GOVERNOR Ralph DLG Torres on Monday said the CNMI is one of the two territories that still do not have a National Guard unit.
He noted that in other jurisdictions, the National Guard has been activated to assist with the jurisdictions’ fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, the same cannot be said for the Commonwealth, given that it still lacks its own National Guard, he said.
“We are safe where we’re at, but again, it’s never bad and it’s always helpful to have additional assistance, so I hope that in the next few months, we’ll have more updates on our request to have a National Guard unit — that’s something that I want to make a priority for the administration,” Torres said.
The governor said he met Friday with Maj. Gen. Brian G. Neal, the deputy director of the Air National Guard, regarding the CNMI’s request for its own National Guard.
Whether it be an Air National Guard or an Army National Guard, Torres reiterated that the CNMI needs a National Guard unit.
“I think it’s time to really make that a priority as a government,” he added. “As a community, we’re seeing the divert airfield project in Tinian, we’re seeing the [Department of Defense] partnership strengthening here in the CNMI, and [we’re] understanding our role in the nation’s national security,” the governor said.
The islands’ partnership with the DoD, he added, includes several CNMI sons and daughters serving in the U.S. armed forces, and several more training in JROTC and SROTC programs. Many local residents are willing to leave the islands to serve and protect their nation, Torres added.
“I am not asking for a huge National Guard unit, but just something to start a National Guard unit [with] 20 or 30 [members]. We can specify that later on, but at this point, I want to emphasize that we do need a National Guard here in the CNMI.”
He recalled that in the past, the Hawaii National Guard and the Guam National Guard came to assist the CNMI with its disaster recovery efforts, including post-Super Typhoon Yutu.
The governor believes that the federal government understands the importance of a jurisdiction having its own National Guard, and based on recent discussions at the national and state level, the federal response is looking very positive, he added.
He said in the discussions, he emphasized the CNMI’s partnership with the DoD, as well as the importance of having the ability to protect the Commonwealth and to support the DoD in case any issues arise that call for the activation of the National Guard.
The governor said he is open to discussing where the National Guard would be based in the CNMI, whether on Saipan or on Tinian where a divert airfield will be located.
“This is an open discussion, but one thing that I want to emphasize is the opportunity for us to have a National Guard, whether it be on Tinian or here on Saipan or even on Rota,” he added.
The governor said having a National Guard facility could also create more job opportunities for CNMI residents.
“As time progresses, I eventually would like to increase the number of National Guard members that we have, but I want to make sure that the National Guard grows accordingly and not over establish in the very first step,” he said.
“This is something that we want to make sure that we start right away, and start in the right direction.”
In 2015, U.S. Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan introduced legislation in the U.S. Congress to create a National Guard unit in the CNMI.
But he said on Tuesday that a “study commissioned by DoD several years ago did not sufficiently support the establishment of a National Guard unit in the Northern Mariana Islands.”
