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06/09/2025 - The United States Marine Corps released a Revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement for its proposed CNMI Joint Military Training plans. Public comments will be accepted during the 75-day pubic review and comment period from June 6, 2025, to August 20, 2025.
The military has also scheduled public meetings on Tinian, Saipan, and Rota. On Tinian, the meeting will be held on June 23 and 24 at 5 p.m. at the Tinian Junior/Senior High School. The meeting on Saipan will take place on June 25 and 26 at Crowne Plaza’s Hibiscus Hall starting at 5 p.m. The meeting on Rota will be held at the Mayor’s Office on June 27 at 3 p.m.
“This revised training concept, or Proposed Action, would support land-based expeditionary ground and aviation warfare training for all service components within lands leased by the military in Tinian,” according to the Revised Draft EID.
The proposed projects include two live-fire ranges, two surface radar towers, improvements to North Field, the development of Landing Zones and a drop zone between runways Able and Baker, and two ammunition holding areas.
“The former U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) facility on Tinian would be repurposed into an expeditionary Base Camp. The existing communications towers on Tinian and Saipan would also be repurposed to allow communications during training. In addition, subject to CNMI approvals, a biosecurity facility would be constructed at the Port of Tinian and an aircraft shelter would be constructed on U.S. Air Force Divert leased property at the Tinian International Airport. To ensure the safety of military personnel training units and the public during training events, the on-island Range Control would schedule training and coordinate with local officials and the public,” according to a statement from the official website for the CJMT.
Our Common Wealth 670 is a grassroots CNMI advocacy group dedicated to education, research, and awareness about militarization in the Marianas. They said in a post on Instagram, “We’ve been waiting for updates on the CJMT for a very long time, with the original 2015 version posing serious concerns regarding cultural and environmental destruction. The community rose up and responded with an [estimated] 30,000 comments: This is a critical moment for us to take a deep look what changes the CJMT is laying out for the CNMI which proposes preparations for war. THE BIGGER PICTURE: The CJMT, although framed as a separate military project, is connected to the Mariana Islands Training and Testing (MITT) Study Area, the military build-up, the bombing of FDM and the hyper-militarization of the entire Pacific region as the U.S. continues to escalate its presence in the region.”
The full Revised Draft EIS and more information can be found at www.cnmijointmilitarytrainingeis.com
Story by Thomas Manglona II
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