Country: Guam -- A U.S. military priority

"The military plans to spend as much as $15 billion on Guam during the next decade to expand the military presence here, including the transfer of about 8,000 marines from bases in Okinawa."




Guam/Wing commander discusses Air Force plans
By Steve Limtiaco




Pacific Daily News
slimtiaco@guampdn.com
http://www.guampdn.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061115/NEWS01/611150326/1002

Officials from Pacific-Rim countries have been invited to Guam, Hawaii and the U.S. mainland early next year to observe demonstrations of the new Global Hawk unmanned aircraft that will be launched and recovered from Guam, said Brig. Gen. Douglas Owens, who is the new commander of the 36th Wing at Andersen Air Force Base.

Owens, who has been at Andersen for about 3 weeks, said he traveled to Indonesia, Malaysia and Australia during his last assignment to discuss the military's plans for Global Hawk in the Pacific.





One of the aircraft will be on Guam in the spring for testing only, he said, and the first of several permanent aircraft for Guam is not expected to arrive until 2009.

"I am extraordinarily happy to be here," he said of his assignment to Guam. He replaced Air Force Col. Michael Boera on Oct. 25. "The opportunity to command a wing in the Air Force is something that few folks get the chance to do. So this is a great honor for me to be here -- to be the first general officer in some time to come back to command this wing."
Owens said his primary responsibility is the bombers, tankers and other military aircraft that are based at Andersen or that pass through the base. "Close on the heels of that is all of the growth and buildup that we've talked about," he said.

In addition to the construction of a complex for the Global Hawk aircraft, infrastructure is being installed at Northwest Field, he said.

The military plans to spend as much as $15 billion on Guam during the next decade to expand the military presence here, including the transfer of about 8,000 marines from bases in Okinawa.

"I will strive to work closely with the local community and local government to take into account their concerns as it relates to what we do on this base," Owens said.

He said he believes residents will benefit from the ongoing changes at Andersen.

"I see the buildup here as a win-win for everybody," he said, adding that improvements to the Department of Defense capability on Guam, "will go hand-in-hand with a boost to the local economy as well