An anonymous Guam National Guard soldier has reached out to Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero, requesting for a closed-door meeting to allow soldiers to air their concerns without fear of reprisal.
“As a relatively mid-level to senior female in the organization and given my age, I believe many soldiers look at me as they would their mother. They take advantage of my ability to listen and provide unbiased counsel. It is because of them that I write this letter. I am also writing on behalf of the silent, the fearful, the dismissed, and the exiled. I am writing on behalf of the many soldiers who have lost their drive, motivation, and will to work. I am writing to talk about the rapid decay of a great organization as a result of poor management and leadership,” the anonymous soldier wrote.
The anonymous letter is addressed to the governor and airs the concerns of the soldier and other soldiers in the Guam National Guard. It also questioned the leadership and qualifications of Adjutant General Esther Aguigui and Col. Kory Gacono, Asst. Adjutant General.
“They may have been the first women in those positions, but they are also the first women to revert the organization to a less evolved state to what I called in the pre-9/11 days as the ‘BBQ Days,’” wrote the soldier, who further accused Aguigui of Gestapo-like tactics.
“There is an unofficial term circulating throughout the organization ‘Tight With [the] Delfins’ aka ‘TWD’ aka ‘The Walking Dead.’ Those who are affiliated with or have ever affiliated with or are believed to have shown loyalty to Colonels Romeo and Ronnie Delfin are labeled TWD. Those loyal to the Command Team are told to collect information and report on the activities on those labeled TWD,” continued the letter.
The anonymous soldier in her letter names 14 soldiers and airmen who she says have been transferred out, further stating that they represent only a small number of the stories of injustice within the Guard.
“Governor, we are not asking you to relieve the Adjutant General despite it being the quickest and easiest solution. We just want your assistance to stop the madness. If you could please set up a closed-door forum where our identities are protected, many of us would be happy to speak to you one-on-one to better explain our positions, talk about the illegal actions that have taken place since the appointment of Lt. Col. Aguigui, and describe the Gestapo-like biased investigations against innocent soldiers,” the letter concluded, adding, “We submit this letter anonymously for fear of reprisal.”
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