Upgrades set for Navy facilities on Guam

[unhappycamper]

Upgrades set for Navy facilities on Guam
By Teri Weaver , Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Tuesday, February 19, 2008

The U.S. Navy on Guam has $335 million in construction projects planned for this year, including upgrading utility systems, improving Navy wharves, replacing housing and building a $45 million fitness center.

The projects were planned in response to current needs, said Kyra Hawn, spokeswoman for Naval Facilities Engineering Command Marianas, which oversees the Navy’s military construction projects on Guam.

“Pumps, lines and wires wear out,” she said during a phone interview last week. “We’re trying to improve our infrastructure.”

But the improvements — especially the expansion at Kilo Wharf and plans for family housing — come as the military prepares for future expansions, Hawn said.

The Pentagon wants to station 8,000 U.S. Marines on Guam in coming years. At the same time, the military plans to make the island better equipped to handle long stopovers by aircraft carriers and to house an Army air defense unit. All told, the military estimates nearly 40,000 more servicemembers, family members and civilian workers would move to Guam.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=52587