The U.S. Department of Defense has selected Tinian as the preferred alternative for a divert airfield project in the CNMI.<\/p>\n
This follows years of protracted consultation with the local government, business community, and a environmental review process that prompted the U.S. Air Force to exclude fighter jets from the divert project.<\/p>\n
It also comes just two months after Gov. Ralph DLG Torres called on the Air Force to withdraw plans for a divert airfield on Saipan in December. He called the military\u2019s repeated desire to acquire more lands on Saipan as counter to the legal foundations that set up the CNMI\u2019s relationship with the United States, which leased two-thirds of land on Tinian and the entire island of Farallon De Medinilla for defense purposes.<\/p>\n
Anthony Crutchfield, deputy commander of the U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii, and Joint Region Marianas Rear admiral Bette Bolivar met with Torres yesterday morning to share the news.<\/p>\n
A \u201cRecord of Decision\u201d formalizing the military\u2019s selection of a preferred alternative is expected in the coming months.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is an opportunity for us to have the divert on Tinian,\u201d said Torres in a press conference with Crutchfield and Bolivar. \u201cWe are here together to make that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cToday was a great day for the CNMI and for Tinian,\u201d added Bolivar.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a relationship that is just getting stronger,\u201d Crutchfield said. \u201cWe are trying to match concerns with what the [U.S. training] requirements are. This is an example that the two can meet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Miranda A.A. Ballentine, the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Environment, and Energy, also called U.S. Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-Saipan) yesterday in Washington, D.C. to say the Air Force has selected Tinian as the preferred alternative for the divert field. <\/p>\n
\u201cI am sure that the Congressman looks forward to learning more once the final environmental impact statement is released and will continue to listen to the voices of his constituents and the Commonwealth government as the details of the Air Force\u2019s plans emerge,\u201d said Sablan\u2019s deputy communications director, Tina Sablan.<\/p>\n
Over the last year, U.S. Air Force leaders have heavily advertised a \u201chybrid\u201d option, to use both Saipan and Tinian airports, which they said would have lessened competing use problems with commercial planes and military tanker craft.<\/p>\n
But the Commonwealth Ports Authority, who would have to lease land to the U.S. Air Force on Saipan, has repeatedly reiterated its position that divert be sited on Tinian.<\/p>\n
Business leaders worried about the effects on Saipan\u2019s airport also supported the military\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat has always been our position,\u201d said Saipan Chamber of Commerce president Velman Palacios on the \u201cTinian-only\u201d alternative. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe have always maintained that,\u201d Palacios said. \u201cWe are glad that they have given Tinian that opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think the Air Force was doing enough for Saipan,\u201d added businessman Alex Sablan. \u201cWe didn\u2019t need more tank farms. We didn\u2019t need an apron and we didn\u2019t need a work facility that they would input.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we needed, in my view, was to harden both runways, so both runways could be used for international flights. That would have been an ultimate benefit for Saipan. <\/p>\n
\u201cUltimately, we agreed that Tinian needed the international airport upgrades, the tank farm, and everything else, so hopefully, there is a joint-use agreement with the tank farm facilities so Tinian itself can welcome international flights,\u201d Sablan said.<\/p>\n
\u2018Sharing hardships\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Crutchield also disclosed he has received orders from the Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter to be the single point of contact for Defense. <\/p>\n Bolivar would be DoD\u2019s local representative, but military plans would \u201cbe coordinated\u201d through Crutchfield.<\/p>\n He said this would delineate a lot of misinformation.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re the guy. You are going to speak for all of us,\u201d said Crutchfield, a three star general in the Pacific Command, said of the new direction.<\/p>\n \u201cIt may be the Air Force needs it. The Marines may need it. But the Pacific Command is the one giving them the orders.\u201d<\/p>\n Military tactical planners from the Marines or the Air Force would still visit to talk with the government but this would make it \u201cnot so confusing.\u201d<\/p>\n Turning point<\/strong><\/p>\n When pressed, Crutchfield could not say exactly when the Defense Department decided to choose the \u201cTinian-only\u201d option as the preferred alternative for the divert project.<\/p>\n Still, Crutchfield pointed to one \u201cdocument in time.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt really was your letter,\u201d Crutchfield said, turning to Torres, \u201cthat really sparked us.\u201d \u201cI\u2019ve read that letter several times, I\u2019ve almost memorized it.\u201d<\/p>\n Crutchfield said the December letter made clear that the \u201cCNMI has issues\u201d and that it had \u201cto be listened to and addressed.\u201d He also said the fact that the CNMI \u201cwas willing to work together\u201d with the military, and extended that \u201colive branch\u201d spurred the military to \u201cpull this together.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe CNMI is a strategic point for us,\u201d Crutchfield said. \u201cWe had to weigh the requirements we need to maintain that security and peace and balance with needs of the people here and their culture.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we did that, we realized that Tinian could do both,\u201d Crutchfield said. Administration officials believe the CNMI Covenant restricted military use of Farallon De Medinilla and the two-thirds of land to Tinian.<\/p>\n They are hopeful yesterday\u2019s announcement will reflect what the CNMI\u2019s founding fathers intended would be a joint-service air base on Tinian, meant for shared access with the Tinian people, as spelled out in the legal texts that were signed into effect with the Covenant.<\/p>\n The military\u2019s about-face over 30 years later\u2014to propose a divert airfield on Saipan, use military leased land on Tinian for live-fire artillery and mortar ranges, and lease the entire island of Pagan, among others, have frustrated many in the Commonwealth, a territory who with Guam, has residents that serve in the military at three times higher the rate of those in the U.S. mainland.<\/p>\n Inos\u2019 legacy<\/strong><\/p>\n While Crutchfield appreciated Torres\u2019 letter, Torres was continuing a position reiterated and stressed by late governor Eloy S. Inos, a position he also stressed over military live-fire ranges, when he called these proposals and \u201cexistential threat\u201d counter to the agreements of the Covenant.<\/p>\n Inos passed away after a protracted battle with diabetes last Dec. 29.<\/p>\n \u201cI would like to think that the late governor [Eloy] Inos would very pleased with the decision,\u201d said Office of the Governor attorney Wesley Bogdan, who has advised the late and current governor on military projects, when sought for comment yesterday. <\/p>\n \u201cThis is something he wanted,\u201d Bogdan said. \u201cThe late governor believed in the CNMI Covenant. He believed in its historical purposes and the appropriate use of CNMI property over on Tinian.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The U.S. Department of Defense has selected Tinian as the preferred alternative for a divert…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[94],"tags":[418,26,200,2264],"class_list":["post-220764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-headlines","tag-air-force","tag-cnmi","tag-military","tag-pacific-command"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/47"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=220764"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220764\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=220764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=220764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=220764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nTorres administration officials are hopeful the military\u2019s decision will reflect on other pending military proposal like the live-fire artillery, rocket, and mortar ranges they have proposed on Tinian, and the bombing range they have proposed on Pagan.<\/p>\n