We would be on the right track because there have been newspaper reports which indicated that Palau is under consideration as a possible “site” for some future US Military training exercises andthat about 9,000 US Marines could be moved out of Okinawa and re-deployed on the US Territory of Guam. If some members of the families of these military personnel would also be joining their spouses on Guam, we would be talking about a very large number of people who, at some points in their deployments, would need some R&R away from their base. Palau is only an hour and forty-five minutes flight from Guam and would fit the R&R bill just right. Our Government and the PVA should extend invitations to the members of the US Military on Guam and their families to visit Palau on their R&R and whenever they have time to spend away from their duty stations.
The members of the US Military and their dependents are among the most trouble-free group of visitors Palau could wish to have. Our Immigration people would not have to worry about them overstaying their entry permits. Our Labor Officials do not have to worry that some of them might try to get employments here illegally. Our Health workers do not have to worry that they might be carrying some highly contagious diseases. And our Attorney General need not worry about them being members of some dangerous terrorist organizations. These people would only bring spending money to Palau, and for that, they should be most welcomed in our Country.
All possible ways to render assistances to people having problems on the Compact Road should be publicized.
Local names and meaningful traffic advisories should be posted on all segments of the Compact Road on Babeldaob.Almost all of the alignments on the 53-mile Babeldaob Compact Road meander through areas that were not and still are not, parts of existing villages on that island. As a result, many people who travel on those roads do not know where they are on the Compact Road at any given point, unless they happen to be from the state they are traveling through or be near one of the previously known existing villages of Babeldaob.
For instance, someone from an island outside Babeldaob such as Peleliu, Angaur, Kayangel, Sonsorol, and Tobi or from an area which is not part of Babeldaob, who gets into an accident on the Compact Road somewhere onBabeldaob while driving to visit a relative in Ngaraard or in Ngarchelong, could be in a very serious trouble. He might have a cell phone with him, but that cell phone wouldn’t do him any good if he couldn’t direct rescuers to where the accident took place. And when time is of the essence, that small point about the exact location on the Compact Road where the accident took place becomes crucial. It could mean life and dead for someone involved in a serious accident. For safety reasons, the ten states on Babeldaob should post appropriate names on those segments of the Compact Road that run through their areas.
