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Price of move to Guam on the rise again

Moving Marines from Okinawa to Guam may be much higher than initially projected.

“Recently, Marine Forces Pacific officials estimated that the Marine Corps realignment on Guam alone will exceed $15 billion, which is significantly higher than the original $10.3 billion estimate," the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, wrote in a report last week on defense infrastructure.

Previously, the estimated cost of the military buildup on Guam was projected to be more than $13 billion, including the Marine move and enhancements to Navy and Air Force facilities.

Additional costs cited in the GAO report include:

• The cost of using high-speed vessels to move Marines to and from Guam.

• Training-related costs in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

• Relocation costs for personnel, equipment and material to Guam.

• Costs of facility furnishings, such as furniture and office equipment.

• Real estate costs if additional land is required on Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.