little bit

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^and it gave us the latitude to redistribute.

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^- [Amy] The 5,000 marines expected to relocate from Japan

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^will be a Marine Air Ground Taskforce

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^or MAGTF as a crisis response force here in the Pacific.

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^They'll need a rifle range,

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urban training areas and housing facilities,

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all of which will be built on previously owned DOD land.

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Not only will they have the space they need on Guam

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but they'll enjoy the patriotic spirit of the island.

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^- The community support is a big factor

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^that the marines will enjoy while they're here,

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^not to mention just all the beautiful places

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that you can go on the island.

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- [Amy] Military planners say now that more contracts

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have been awarded,

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^construction can begin at other locations.

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^They expect marines to relocate from Japan

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^in phased increments, but ultimately the goal

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^is to have all the marines in place by 2024.

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^Reporting from Andersen Air Force base on Guam,

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^I'm Amy Forsythe.

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Defense Media Activity in Guam

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covers military news and information

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you won't find anywhere else.

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