Guam – Assistant Secretary of the Navy Jackalyne Pfannenstiel met Wednesday with Governor-elect Eddie Calvo and Lt. Governor -elect Ray Tenorio. According to a release from the Calvo-Tenorio team, Pfannenstiel assured them that the Navy and the Department of Defense will be helping Guam secure funding from other federal agencies, including funding to strengthen its infrastructure, education and health care systems, and public safety apparatus, among other things.
Joining Secretary Jackalyne Pfannenstiel was Pete Potochney from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and several high ranking officials from the Defense Department.
Governor-elect Calvo asked the assistant secretary to help Guam find more funding to deal with the direct and indirect impact of the buildup. Secretary Pfannenstiel replied, “We’ll do what we can to help. The ‘One Guam’ concept is very important to us.”
“The Department of Defense is working with other federal agencies on the direct and indirect requirements for the buildup,” Potochney said in response to the question, “How can DoD help us fund other areas impacted by the buildup, such as schools, the hospital, safety and more?”
Governor-elect Calvo said he is very excited about the next few years and what it can mean to improve the lives of the people of Guam. “We want this to be more than a military buildup. It’s got to be a Guam buildup,” Governor-elect Calvo said.
The governor-elect told the assistant secretary he supports the United States’ strategic interests. He said those interests are important and the quality of life of the people of Guam must improve.
“We are really excited about working with your administration,” Secretary Pfannenstiel told Governor-elect Calvo. “We’re here to ask, ‘What do you need from us?’ and ‘What can we do to ease the burden on Guam?’”
Governor-elect Calvo said there’s always a need for more money and resources to ensure this buildup is positive for Guam.
“We’re going to have an office and personnel focused on managing this buildup into a Guam buildup,” the governor-elect told the assistant secretary. “The organic growth of our island is difficult enough, so we need to build capacity for protracted growth now. We look forward to fruitful dialogue so that U.S. and Guam interests are on par. We also want to do our part to improve the stature of the U.S. and its defense interests in this part of the world.”
