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08/18/2025 - Delegate Kimberlyn King-Hinds revealed growing concerns about the use of 50-caliber rounds for live training exercises in the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Mariana Islands Training and Testing and CNMI Joint Military Training.
“I think the biggest concern that folks are having right now with regards to the new revised plan is the caliber of bullets that are going to be used. Because initially, folks were like, ‘Oh, we're going to be OK with 50 cal..., but 50 cal. It is very noisy.’ The other thing about using a 50 caliber is the amount of surface danger zone it reaches out to the water. That's going to impact folks who are going back and forth, whether it be the shipping folks or just people who are out there fishing,” she said during her From the Hill to the Vill town hall meeting last Aug. 13 at the Kagman Community Center.
In related news, Gov. David. M. Apatang confirmed that his administration has sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Defense, requesting a 60-day extension on RDEIS. “I think we need more time to evaluate the comments from the general public...I sat with general [Mark] Hashimoto the other day, but I told him that we're flexible. So once all those comments are put together, and you know, we're agreeable to what's going on, and then we can move forward. So that's the reason why I asked for that 60-day extension. Even the Department of the Interior is aware of that, and they're willing to work with us and DOD also. So that's part of the conversation that we had this morning,” he said. Hashimoto is the executive director of Marine Corps Forces Pacific.
Going back to the concerns on the high-caliber rounds used for training on Tinian, King-Hinds said to mitigate the concern of fishermen from both sides of the Saipan Channel, Apatang is requesting the U.S. Department of Defense to scrap the use of 50-caliber rounds altogether.
“I think the gov is asking to take 50-caliber off the table. And I think there's a strong possibility that that's going to get taken off the table, which is good, which is, you know, good for all of us.”
King-Hinds said another ask being considered is for the CNMI to be allowed to use FADs, which is short for Fish Aggregating Devices. These are man-made structures designed to attract fish, primarily pelagic species like tuna, marlin, and mahi-mahi, and act as artificial reefs, luring smaller fish, which in turn attract larger predators.
“FADS is a fishing aggregate device. If you remove the 50 cal., the surface danger zone gets significantly reduced. But FADS is this instrument that is planted in the water, and it attracts fish. And then now our fishermen can go and fish in that area. They don't have to drive out so far.”
And she said, Apatang is on board with the plan to use FADS on all three main islands of the CNMI—Saipan, Tinian, and Rota.
“It was shared with me that the gov had asked for multiple devices around Tinian, Saipan, to include Rota, even though Rota is not part of the training. He's making some good asks, and we're, you know, going to push it through. We're going to support it. And I think it's one way to mitigate some of the concerns that have been raised, especially by our fishermen and those who are in the, you know, the shipping, the transportation back and forth.”
On the matter of a Texas-based company winning the $238,706 catering bid to feed up to 600 U.S. Air Force personnel in the CNMI last month and earlier this August, King-Hinds said the federal government should do a better job of ensuring these types of bids go directly to the people where the training is being held.
“[We need] to change Section 8(a) to potentially a carve out for NMI dissent, and so that you'd be a lot more competitive when you're applying for these contracts,” she said.
Section 8(a) refers to the Small Business Administration's program designed to help small businesses owned by individuals who are socially and economically disadvantaged gain access to federal contracting opportunities.
“One of the things that I keep telling the Department of Defense, right, is that there needs to be a balance between national security needs and the economy and the environment. There are people who live here, and so how do we work together to be able to make meaningful conversation and actually do something about some of these things that we're talking about.”
King-Hinds then alluded to what Hashimoto said during a meeting with the CNMI Senate last week.
“[He] expressly stated that the biggest security concern in the Marianas is economic sustainability. I think everybody is kind of getting the talking point. And these are the folks who are working through the CJMT EIS. There's that growing recognition because I share the challenges with the [Public School System]. I mean, if [PSS] is talking about further reducing hours, potentially, you know, these drastic scenarios, where are they going to get the money if the government doesn't have the money? And, so this is an ongoing conversation that we're going to have to have about national security, and then keep them accountable,” she said.
Report by Mark Rabago
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