Guam: Defense Infrastructure and Readiness
Tilghman, Andrew (2023-03-08). Guam: Defense Infrastructure and Readiness (Report). Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service.
- Has attachment: File:48MXWVKE.pdf
Abstract: Guam is the westernmost U.S. territory in the Indo-Pacific region and is home to about 170,000 U.S. citizens. The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) owns about 25% of the land on Guam and maintains a force of about 6,400 active-duty servicemembers on the island. Guam’s geographic position—it is closer to Beijing than to Hawaii—gives it an important role in national defense for supporting air and naval operations in the western Pacific region. The island’s location also places it within range of nuclear-capable missiles maintained by the militaries of the People’s Republic of China and North Korea.
DOD is planning to make additional investment in military infrastructure on Guam and to increase the number of servicemembers on the island. DOD’s five-year plan outlined in the Future Years Defense Program (FYDP) calls for spending about $7.3 billion on Military Construction on the island from FY2024 through FY2028. The Missile Defense Agency is planning an additional $1.7 billion to implement an integrated missile defense system on Guam. The Marine Corps is planning to move 5,000 Marines currently stationed in Okinawa, Japan, to a new Marine Corps Base on Guam that opened in 2020. DOD may need to move additional servicemembers to Guam to support a new missile defense system, expanded ship repair facilities and other military activities.
Congress and DOD also face questions about Guam’s civilian infrastructure – electricity, roads, water, housing – that affect U.S. military readiness on the island. Congress and DOD face numerous decisions during the next five years about force posture and infrastructure investments on Guam. These decisions may impact broader defense strategies throughout the Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) Area of Operations. The interrelated and evolving variables affecting DOD plans for Guam include the military services’ warfighting strategies and doctrines, the military capability and strategies of adversaries in the INDOPACOM region, relationships with allies and access to overseas bases in friendly countries, and tradeoffs involving investment decisions in other regions of the world.
