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US Pacific commander visits NMI
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Posted on Nov 21 2006
A top-ranking military official met with acting Gov. Timothy P. Villagomez during his brief visit to the Commonwealth on Friday.
Admiral William J. Fallon, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, and other U.S. Navy officials were in the CNMI for less than an hour on Nov. 17, 2006, Villagomez disclosed yesterday.
The group met with the acting governor at the Saipan International Airport before making an aerial survey of the Northern Marianas, en route to Guam.
During the meeting, Villagomez reaffirmed the government’s support for military operations in the CNMI. Admiral Fallon reportedly said that the plan to transfer military personnel from Okinawa to Guam had yet to be finalized, but he also acknowledged that the entire Marianas would play an important role in military operations in the region.
“That strengthens our hope that we will get not only spillover from Guam, but some military activity as well,” Villagomez said.
The U.S. military plans to transfer 8,000 Marines and their dependents from Okinawa to Guam and to spend about $15 billion during the next decade on military expansion in the Marianas.
