By Gerardo R. Partido
Variety News Staff

GUAM is still important to the U.S. military despite the island’s losing a bid to homeport an aircraft carrier group here.
This was the message given by Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo upon learning that the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson will be homeported in San Diego, California.
The USS Carl Vinson, officially based at Bremerton, is currently in the middle of a three-year nuclear refueling and complex overhaul at Northrop Grumman’s Newport News, Va. shipyard, where the carrier was built.
Bordallo spoke with Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter prior to the announcement that the USS Carl Vinson will be homeported in San Diego.
“I have no doubt that the strategic location of our island is important for our country. The decision to relocate Marines from Okinawa to Guam is evidence of this fact and brings with it its own set of opportunities for our community. The support our community has shown, and continues to show, for military personnel and families will remain an important factor for the Department of Defense as they make future decisions,” Bordallo said in a statement.
The Department of the Navy reached its decision after having evaluated four locations to be the homeport from which an additional aircraft carrier strike group could operate in the Pacific, which was called for by the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review.
Among those competing for the homeporting of the USS Carl Vinson were Guam and Hawaii.
“I know that the Navy looked closely at each of the homeport locations, including Guam, and that they weighed the benefits and costs of each option. I strongly support the decision to move an additional carrier to the Pacific, and we know that its presence in the region will benefit Guam,” Bordallo said.
She added that the transfer of a sixth aircraft carrier to the Pacific is expected to bolster the Navy’s capabilities and posture in the Pacific, and bode well for the security of Guam and for United States allies in the region.
The increased carrier presence in the Pacific is also expected to bring economic benefits for Guam as carriers will continue to visit Guam in transit to fulfill missions and to take part in training exercises in the Western Pacific.
In fact, the Navy is planning for the development of a new transient pier capability on Guam in order to facilitate the re-supply of its fleet of aircraft carriers.
According to the Navy, the USS Carl Vinson would move to San Diego in early 2010, after the carrier completes sea trials and post-overhaul work in Newport News. The overhaul is scheduled for completion in March 2009.