ID :
107237
Thu, 02/18/2010 - 10:37
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/107237
The shortlink copeid
Marine commander negative on Guam hosting all Okinawa Marines+
TOKYO, Feb. 17 Kyodo - A top U.S. Marine Corps commander struck a negative note Wednesday about the idea that Guam could host all the Marines based in Okinawa, suggesting it would reduce response capability in the event of a contingency in the region near
Japan.
Lt. Gen. Keith Stalder, commander of the Marine Corps' Pacific force in Hawaii,
also indicated that the Marine Corps prefers the heliport functions of its
Futemma Air Station in Okinawa, at the center of a political debate in Japan,
to be kept within the southern prefecture.
''Guam is not a substitute for Okinawa...Guam is twice as far or more away from
some of the critical areas and regions'' near Okinawa, Stalder told Kyodo News
in response to a question about the idea of moving all Marines to Guam from
Okinawa.
Stalder also suggested it is unrealistic to consider separating the heliport
functions of the Futemma Air Station in Ginowan from other Okinawa-based Marine
units, saying, ''The ground forces, the helicopters and the logistic elements
need to practice together.''
''The helicopter is to the Marine as the horse was to the cavalryman of the old
West. The horse did everything with and for him,'' Stalder told a press
conference the same day in Tokyo.
Marines in Okinawa must deal with security and disaster contingencies as ''the
only forward deployed available U.S. ground force between Hawaii and India,''
he said, citing situations in East Asia such as China's military buildup and
North Korea's missile development.
Stalder, who supervises Marine operations in Japan, is visiting Japan at a time
when a Japanese governmental panel on U.S. bases in Okinawa is trying to hammer
out an alternative to the agreed plan about the fate of the Futemma base.
Japan and the United States agreed in 2006 to move some 8,000 Okinawa-based
Marines to Guam, closing the Futemma base in Ginowan and relocating its
functions to an envisioned new airfield in Nago, another city in Okinawa.
The commander also indicated he is confident that the Okinawa-Guam relocation
of Marines will be complete by 2014 as agreed by the U.S. and Japanese
governments, though he is aware of concerns about its feasibility raised in
writing by Guam Governor Felix Camacho.
''We're still on track for 2014,'' Stalder said.
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has pledged to nail down an alternative
plan to the 2006 accord by the end of May but uncertainties remain due to
significant differences among legislators in his ruling coalition.
==Kyodo
Japan.
Lt. Gen. Keith Stalder, commander of the Marine Corps' Pacific force in Hawaii,
also indicated that the Marine Corps prefers the heliport functions of its
Futemma Air Station in Okinawa, at the center of a political debate in Japan,
to be kept within the southern prefecture.
''Guam is not a substitute for Okinawa...Guam is twice as far or more away from
some of the critical areas and regions'' near Okinawa, Stalder told Kyodo News
in response to a question about the idea of moving all Marines to Guam from
Okinawa.
Stalder also suggested it is unrealistic to consider separating the heliport
functions of the Futemma Air Station in Ginowan from other Okinawa-based Marine
units, saying, ''The ground forces, the helicopters and the logistic elements
need to practice together.''
''The helicopter is to the Marine as the horse was to the cavalryman of the old
West. The horse did everything with and for him,'' Stalder told a press
conference the same day in Tokyo.
Marines in Okinawa must deal with security and disaster contingencies as ''the
only forward deployed available U.S. ground force between Hawaii and India,''
he said, citing situations in East Asia such as China's military buildup and
North Korea's missile development.
Stalder, who supervises Marine operations in Japan, is visiting Japan at a time
when a Japanese governmental panel on U.S. bases in Okinawa is trying to hammer
out an alternative to the agreed plan about the fate of the Futemma base.
Japan and the United States agreed in 2006 to move some 8,000 Okinawa-based
Marines to Guam, closing the Futemma base in Ginowan and relocating its
functions to an envisioned new airfield in Nago, another city in Okinawa.
The commander also indicated he is confident that the Okinawa-Guam relocation
of Marines will be complete by 2014 as agreed by the U.S. and Japanese
governments, though he is aware of concerns about its feasibility raised in
writing by Guam Governor Felix Camacho.
''We're still on track for 2014,'' Stalder said.
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has pledged to nail down an alternative
plan to the 2006 accord by the end of May but uncertainties remain due to
significant differences among legislators in his ruling coalition.
==Kyodo
