{"id":395727,"date":"2023-07-11T06:04:13","date_gmt":"2023-07-10T20:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=395727"},"modified":"2023-07-11T06:04:13","modified_gmt":"2023-07-10T20:04:13","slug":"camp-blaz-changes-command","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/camp-blaz-changes-command\/","title":{"rendered":"Camp Blaz changes command"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Col. Christopher L. Bopp relinquished command of Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz to Col. Ernest Govea last July 10, 2023 during a change of command ceremony held at the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing hangar on Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.<\/p>\n

Bopp, a career infantry officer, took command of MCB Camp Blaz in May 2021. During his time as MCB Camp Blaz commanding officer he was responsible for setting the conditions for the realignment of forces from Japan to Camp Blaz. Additionally, during his tenure MCB Camp Blaz was reactivated, marking the first newly constructed Marine Corps Base since 1952.<\/p>\n

During the ceremony Bopp, was awarded a Legion of Merit for his superior leadership, his ability to enhance local and regional partnerships, and his astuteness in refining quality control processes for Camp Blaz construction efforts.<\/p>\n

Maj. Gen. Stephen E. Liszewski, commanding general Marine Corps Installations Pacific, was the reviewing officer for the ceremony and provided opening remarks.<\/p>\n

\u201cGov. Leon Guerrero, we heard you loud and clear during the reactivation ceremony\u2026 you charged the Commandant to ensure that the relationship between the Marine Corps and Guam was built on respect,\u201d said Liszewski. \u201cThe entire approach Chris took during his tenure here was built on a foundation of respect\u2026 taking care of people, respecting history, respecting culture, respecting the environment, and respecting the water.\u201d<\/p>\n

After Liszewski\u2019s remarks the Governor of Guam provided remarks and presented Bopp with a Maga\u2019h\u00e5ga Award. The governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Tinian Mayor\u2019s Council on behalf of the Tinian mayor, the 37th Guam Legislature, and the Mayors\u2019 Council of Guam also provided remarks and presented Bopp with plaques of appreciation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve done everything I can to take care of this community,\u201d said Bopp. \u201cWe\u2019re protecting the people who are the heart and soul of this island. This has been a fantastic tour, and my wife and I have loved to be here with [the Marines and civilians of Camp Blaz].\u201d<\/p>\n

At the end of his remarks, Govea, MCB Camp Blaz\u2019s newest commanding officer, turned to the formation and addressed the Camp Blaz Marines, \u201cas we continue to serve in the Western Pacific Theater, I personally will be a Marine of action, committed to taking care of you and your families.\u201d<\/p>\n

The change of command ceremony was attended by friends, colleagues, and family. In attendance were the governors of Guam and CNMI; senators from the 37th Legislature;\u00a0 village mayors and vice-mayors; representatives from Delegate Moylan\u2019s office; members of the Consular Corps from the Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Korea, Republic of Palau, Japan and the Philippines; and delegates from the Northern Mariana Islands, among others. Guam Army National Guard\u2019s 721st Band provided music for the ceremony.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Col. Christopher L. Bopp relinquished command of Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz to Col. Ernest…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":395733,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-395727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395727","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\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=395727"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395727\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/395733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=395727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=395727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=395727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}