08/26/2025 - U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE) visit Tinian for a few hours on Monday with CNMI Congresswoman Kimberlyn King-Hinds and CNMI Lt. Gov. Dennis Mendiola, along with several other local leaders. The senators toured military developments on the island as Congress discusses the national defense budget. Senator Wicker is the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Senator Fischer is the chairwoman of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces. 

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.

08/12/2025 - Tinian Mayor Edwin Aldan worries about the dichotomy the $800-million military buildup might bring to the island.

08/08/2025 - Thomas Manglona II sits down with US Air Force Col. Brett Cassidy, 11th Air Task Force commander, to discuss efforts in the region. Watch the full interview now only on Marianas Press.

08/05/2025 - Delegate Kimberlyn King-Hinds said the administration of Gov. David M. Apatang and Lt. Gov. Dennis C. Mendiola will be requesting a 60-day extension on the comment period for the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Mariana Islands Training and Testing and CNMI Joint Military Training. “I know that the governor will be submitting a request for an additional commenting period, 60 days. And I think, you know, leaders of the CNMI might have to sit together and be very strategic in terms of responding to the EIS,” she said during her From the Hill to the Vill community meeting at the Tinian Youth Center last  Aug. 5.

08/06/2025 - Tinian residents shared what they took away from the community conversations event CNMI Congresswoman Kimberlyn King-Hinds hosted on Tinian on Tuesday. They also shared what the top issues matter to them on Tinian with Marianas Press.

07/31/2025 - CNMI leaders are in full support of several local businesses crying foul after a Texas-based company won a $238,706 catering contract to provide three to-go style meals a day to up to 600 U.S. Air Force personnel currently training in the CNMI.

07/22/2025 - A Texas-based company won the $238,706 catering contract that is providing three to-go style meals a day to up 600 U.S. Air Force personnel currently training in the CNMI. And some local businesses aren’t happy with that development.

07/16/2025 - Edward C. Camacho, Special assistant to the governor for military affairs, said the CNMI will be front and center of Resolute Force Pacific 2025 as the U.S. Air Force launched its most expansive military exercise in the region last week.

07/14/2025 - Four community groups from the CNMI and Guam—From Luta, For Luta, Micronesia Climate Change Alliance, Tinian Women’s Association, and Our Common Wealth 670—as well as dozens of concerned community members and the diaspora are calling on a 45-day extension on the comment period for the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement on the Mariana Islands Training and Testing and CNMI Joint Military Training proposals.

07/10/2025 - Rep. Marissa Flores said the CNMI only collected a mere $87,000 in fees and taxes from $153-million worth of military activities in the Northern Marianas. Flores shared that data, which she said was disclosed at a recent meeting with the military, at the end of the House Standing Committee on Ways and Means budget hearing for the Department of Finance last July 9. “Why are we not collecting? What is the problem?” Flores asked DOF and the Division of Revenue and Taxation.

07/09/2025 - With the tourism industry still struggling post the COVID-19 pandemic, the business community on Saipan is getting a sort of reprieve in the next month or so with 500 U.S. personnel on-island for the 2025 Resolute Force Pacific, or REFORPAC, military training exercises.

07/09/2025 - The U.S. Department of Defense appears to have a comprehensive plan to clean up unexploded ordnance  on Tinian—but only for the firing ranges identified in the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement.

07/07/2025 - Tinian, CNMI - There’s an air of optimism on Tinian as the island of about 2,000 residents receives a much-needed economic boost from the ongoing military buildup, clearly evident in the surge of earthmoving, construction, and heavy equipment activity across the island.

07/03/2025 - Commonwealth Ports Authority executive director Esther Ada provides the latest update on the proposed plans by the U.S. Air Force to construct warehouses and mobile aircraft arresting equipment pads at the Benjamin Taisacan Manglona International Airport in Rota.

07/01/2025—Local companies will have to compete against U.S. firms for military contracts. That appears to be the gist of the U.S. Department of Defense’s acquisition philosophy when it comes to the ongoing military buildup in the Marianas.

06/30/2025—The weeklong series of public meetings for the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed CNMI Joint Military Training wrapped up on Rota last June 27. 

06/27/2025—The five-day public meetings for the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed CNMI Joint Military Training will conclude on Rota today after separate two-day engagements on Tinian and Saipan.

06/26/2025—Saipan resident Dave Cabrera has no doubt that the U.S. Department of Defense made changes to the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement that was thumbed down by the CNMI community 10 years ago. However, he feels that residents of the Northern Marianas have yet to fully comprehend the scope that the military is proposing under the CNMI Joint Military Training. 

06/25/2025—Noise pollution appeared to be one of the concerns in the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the CNMI Joint Military Training during the second public meeting held last June 25 at the Tinian Junior/Senior High School Cafeteria.

TINIAN—6/24/2025—Tinian Mayor Edwin Aldan is endorsing the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the CNMI Joint Military Training, but gave the U.S. Department of Defense four conditions to assure his support of the plan. 

06/23/2025 - In a press conference at the Pentagon, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said that the strikes on 3 Iranian nuclear facilities involved sending B2 bombers to the Pacific as a decoy and “deception effort.” Gen. Caine provided details of operation “Midnight Hammer” alongside Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

06/23/2025 - The U.S. Air Force will be holding a month-long exercise in Guam, Saipan, Tinian, and Rota. The exercise is called “Resolute Force Pacific,” or REFORPAC. It is set to take place on Saipan from July 7 to August 8, from July 8 to 31 on Rota, and on Tinian from July 9 to July 31.

06/11/2025 - CNMI Governor Arnold Palacios said he hopes there are more benefits than costs for the islands in the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement that was released by the  United States Marine Corps for the CNMI Joint Military Training plans last week.

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. 

06/06/2025 - Commonwealth Bureau of Military Affairs Special Assistant Ed Camacho sits down with Marianas Press' Thomas Manglona to discuss the latest military developments in the region, including an upcoming deadline for comment on a draft Environmental Impact Statement for projects on Saipan and Tinian.

05/21/2025 - The U.S. Air Force announced a June 15, 2025 deadline for public comments about the Tinian North Field Rehabilitation project as required by the National Historic Preservation Act. The proposed project has three major focus areas. The first is to rehabilitate some of the existing pavement surfaces at North Field on Tinian, a World War II airfield. The second focus is to repair the roads to maintain access to the site.

Rota Mayor Aubry Hocog sat down with MP's Thomas Manglona last Thursday to discuss the military's footprint on Rota, recent infrastructure projects, and if she'll pursue a second term. Watch the full interview now.

5/1/2025— The U.S. Air Force held a town hall on Rota on Wednesday night to discuss its proposal for projects at the island's airport. Many residents repeatedly asked how it would benefit the community directly.

04/30/2025-- Rota hosted its first Industry Day on Tuesday meant to unlock opportunities in federal contracting for local businesses amid plans for military expansion to the island.

04/18/25 - The U.S. Air Force will hold a public hearing regarding its proposed projects on Rota at the mayor's office conference hall on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. According to Rota Mayor Aubry Hocog, they will discuss the "military footprint on Rota."