‘Military plans difficult to ascertain’

Fully understanding a draft environmental impact statement on proposed “live fire” military exercises on Tinian and on Pagan may prove to be a difficult undertaking, according to noted historian and former educator Samuel McPhetres.

McPhetres pointed out that the CNMI does not have local expertise to fully review a draft environmental impact statement on “live fire” exercises on the two islands.

But aside from the lack of local expertise, McPhetres said he finds it difficult to predict a scenario—if and when the military exercises happen—because as of today, “we still do not know what the military is planning.”

In the past few weeks, the U.S military has gone around the CNMI to present a draft EIS to government officials, legislators, and businesses. A much-anticipated public hearing has also been set by the end of the month.

The draft EIS is seen as a prelude to the military’s plans to fire live munitions on Tinian and drop “inert” bombs on Pagan—which, as expected—drew an uproar.

The government has been given 60 days to comment on the EIS, which was deemed too short a window, and requests have now been sent to the military to extend this deadline to six months.

When asked if the CNMI has the resources to review the draft EIS, McPhetres simply said, “No.”

Impact on history

He, however, said that as far as history is concerned, the proposed military exercises could have an impact.

McPhetres said one area that he finds problematic includes ongoing archaeological digs on the islands.

“If we find something that really is archaeologically valuable but it is in the middle of the airport, what will happen?” McPhetres asked.

He also stressed that “we have no definition yet of what a historical artifact is in the CNMI.”

“Pieces of pottery? Lapita pottery? How about artifacts from the sugarcane trade during the time of the Japanese?” he asked.

Incidentally, McPhetres is part of a team currently digging for artifacts on Saipan.

Military ‘mess’

Another concern that McPhetres sees is the impact on the environment. “Who is going to do the cleanup after the military exercises?”

McPhetres, speaking lengthily on his experience on Saipan looking for unexploded bombs and munitions throughout the Commonwealth, said it has to be made clear who will be tasked to clean up the mess

He said there is a site on Tinian that was previously used as a target for mortar fire. The area has warning signs, but still poses a danger as there might be unexploded munitions lying around.

“I am particularly sensitive about this. For 10 years, I have been working with demolition people and looking for unexploded ordnance in the Marianas,” McPhetres said.

He said he earlier initiated a program where his students were asked to conduct a survey. The survey question—“How many people in Saipan have been killed or injured of unexploded ordinance after the war?”—yielded about 200 deaths.

“We do not know if is there going to be a cleanup of live fire,” McPhetres said.

He cited a historical account of the Battle of Saipan in which 600 ships lined up along the islands and fired thousands of 16-inch shell

He said a mere 10 percent of the unexploded rounds may prove to be very dangerous.

“About 10 percent are expected to be duds. And these [unexploded bombs] are still out there buried in a lagoon, or at sea,” McPhetres said. “There are the kinds of things that I am worried about.”