Guam Braces for Peaceful Military Incursion

"The military wants to have a pool party, but they are telling us to build the pool," said James V. Espaldon, a Guam senator who oversees the island's infrastructure.

Even before the Marines were coming, the debt-ridden government here struggled -- and in many cases failed -- to maintain roads, water lines, schools and a balanced budget. The island's landfill is bursting at the seams with garbage and is in violation of federal environmental laws.

It doesn't help that the island sits in an area of the Pacific known as Typhoon Alley and is regularly pummeled by storms that flatten nearly everything not made of reinforced concrete. Guam is also near a major geologic fault and has been hit by major earthquakes, most recently in 2001.

The newcomers could bring on an infrastructure breakdown unless the federal government comes up with "significant funding," the U.S. Government Accountability Office said in a study published in September.

Guam's government says it needs $2 billion to $3 billion in federal funds to cover outside-the-fence costs of the military move. The Pentagon, with its patronage and lobbying links to the key members of Congress who dole out money, can be fairly sure it will get its $13 billion for the inside-the-fence part of the buildup, but the Guam government is assured of nothing.

The Defense Department is neither authorized nor obligated to compensate Guam for the whole of the long-term impact of the Marines' presence on the island, according to retired Marine Maj. Gen. David Bice, executive director of the Joint Guam Program Office, which is managing the Pentagon's move.

Bice said, though, that the Pentagon recognizes that Guam's needs are real and extensive: "The federal government is recognizing that this has to be a move that is good for the people of Guam."

Several federal agencies have created a Guam task force and have held two meetings in Washington to try to find money for the island. But like the District of Columbia, Guam has no votes in Congress. And unlike the District, which sits where power and the news media sit, Guam is halfway around the world.

"Most people think we are in Central America," said retired Army Col. Dennis J. Santo Tomas, an adviser to Guam on homeland security matters.

Military planners in Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity, predicted that Guam would have trouble securing the money it will need for coping with the military buildup.

Here on the island, elected officials are expressing growing concern. "Look, no jurisdiction in the States would tolerate such a big buildup in such a short time," said Cruz, the lieutenant governor. "This growth has to be balanced -- inside the fence and outside."

Guam does have an ace up its sleeve when it comes to paying for the cost of the newcomers. Under federal law, income taxes paid by all residents on the island -- including those serving in the military -- must remain on Guam. Instead of going to the U.S. Treasury, they flow into the island's general operating fund.

Tax revenue from 40,000 new residents would be a substantial windfall, perhaps as much as $200 million (the island's current tax revenue is about $500 million). But the new money will not arrive until well after the taxpayers do -- and well after Guam will have to start improving its port and roads and expanding its schools.

Nearly everyone planning for the Marines' arrival worries about this Catch-22. But so far, there are no solid plans for bridge loans or bonds to solve it, said Bertha Duenas, Guam's acting budget director.

There is another major local worry: How will those young Marines pass their off-duty hours?

On Okinawa, three U.S. servicemen -- a sailor and two Marines -- were convicted in 1996 of kidnapping and raping a 12-year-old Japanese girl. The crime triggered months of anti-military protests on Okinawa. "What happened there is not at all lost on us," Cruz said.

To lessen chances of conflicts with local people, the Guam government has asked the military to hold special courses in "how to behave" before the Marines arrive and to periodically conduct refresher courses.

In Washington, Bice, who is directing the move to Guam, bristled at the suggestion, saying that he "challenged anyone to find a more disciplined, more goal-oriented group of young people" than Marines. "There will be cultural awareness training for individuals who arrive on Guam," he said, "just as there is training anyplace we assign military men and women."