Contained within the pages of the Committee Report 22 of 108 – House Report 113-102 – National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal year 2014 are references to providing ballistic missile defense systems for Guam.
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five US territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of seventeen Non Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United Nations. The island’s capital is Hagatna (formerly named Agana). Guam is the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Island.
Here is what the report says:
“The committee recognizes the strategic importance of providing ballistic missile defense for Guam and the current U.S. assets based there. The committee further recognizes that as part of bilateral negotiations with the Government of Japan, the U.S. military presence on the island and the need to protect it from a missile threat are projected to increase. The committee notes that the Final Environmental Impact Statement on the Guam and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Military Relocation contains a recommendation to base an Army Air and Missile Defense Task Force (AMDTF) on Guam as part of the realignment of U.S. Marines from Okinawa, Japan, to Guam. The committee also notes the actions of the Department of Defense of temporarily stationing a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense capability on Guam to respond to immediate threats of missile launches from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea toward U.S. military assets on Guam.
The committee is concerned that despite projected growth in the U.S. military population on Guam and the President’s new Defense Strategic Guidance focusing on the U.S. Pacific Command area of responsibility, the Army has not provided any resources for the basing of an AMDTF or other missile defense capability on Guam in the current year budget proposal or in the Future Years Defense Program. The committee is aware that Aegis-based missile defense capabilities or other land-based missile defense capabilities also could, if required, provide coverage and defense for assets on Guam. Therefore, the committee directs the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the appropriate military services, to brief the committee by December 1, 2013, on:
(1) Any analysis the Department of Defense has conducted to determine which missile-defense capability or capabilities are best suited for the defense of Guam and the recommendations from that analysis;
(2) The Department’s timeline for resourcing and establishing an AMDTF or other missile-defense capability on or for Guam, including the number of required personnel billets and costs;
(3) An assessment of which component of the military–Active or Reserve–would be most appropriate to support the mission, either fully or partially; and
(4) A description of permanent and other missile defense capabilities in the Asia-Pacific region that could provide protection to U.S. military assets on Guam”
Source: Congressional Record: Committee Report 113-102 http://thomas.loc.gov
See related article: Guam Legislators want missile defense made permanent at Guam http://www.nti.org/gsn/article/guam-legislators-want-missile-defenses-made-permanent/
See video: Sending missiles to Guam http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PHvEtl7DFw
See video: US Sending THAAD Ballistic Missile systems to Guam http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoDvkOr76tE