National Guard official checks out the NMI

A U.S. Army National Guard official conducted a fact-finding mission on Saipan yesterday in connection with the CNMI’s longstanding bid for its own National Guard unit.

Maj. Gen. Ronald G. Crowder, who appeared and answered questions during yesterday’s House of Representative session, said the CNMI needs to explore the possibility of partnering with bigger islands such as Guam or Hawaii to get support for projected overhead costs.

Crowder acknowledged that the CNMI’s size would be an area of concern but this could be resolved if the local government could present a credible analysis before the U.S. Congress.

“It’s primarily a congressional issue,” he said.

He said the CNMI would significantly benefit from having its own National Guard as it would not only provide enhanced security but also offer employment for its citizens.

Further, he said the program would also entitle its personnel to obtain educational grants.

“It’s really good for people to get that kind of discipline… It will also bring money to your economy because they would get paid. At the same time, they get up to 75 percent tuition paid [for their education]. It’s a great asset for the CNMI,” he said.

Crowder, who is based in Honolulu, said he decided to visit Saipan because he is aware that the CNMI has been lobbying Congress for its own Guard unit.

Although the issue is beyond his office’s jurisdiction, he said he can relay “about Saipan’s desperation” to Washington and Honolulu.

Crowder was accompanied in the lower chamber by CNMI National Guard task force chair Edward Manibusan.

The task force, which was formed last month, is tasked to hold a series of meetings with the Guam National Guard Adjutant to discuss the unit’s composition, organization, and other pertinent matters.

The task force is expected to submit a study on funding and logistical needs.

This comes even as Gov. Juan N. Babauta expressed his intention to follow up the CNMI’ National Guard issue with federal officials in Hawaii. Babauta is on a two-day stopover in Hawaii from a weeklong trip to Washington for that purpose.

The administration hopes to have the CNMI National Guard included in the national appropriation for 2005. Budget deliberation in the U.S. begins about August this year.

The CNMI is one of the last members of the U.S. political family that still lacks its own National Guard unit.

Guam, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands, which is smaller than Guam, as well as the District of Columbia, have their own National Guard units.

The federal government usually shoulders 75 percent of the cost for a National Guard. The local government has to shoulder the remaining 25 percent.

It was estimated that it would require $275 million to set up a unit in the CNMI.