“The influx we’re seeing this week is due to Operation Valiant Shield, a 10-day to two-week exercise involving more than 2,000 visiting military personnel from the Navy and Air Force,” said Guam Visitors Bureau General Manager Gerald S.A. Perez.
In addition to servicemembers, the exercise has brought a number of Defense-contracted airlift with flight, maintenance and loading crews from companies that include Atlas Air, Omni Air International, Southern Air, World Airways, Evergreen Air, and Ryan International Airlines, said Perez.
“This impacts the visitor industry during one of its peak seasons, making it difficult for visitor reservations from our key markets in Japan and Korea,” Perez added.
Payless Car Rental Manager Rick Sanchez said his company and all other car rentals on island were out of cars to rent.
“Right now there is a high demand for cars and not enough inventory,” said Sanchez adding that they are still receiving calls from both military and tourists.
No information on the exercise was available from either the Navy or the Air Force as of press time.
Lt. Jodie Cornell, spokeswoman for the Navy, said she does not have all the details yet.
The last time the exercise took place was in 2007, and according to an archive article from Stars and Stripes, about 22,000 servicemembers took part in what was then the second annual exercise.
In 2007 about 30 ships and 280 aircraft were testing tactics, techniques and procedures used in joint operations in combat, according to the article.
The exercise tested the military’s ability to rapidly consolidate joint forces in response to a regional contingency while demonstrating U.S. commitment in the Pacific, Stars and Stripes stated.
