HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — The estimated 700 soldiers who will be needed to man a new 360-degree missile defense system for the island could end up sharing a home with the Guam National Guard.
Ground broke on the first of several planned expansions of the Guam National Guard Readiness Center in Barrigada last week, amidst concerns about what Brig. Gen. Mike Cruz, adjutant general of the Guam National Guard, called the rumors - or reality - of the "next great Pacific war."
When asked whether the area could also be used to accommodate the coming "Guam Defense System," which would protect the island from missiles in the event of war with China, Cruz told The Guam Daily Post it's "definitely a possibility."
"I think that given the small amount of space we have on island, given to the limited resources, it's best to be as efficient as possible. And so an active Army (component) along with (the) National Guard and the (Army) Reserve, we're going to be looked at in a much bigger way," Cruz said.
"So yes. And we need to be a part of that as well. Because, like I said, we are the native defenders of our islands. There's going to be a working together of all components and certainly all branches."
Maj. Gen. Reginald Neal, deputy commanding general for U.S. Army Pacific Mobilization and Reserve Affairs, said last week that 700 soldiers and their families could be coming to man the Guam Defense System by 2027. Housing will have to be built within the existing Department of Defense footprint on Guam, either U.S. Naval Base Guam or Andersen Air Force Base, Neal said, but the Army could see its own facility as well.
Cruz declined to comment in detail when asked by the Post whether barracks could be stood up beside the Guard Center in Barrigada.
"If it is true that that does happen, there's always going to be a need to have to put them somewhere. And so I don't have the specific details of the plans. ... Certainly, I'm not able to discuss that," he told the Post.
Asked about the possibility of conflict, Cruz said, "that's always on our mind, and that's why it's my number one priority. ... The defense of Guam and the defense of the Marianas."
"We take this very, very seriously," he added.
