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Torres says military display of Hawaii training crucial, informative
Gov. Ralph DLG Torres gives a two thumbs up sign while standing inside a military training vehicle while on a two-day tour of Marine Corp. and Air Force facilities last week, Aug. 17 18. (Contributed Photo)
Gov. Ralph DLG Torres says a two-day visit to U.S. training areas in Hawaii last week was “crucial” to their ongoing relations to the U.S. military, which proposes to set up live fire training ranges on Tinian and Pagan and a divert airfield on Tinian.
Torres and members of the Tinian leadership and officials of the Commonwealth Ports Authority visited Hawaii last week on an invite from the U.S. Pacific Command’s Lt. Gen. Anthony Crutchfield, the single point of contact for the CNMI for Defense projects in the NMI.
“This visit to the facilities of Pacific Command was informative and productive to our relationship with the U.S. Department of Defense. The opportunity for the leaders of Tinian to see and express their views on the proposed activities on their island is a crucial component of our ongoing relationship,” Torres said yesterday. “This, along with our continued dialogue under the 902 consultative process is an important part of ensuring that our voices and concerns are heard and that decisions are made with the most information possible.”
According to an itinerary of the trip, copies of which were obtained by Saipan Tribune yesterday, the CNMI officials Wednesday schedule included briefings from U.S. PACOM, the Pacific Air Forces, and the Marine Corps Forces Pacific. Wednesday’s schedule also included a Pearl Harbor Barge Tour and military hosted evening social.
Last Thursday’s schedule included activities the MARFORPAC, broken up into a briefing at a Radar Tower, a tour of machine gun/rifle firing ranges, a tour of Marine Corps Base Hawaii, and a display of amphibious assault vehicles, and “Military Operations on Urban Terrain” training.
The activities with PACAF included a tour of the Courtyard of Heroes, a PACAF Command brief, a display and tour of a KC-135, a military refueling aircraft.
