Guidelines for military exercise in FDM eyed

The Senate is seriously looking at setting the guidelines for the US Military’s bombing exercises in Farallon de Medinilla, in fresh attempts to save the island north of Saipan from further destruction.

Senate Floor Leader Pete P. Reyes disclosed plans to craft a resolution that would list down the kind of military activities that may be allowed in Farallon de Medinilla.

While acknowledging that the CNMI allowed the island’s use for military exercise when it signed the Covenant with the US, Mr. Reyes said local leaders were not aware then of the environmental destruction that comes with the bombing.

“Only yesterday did we learn that the exercises have been causing intolerable damage to the island because the bombing has been concentrated on the middle part of the Farallon de Medinilla,” he said.

Because of this development, the senator is now concocting a resolution that would detail allowable military activities in Farallon de Medinilla, which he hopes to complete through discussion with US Navy officials.

He mentioned the possibility of creating a sanctuary in any of the northern islands for endangered species displaced by the regular military bombing exercise in Farallon de Medinilla.

At the same time, the Senate also invited officials of the US Navy’s Pacific Command to hold a series of discussions with local officials and residents to give them a clearer picture of the situation in Farallon de Medinilla.

Mr. Reyes said COMNAVAR Read Admiral Tom Fellin has already agreed to give members of the Legislature a presentation on the ongoing activities of the Navy in Farallon de Medinilla, as well as the current condition of the island and its wild habitats.

“Admiral Fellin is coming back from the mainland US to Saipan in three weeks to give the Legislature a briefing on the situation in Farallon de Medinilla,” he told reporters.

The senator mentioned the possibility of a compromise agreement with the US Navy for its continued use of the island as venue for its bombing exercise due to the activities’ annual contribution to the CNMI economy.

Military presence in the Northern Marianas is translated into more than $5 million in additional revenues for the government each year.

Striking the balance

Mr. Reyes said this money is significant enough for the local coffers, especially now when the economy is not at all rosy, nor it shows indication of valuable recovery for the rest of the year.

“We need to strike the balance between the environmental impact of the military’s continued use of the island for bombing and its economic contributions to the CNMI,” he explained.

He pointed out that a workable plan should be immediately installed in order to conserve displaced species in Farallon de Medinilla as the CNMI government consistently benefit from additional revenues due to military bombing activities there.

Military exercises in Farallon de Medenilla have been carried out despite concerns raised by CNMI officials on the possible destruction of the island and its surrounding reefs.

Navy officials have previously noted the significance of the bombing exercises in Farallon de Medinilla to the US Armed Forces’ efforts in keeping itself as the strongest military in the world.

In fact, the B2 crew that trained in 1999 at the bombing range in Farallon de Medinilla were dispatched to engage in the NATO air attacks in Kosovo, Yugoslavia.

Navy officials have said that the training opportunities that the US military has in the Marianas cannot be duplicated anywhere in the world, adding that all of the Marianas are very important for the defense of the nation.

They said military exercises in Farallon de Medinilla will continue in order to maintain the readiness of the US to go to war. “If America is to be ready to go to war, the only way we can be ready is to train and part of the training is to be able to drop live ordinance on a range.”

In the Pacific Region, the US military’s bombing range in the Farallon de Medinilla which is an uninhabited limestone island north of Saipan.

The military drops live ordinance at the bombing range in Farallon de Medinilla due to the importance of using actual ammunition that the military intends to fight with during training.

However, the military tries to simulate some exercises to at least reduce the possibility of destroying the island and its surrounding reef which is believed the richest in the region.

The US military conducts air and naval bombing exercises in the Marianas, particularly in Farallon de Medinilla. The most recent rigid military exercise conducted in the region involved the Kitty Hawk Battle Group.