In his letter to Pacific Air Force commander Capt. Kimberly Bender, the governor said his administration “will gladly work with all federal agencies in completion of this project.”
Fitial said Tinian “would be a preferred location.”
The island’s airport, he said, is 1.5 miles from the closest residential development so noise issues should not be a concern.
The Tinian port, which is under-utilized, has a deep water harbor and is close to the airport, he added. The development of Tinian will enhance other military buildup-related activities, he said.
According to Fitial, the existing runways on Tinian can easily be expanded, all lands in question are already public lands so it will not require purchase of any private lands, and over 95 percent of the people there welcome the military buildup.
Fitial told Bender that the CNMI Military Integration Management Committee “is pleased with the USAF plans to consider the commonwealth for the development of divert airfield to allow increased contingency operations, humanitarian assistance and exercise capabilities necessary for the USAF to maintain state of military readiness commensurate with the national defense mission in the Western Pacific.”
In evaluating potential divert airfield locations in the Marianas region, the USAF aims to “ensure airfield upgrades and modernization can be accomplished through use of sustainable smart planning; ensure divert operations and training event frequency can be accomplished at divert location; ensure any expansion is compatible with existing uses and future airport planning and integrate current and future Air Force and multi-Service exercises into the divert airfield requirements.”
In an email, Military Integration Management Committee coordinator Tom Linden said: “We welcome this initiative on any of the islands in the CNMI. However at this point in time we feel that Tinian is the best option.”
