AS FAR as the Guam military buildup goes, the last six or seven days have been pretty amazing or, as I am sure you are about to say, pretty darn confusing. I am with you there, but I must say that I am very optimistic about the direction of the various developments.

The news media have been swamped by a variety of buildup-related news stories, most of them relying on anonymous sources and coming out of Japan. It’s been pretty solidly confirmed, though, that the U.S. and Japan are renegotiating terms of the 2006 agreement between the two countries, and the various stories all agree that the longstanding requirement that the Marine Corps base be moved out of the overcrowded Futenma area before the Marines go to Guam or anywhere else is history. That requirement has stalled the buildup for years, showing no signs of being resolved. If true, this will speed up the arrival of the Marines.

As chairperson of the Guam Military Buildup Committee, I’ve been forced to read between the lines of these often confusing and contradictory stories. A lot of the developments have been pinned down by the media in recent days, and I also have my own sources who have confirmed some of the details. The general consensus is that about 4,700 Marines will be deployed here, and that seems credible to me.

For months I’ve constantly been asked whether there will be a military buildup at all. First, a number of military contracts have been let, and around the island you will see a lot of construction and general activity is going on around the bases. There’s no question that the buildup is on, you might say, but its numbers are sure changeable!

As I’ve said a number of times, the broader details of the buildup are not under our control and we’re going to have to be patient. I agree with Gov. Calvo that our best approach is to remain calm until we get some official word about the big picture.

That doesn’t mean we should sit on our hands and do nothing while the military does its thing, as some have advocated. Quite the opposite – this is the time to make sure we have all our ducks in a row, so that it’s well understood what Guam requires as the host of the buildup.

Gov. Calvo will shortly empanel the Guam First Commission to ensure we really speak with one voice in communicating our needs and positions concerning the buildup to Washington. Past policy left a legacy of confusion and fragmentation that we must clear up as we go forward.

I was incredibly encouraged by the briefing JGPO provided to legislators on Wednesday. We learned that in addition to carrying out a new environmental impact statement concerning the Route 15 Pågat site, it had identified other sites for a firing range complex, including several at Naval Magazine, to be considered.

The NavMag sites might be supplemented with adjacent private lands which the military would have to obtain from local land owners, who JGPO’s Joseph Ludovici said would be informed in advance of any military interest in their properties. That’s a change for the better from past practice.

I am very pleased by the willingness of JGPO to take a fresh, new look at the problem areas revealed by the previous EIS process, and if the number of Marines to be stationed on Guam proves to be accurate, I believe we will come to see this not as a downsizing, but as a rightsizing of the Guam military buildup.

When the official announcement is made by President Obama, the Secretary of Defense and Congresswoman Bordallo, let’s call it, “the Revised Guam Military Buildup.”

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Sen. Judith Paulette Guthertz, DPA, chairs the 31st Guam Legislature’s Committee on the Guam Military Buildup and Homeland Security. Send feedback to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .