Costs of Marine expansion in Guam on rise

[unhappycamper]

Costs of Marine expansion in Guam on rise
By Dan Lamothe - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Oct 4, 2008 11:38:11 EDT

More than two years after the Corps agreed to move more than 8,000 Marines from Okinawa, Japan, to Guam, key details in the plan remain unclear, and the cost is rising.

Marine Forces Pacific officials estimate the shift to Guam will exceed $15 billion, nearly $5 billion more than Defense Department officials expected, according to a report released by the Government Accountability Office.

Officials say the additional money is needed to purchase essentials: high-speed ships to transport troops to and from Guam, furniture and office equipment and land for training ranges there and on the nearby Northern Mariana Islands.

Alone, the strategic lift support needed to use the isolated island will cost the Corps $88 million more per year than if it ran the same operations on Okinawa, the report said.

Officials with the Navy’s Joint Guam Program Office, which is overseeing the move, say the move to Guam is still the Corps’ best bet.


Rest of article at: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/10/marine_guam_100408w/%2e