Marines start arriving on Tinian Wednesday

Some 100 of the estimated over 200 U.S. Marines from Japan are set to arrive on Tinian this Wednesday in what could be the largest military exercise and perhaps the start of a permanent presence on the island, decades after Tinian played a decisive role to end World War II.

Don Farrell, a CNMI historian and the Tinian mayor’s point man on military affairs, said yesterday that “Exercise Geiger Fury MAG-12 is a go this week.” MAG-12 stands for Marine Aircraft Group-12.

“The first high-speed vessel will arrive Wednesday. I believe it will have about 100 Marines,” Farrell told Saipan Tribune in a phone interview yesterday.

More details about Operation Geiger Fury are expected this week.

“To the best of my knowledge, no expeditionary force has done permanent work on the island,” Farrell told Saipan Tribune in a phone interview.

Farrell said the training of U.S. Marines on Tinian is a historic moment, considering that it establishes a permanent presence of the Marine Corps in the Marianas.

“There’s no other place left in the Western Pacific for this type of training,” he said, adding that what was agreed upon during the signing of the U.S. Department of Defense’s lease of two-thirds of Tinian is now coming to fruition.

Two-thirds of Tinian land is leased by the U.S. Department of Defense from the CNMI government.

Farrell said the Department of Public Safety, the Commonwealth Ports Authority, the Tinian Mayor’s Office, and the entire CNMI government must also be aware of the activities taking place and lend a hand as much as they can.

After unloading their vehicles, the Marines will proceed to North Field to establish their bivouac. The high-speed vessel will proceed to Japan and return with the rest of the 200 Marines. Full scale operations will begin immediately.

The Marines will begin leaving Tinian on or about June 3, with the final group leaving on June 10 to 11.

Execise Geiger Fury is happening while the U.S. and Japan governments are working on the details of an agreement to relocate some 5,000 U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam as part of an $8.6-billion military realignment that could include the development of training ranges in Guam and Tinian in the CNMI.

Japan will pay $3.1 billion of the $8.6 billion cost of expanding military facilities in the Marianas.

Press secretary Angel Demapan said the Fitial administration is upbeat about the impact from the renewed potential for relocation of Marines, while Saipan Chamber of Commerce president Douglas Brennan said this should be an economic boon to the island of Guam which will, hopefully, result in an economic ripple effect throughout the CNMI.

The U.S. and Japan’s agreement on a long-stalled plan to move troops off the island of Okinawa is a key part of the Obama administration’s strategy to intensify its focus on Asia, and disperse American troops in the region.