The proposed CNMI Joint Military Training program is not designed to address the U.S. military\u2019s training deficiencies throughout the Western Pacific generally, as the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Department of Defense suggest, according to four environmental groups.<\/p>\n
Rather, the environmental groups\u2019 counsel David L. Henkin of Earthjustice said, the proposed CJMT focuses on training deficiencies \u201cspecifically in the Mariana Islands.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the groups\u2019 opposition to the Navy\u2019s and Defense\u2019s motion for summary judgment, Henkin said the Navy identified those deficiencies in its 2013 training needs assessment, which evaluated \u201cunfilled training requirements for units\/commands in the U.S. Pacific Command Area of Responsibility\u201d and concluded that \u201cthe greatest number of training deficiencies existed in the Mariana Islands.\u201d<\/p>\n
The groups\u2014Tinian Women Association, Guardians of Gani, Pagan Watch, and the Center for Biological Diversity\u2014are suing the Navy and Defense and their secretaries for alleged violation of National Environmental Policy Act and Administrative Procedure Act over their decision to relocate 5,000 U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam and to conduct live-training on Tinian and Pagan. <\/p>\n
In the groups\u2019 opposition to defendants\u2019 motion for summary judgment, Henkin said without thousands of Marines stationed in Guam, there would be no reason to conduct the lion\u2019s share of the training proposed in the CJMT program.<\/p>\n
He said while the Navy and Defense assert that, \u201cthe proposed CJMT program\u2026has \u2018independent utility,\u2019\u201d they fail to back up with evidence from the record their claim the program would proceed \u201ceven were Marine forces to stay in Okinawa.\u201d<\/p>\n
Henkin said even if the full scope of training in the CNMI required for Guam-based Marines to carry out their mission were not \u201cconnected\u201d with the Guam relocation, the Navy would still be obliged to take a hard look in its relocation environmental impact statement and supplemental environmental impact statement at the cumulative impacts of that training.<\/p>\n
He said the Navy failed to do so, providing only cursory and conclusory statements about Marine Corps training on Tinian that the Navy itself identified as cumulative projects and ignoring completely cumulative impacts on imperiled Mariana fruit bats of future Marine Corps training on Tinian and Pagan.<\/p>\n
Henkin said the Navy identified cumulative Marine Corps training projects on Tinian, but failed to take NEPA requisite hard look at their cumulative impacts.<\/p>\n
Henkin said while the Navy and Defense claim that constructing and operating training ranges in the CNMI that are essential for Guam-based Marines to carry out their mission \u201care separate and distinct from the ongoing proposed relocation of Marine Corps forces from Okinawa to Guam\u201d and \u201chave independent utility,\u201d saying it does not make it so.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was never the Navy\u2019s plan to move thousands of Marines to Guam, provide them with only individual-skills training in Guam and Tinian, and call it a day,\u201d he pointed out. <\/p>\n
Henkin said the mere fact that various executive agreements between the U.S. and Japan call for the relocation of Marines from Okinawa does not affect the court\u2019s analysis of whether the Guam relocation decision and required Marine Corps training are connected actions.<\/p>\n
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the proposed CJMT program addresses theater-wide training needs in the Western Pacific and serves joint and allied training needs that extend beyond the requirements of the Guam-based Marines.<\/p>\n
DOJ Environmental & Natural Resources Division trial attorney Joshua P. Wilson said the CJMT program holds independent significance, and is designed to accomplish a range of objectives that are separate from, but complement, the relocation of Marines from Okinawa to Guam.<\/p>\n
Wilson discussed the CJMT program as counsel for the Navy and Defense and their secretaries, who filed memorandum in opposition to the groups\u2019 motion for summary judgment. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The proposed CNMI Joint Military Training program is not designed to address the U.S. military\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[94],"tags":[3539,12705,1229,244],"class_list":["post-279771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-headlines","tag-cjmt","tag-guam-based-marines","tag-marine-corps","tag-utility"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279771","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\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=279771"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279771\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=279771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=279771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=279771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}