Artillery training on Tinian eyed

The U.S. Marines is looking at Tinian as a possible training ground for its artillery units once 8,000 of its troops relocate from Okinawa to Guam.

This was disclosed yesterday by Marine Corps Bases Pacific MCI MidPac Director Col. Clyde T. Burton in an e-mail to the Saipan Tribune.

Burton said he discussed the service’s plans for the region in Wednesday’s 2008 Pacific Aviation Directors Workshop held at the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan, but he did not delve into details because the Marines are still at the conceptual phase of developing its training plans.

“We are beginning to work on a master plan which will lead to more details in the future. However, because of the need for coordination of aviation with indirect fires, I did note at the FAA conference that we may have mortars and artillery positions as part of our training ranges on Tinian.”

Burton said that he also shared with workshop participants the safety measures the Marines are planning to put in place if the plan to use Tinian as a training ground for its artillery units pushes through.

“I noted that there are a number of Surface Danger Zones around the actual training ranges which prevent inadvertent (i.e., the one-in-a-million chance of a round or fragment acting in a non-uniform way), and that this should not be interpreted as areas where we expect effects on a regular basis. In other words, the vast majority of rounds will be expended in the relatively small areas of the ranges themselves,” he said.

Burton said the Marines are also concerned about citizen and tourist access to historical/cultural areas on Tinian and that they intend to work with the government of the CNMI on that issue.

“This will take a lot of coordination between ourselves, the environmental representatives, and the government to optimize the best use of the island,” he said.

The Marines have leased 17,800 acres of prime Tinian land from the Marianas Political Status Commission but this property has remained idle.

When asked what potential benefits Tinian could hope for with the Marines’ finally making use of the land, Burton said the island could expect growth in construction, service and maintenance, and tourism.

“I believe that benefits will accrue to the local economy. First, there will be some amount of construction of these ranges and the Range Control Center. I hope that local companies bid on the contracts or subcontract with those companies who put together bids to do this work.

“Then there will be ongoing maintenance and control of these areas. Also, I expect to see an increase in your tourism from the additional folks who will be stationed in Guam. Saipan and Tinian are natural close destination points for the families and Marines to be stationed on Guam,” said Col. Burton.

Estimates are that uniformed personnel will bring over 9,000 of their dependents when they relocate to the U.S. territory.

CNMI leaders have been advocating for the increased military use of land on Tinian by the U.S. military, especially in light of the Marines relocation to neighboring Guam and the accompanying expansion there set for 2010-2014.

They have argued that major land-based military activity, either direct or indirect, in the CNMI could include construction of permanent facilities, repair of Tinian’s docks and breakwater, improvements to the water delivery system, as well as increased economic activity that would benefit many small businesses.