Senator asked to drop proposal to convert Malesso property into military drill site

By Jayvee Vallejera

Sen. Chris Barnett and Malesso Mayor Franklin Champaco have asked Sen. Shawn Gumataotao to withdraw his bill that would transfer 242 acres of land in Malesso from the CHamoru Land Trust Commission to the Guam National Guard.

Chris Barnett

Barnett and Champaco said Gumataotao's Bill 182-38 poses a threat to Guam’s environment, culture and community.

Gumataotao’s bill would allow the Guam National Guard to convert the property into a training facility and military exercise site. The bill was introduced last year at the request of then-adjutant general Brig. Gen. Mike Cruz, who first asked the CLTC for the property, which consists of 980,605 square meters of public land.

Writing on behalf of 1,130 residents who contacted the senator's and mayor's offices regarding the bill, Barnett and Champaco said setting aside 242 acres of public lands for military and law enforcement training would only worsen the affordable housing crisis that southern residents of Guam already face.

“Many who have shared concerns about this bill agree these lands would be better suited for the development of affordable homes,” Barnett said.

Even Col. Karin Watson, the adjutant general of the Guam National Guard, has told Barnett and Champaco during a Jan. 13 meeting that she had no interest in supporting Bill 182-38.

Barnett said Watson agreed “that any attempts to use limited public lands should involve transparency, accountability, and community engagement.”

“Without the key pillars of community consideration and an open and democratic discourse, bills like 182-38 end up blindsiding the people and the village communities we all serve,” Barnett and Champaco said in their letter.

Gumataotao’s bill is with the Committee on Land, Environment, Housing, Agriculture, Parks and Infrastructure.

In a November 2024 letter to CLTC, Cruz said the lot would be used as a local training area for the land defense of Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and other areas of responsibility.

Cruz proposed developing the area not just for the Guam National Guard’s benefit but also for Guam’s law enforcers and the Guam community, with priority given to Guard drills and training activities.

The area would remain available to the public, as long as civilian activities do not interfere with the Guard’s military purposes, Cruz said.

He also assured the commission that the Guam National Guard would bear the costs of developing the area.

With Cruz now out of the picture and Watson supporting the request to withdraw Bill 182-38, the original request for the lot appears moot.

The Guam National Guard holds weekend drills at the Guard Readiness Center in Barrigada.

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