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Visiting US military should conduct more community service
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Posted on Aug 11 2000
Rep. William S. Torres has sought increased community service of visiting U.S. military vessel crew and personnel by next year to fully utilize the presence of Navy sailors who come to the islands for rest and relaxation.
The Saipan legislator met recently with Commander Mike Dodge of Civil and Military Affairs (N5) on Guam to discuss in advance a coordinated preparation for the visit of several Navy ships in 2001.
At the same time, he personally thanked the N5 admiral for donation of computers for use by the Marianas High School, Rota High School and the Tinian High School.
The Navy is expected to ship and distribute the computers through the Public School System which Mr. Torres said still has to contact the commander’s office.
The meeting on Guam, however, focused on the lawmaker’s desire to maximize utilization of visiting sailors on Saipan as he raised the possibility of increasing their community-related work (COMREL).
The service is part of the efforts by the Navy to reach out to the community, which is being coordinated mainly through the Office of the Governor, according to Mr. Torres.
“I have to agree, though, that an organized needs assessment or project profiling is necessary and must be undertaken way in advance of January 2001, in order to establish a systematic and formalized priority rating based on project urgency and resource availability, ” he said in a letter to Mr. Dodge.
Thousands of sailors have arrived in recent months on Saipan for their rest and relaxation, who have provided community service while helping boost the tourism industry which has been impacted by the economic difficulties confronting Japan and Korea, CNMI’s traditional source of visitors.
A crew from the USS Mobil Bay, the latest ship to dock on the island this week, visited Oleai Elementary School to paint its restroom facilities and provide other services during their two-day stay here.
