Marine Corps Reactivates Base On Guam

Guam’s history is marked by the enduring partnership between the U.S. military and the people of Guam. Since the establishment of Marine Barracks Guam in 1899, the Marine Corps has had a nearly continuous presence on Guam. The Marine Barracks was reactivated after World War II and deactivated November 10, 1992.

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According to Kyodo News, the new base in Guam will host 4,000 US Marines that will be transferred from Okinawa. The US and Japan agreed to reduce the military burden on Okinawa, which hosts over 70% of US bases in Japan, over local opposition to the US presence. But the plans to deploy the Marine Littoral Regiment further entrenches the military presence in the Okinawa prefecture.

There is also local opposition to the expansion of the US military presence in Guam, as Kyodo reported anti-base demonstrators protested against the opening of the new Marines Corps facility. An activist said that the military buildup will make Guam “a target for a war that we didn’t want to be part of.”

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“They are appropriating our history and they are co-opting an identity of a CHamoru hero who, quite frankly, was very critical of the fact that we never saw true liberation here in Guam, although he was a former Marine,” Flores said. “He’s been quoted many times in saying we’re equal in only war and not in peace. They have manipulated his legacy to force a closeness and connection to this new Marine base that represents so much destruction and violence for our people. And worst off, this base makes us a bigger target for war.”