Defense Infrastructure
DOD Needs to Provide Updated Labor Requirements to Help Guam Adequately Develop Its Labor Force for the Military Buildup Gao ID: GAO-10-72 October 14, 2009The Department of Defense (DOD) plans to increase its military presence on Guam from about 15,000 in 2009 to more than 39,000 by 2020 at a cost of more than $13 billion. The growth will create temporary construction jobs and permanent civilian jobs with the military, with contractors, and in the Guam community. GAO was asked to examine the extent to which DOD and the government of Guam have (1) planned for temporary construction labor requirements and the means to meet the requirements for building military infrastructure to support the force in Guam and (2) identified permanent federal and non-federal civilian jobs and shared this information so that Guam can develop its workforce to better compete for job opportunities. To address these objectives, GAO obtained documents and interviewed officials from DOD, the Services, government of Guam offices, and the Guam higher educational community.
DOD and the government of Guam have both started planning for temporary defense construction labor requirements; however, these plans are still preliminary until DOD's Master Plan has been finalized. The Master Plan is to incorporate the results of the environmental impact statement containing an analysis of various socioeconomic impacts of the realignment related to specific proposed actions and is targeted to be finalized with a record of decision in January 2010. DOD officials expect that this socioeconomic analysis will estimate the impact of the expanded military presence on Guam's employment. Nonetheless, DOD and the government of Guam have done some preliminary labor planning. For example, the Navy determined the range of the number of workers needed based on infrastructure costs, using a standard planning factor to estimate the size of the temporary construction workforce. Specifically, the Navy estimated that annual construction spending of $1 billion would require about 5,000 to 10,000 workers and that at its maximum the workforce could consist of 20,000 construction workers. However, since the Navy expects its contractors to be responsible for hiring and maintaining their labor force to construct the DOD facilities, the actual temporary construction workforce will not be known until contracts are awarded and the contractors begin to hire local residents and transfer other workers to Guam from other locales. The government of Guam is also trying to prepare island residents to be part of the temporary construction work force. The government plans to train island residents with the construction and related skills needed to effectively compete for temporary construction employment and also plans to focus on training residents to compete for more permanent jobs after the construction phase is over. DOD has started identifying permanent federal and non-federal civilian positions that will accompany the Marines moving to Guam. Although DOD has estimated more than 1,600 civilian jobs will be needed, DOD has shared its preliminary estimates with only two organizations within the government of Guam and not with Guam's educational community. Without this information, the Guam educational community would find it difficult to know the extent to which it should provide higher education and training for their students to better compete for these potential civilian positions. While efforts have been made to develop degreed programs of study, University of Guam officials estimated that it can take up to 3 years to develop new degree programs and recruit the faculty and then another 4 to 6 years to have students complete the undergraduate or graduate courses of study. DOD Directive 5410.12 requires the military departments to provide maximum advanced information and support to local governments impacted by DOD basing and personnel actions to allow planning for necessary adjustments in workforce training programs. Without DOD's clarification of the types and numbers of needed positions, Guam university officials say they are at risk of developing programs that might not be large enough or focused on the right courses of study to effectively produce graduates in the fields that DOD and other potential employers would require.
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Director: Team: Phone:GAO-10-72, Defense Infrastructure: DOD Needs to Provide Updated Labor Requirements to Help Guam Adequately Develop Its Labor Force for the Military Buildup
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Requirements to Help Guam Adequately Develop Its Labor Force for the
Military Buildup' which was released on October 14, 2009.
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Report to the Chairwoman, Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and
Wildlife, Committee on Natural Resources, House of Representatives:
United States Government Accountability Office:
GAO:
October 2009:
Defense Infrastructure:
DOD Needs to Provide Updated Labor Requirements to Help Guam Adequately
Develop Its Labor Force for the Military Buildup:
GAO-10-72:
GAO Highlights:
Highlights of GAO-10-72, a report to the Chairwoman, Subcommittee on
Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife, Committee on Natural Resources,
House of Representatives.
Why GAO Did This Study:
The Department of Defense (DOD) plans to increase its military presence
on Guam from about 15,000 in 2009 to more than 39,000 by 2020 at a cost
of more than $13 billion. The growth will create temporary construction
jobs and permanent civilian jobs with the military, with contractors,
and in the Guam community. GAO was asked to examine the extent to which
DOD and the government of Guam have (1) planned for temporary
construction labor requirements and the means to meet the requirements
for building military infrastructure to support the force in Guam and
(2) identified permanent federal and non-federal civilian jobs and
shared this information so that Guam can develop its workforce to
better compete for job opportunities. To address these objectives, GAO
obtained documents and interviewed officials from DOD, the Services,
government of Guam offices, and the Guam higher educational community.
What GAO Found:
DOD and the government of Guam have both started planning for temporary
defense construction labor requirements; however, these plans are still
preliminary until DOD‘s Master Plan has been finalized. The Master Plan
is to incorporate the results of the environmental impact statement
containing an analysis of various socioeconomic impacts of the
realignment related to specific proposed actions and is targeted to be
finalized with a record of decision in January 2010. DOD officials
expect that this socioeconomic analysis will estimate the impact of the
expanded military presence on Guam‘s employment. Nonetheless, DOD and
the government of Guam have done some preliminary labor planning. For
example, the Navy determined the range of the number of workers needed
based on infrastructure costs, using a standard planning factor to
estimate the size of the temporary construction workforce.
Specifically, the Navy estimated that annual construction spending of
$1 billion would require about 5,000 to 10,000 workers and that at its
maximum the workforce could consist of 20,000 construction workers.
However, since the Navy expects its contractors to be responsible for
hiring and maintaining their labor force to construct the DOD
facilities, the actual temporary construction workforce will not be
known until contracts are awarded and the contractors begin to hire
local residents and transfer other workers to Guam from other locales.
The government of Guam is also trying to prepare island residents to be
part of the temporary construction work force. The government plans to
train island residents with the construction and related skills needed
to effectively compete for temporary construction employment and also
plans to focus on training residents to compete for more permanent jobs
after the construction phase is over.
DOD has started identifying permanent federal and non-federal civilian
positions that will accompany the Marines moving to Guam. Although DOD
has estimated more than 1,600 civilian jobs will be needed, DOD has
shared its preliminary estimates with only two organizations within the
government of Guam and not with Guam‘s educational community. Without
this information, the Guam educational community would find it
difficult to know the extent to which it should provide higher
education and training for their students to better compete for these
potential civilian positions. While efforts have been made to develop
degreed programs of study, University of Guam officials estimated that
it can take up to 3 years to develop new degree programs and recruit
the faculty and then another 4 to 6 years to have students complete the
undergraduate or graduate courses of study. DOD Directive 5410.12
requires the military departments to provide maximum advanced
information and support to local governments impacted by DOD basing and
personnel actions to allow planning for necessary adjustments in
workforce training programs. Without DOD‘s clarification of the types
and numbers of needed positions, Guam university officials say they are
at risk of developing programs that might not be large enough or
focused on the right courses of study to effectively produce graduates
in the fields that DOD and other potential employers would require.
What GAO Recommends:
GAO recommends that DOD develop a process for projecting and sharing
federal civilian and DOD contractor support positions likely to be
available”by specialties when feasible”and to routinely update this
information until the buildup is complete.
In commenting on a draft of this report, DOD partially concurred
stating that it intends to provide the maximum advance information to
Guam and to meet with officials at least on a semi-annual basis.
View [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-72] or key
components. For more information, contact Brian J. Lepore at (202) 512-
4523 or leporeb@gao.gov.
[End of section]
Contents:
Letter:
Results in Brief:
Background:
DOD and the Government of Guam Are Planning for Construction Labor
Requirements, but These Requirements Are Preliminary:
DOD Has Shared Only Some Limited Preliminary Civilian Employment
Estimates within the Government of Guam, a Factor That Limits Guam's
Ability to Develop Its Civilian Workforce:
Conclusions:
Recommendation for Executive Action:
Agency Comments and Our Evaluation:
Appendix I: Scope and Methodology:
Appendix II: Comments from the Department of Defense:
Appendix III: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments:
Related GAO Products:
Table:
Table 1: Total Number of Civilian Jobs Currently Being Estimated by the
Services as of September 3, 2009:
Figure:
Figure 1: Map of the Territory of Guam and Location of Current and
Projected U.S. Military Installations:
[End of section]
United States Government Accountability Office:
Washington, DC 20548:
October 14, 2009:
The Honorable Madeleine Z. Bordallo:
Chairwoman:
Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife:
Committee on Natural Resources:
House of Representatives:
Dear Madam Chairwoman:
The Department of Defense plans to transfer Marine Corps troops from
Japan to Guam and to increase the other military services' presence
there as well, which will increase the overall military and dependent
population from about 15,000 in 2009 to more than 39,000 by 2020. The
largest portion of the military buildup is related to the relocation of
about 8,000 Marines and their 9,000 dependents from Okinawa, Japan, to
Guam as part of an agreement between the United States and the
government of Japan to reduce forces in Japan while maintaining a
continuing presence of U.S. forces in the region. DOD estimates that
the total military buildup on Guam will cost more than $13 billion--$10
billion for the Marine Corps move alone--excluding any federal
assistance that may be provided to the government of Guam to assist
with the non-defense infrastructure that may be needed.
The Navy is responsible for preparing for DOD's increased military
presence on Guam and is developing a master plan to address all aspects
of the buildup. DOD has tasked the Joint Guam Program Office, which
reports to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Installations and
Environment), with the primary responsibility for developing and
implementing the military buildup plans, and the Naval Facilities
Engineering Command for contracting for the construction of the
infrastructure for the buildup. The master plan will incorporate the
results of an environmental impact statement, which will contain an
analysis of various socioeconomic impacts of the realignment related to
specific proposed actions, as appropriate, and DOD officials also
indicated that a technical study of the socioeconomic impact of the
realignment will be included as an appendix to the environmental impact
statement. Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) officials expect
that these socioeconomic analyses will estimate the impact of the
expanded military presence on Guam's employment in major industry
sectors and on the ability of labor supply sources to fill available
positions. According to Service officials, the actual construction of
the military facilities needed to support the force and its dependents
is likely to lead to significant temporary employment opportunities in
the construction and related trades and additional significant
permanent federal civilian, contractor support, and other public sector
employment once the force has arrived.
This is one in a series of GAO reports on DOD's plans for increasing
its presence on Guam.[Footnote 1] In response to your request regarding
temporary defense construction and permanent federal civilian and Guam
community labor requirements, this report examines the extent to which
DOD and the government of Guam have (1) planned for temporary defense
construction labor requirements and the means to meet the requirements
for building military infrastructure to support the force in Guam and
(2) identified permanent federal and non-federal civilian workforce
requirements and communicated this information so that the government
of Guam can develop its civilian workforce to better compete for
potential employment opportunities.
To determine the extent that DOD and the government of Guam have
planned temporary defense construction labor requirements and the means
to meet these requirements, we obtained documents and interviewed
officials from DOD's Office of Economic Adjustment, the Navy's Joint
Guam Program Office, Pacific Command, Naval Facilities Engineering
Command-Pacific, Naval Facilities Engineering Command-Marianas, Marine
Forces Pacific, the Department of Labor's Education and Training
Administration, the Department of the Interior's Office of Insular
Affairs, the government of Guam's Guam Buildup Office, and Guam's
Departments of Labor and Public Works. We also obtained documents and
met with the Guam Contractors Association. We obtained and reviewed
studies and assessments, briefings, annual reports, congressional
testimony, and other pertinent documentation prepared by DOD,
government of Guam, and certain U.S. federal departments and agencies
such as the Department of Labor and the Congressional Budget office. To
determine the extent that permanent non-defense civilian employment
requirements have been identified and the means taken by the government
of Guam to develop its civilian workforce to better qualify for
potential job opportunities, we obtained documents from and met with
officials from Marine Forces Pacific, the University of Guam, and the
Guam Community College. We also analyzed the government of Guam's
Civilian-Military Task Force fiscal year 2010 budget request that
specifically addressed labor needs related to the buildup and spoke
with members of the Task Force's Labor and Infrastructure
subcommittees. In addition, we also discussed key requirements and
challenges associated with Guam's civilian workforce with those
organizations identified as contacted for the construction labor
requirements objective above including DOD's Office of Economic
Adjustment; the Navy's Joint Guam Program Office, Pacific Command;
Naval Facilities Engineering Command-Pacific; Naval Facilities
Engineering Command-Marianas; the Department of Labor's Education and
Training Administration; the Department of the Interior's Office of
Insular Affairs; the government of Guam's Guam Buildup Office; and
Guam's Departments of Labor and Public Works. We did not review the
potential for temporary construction labor to construct any needed
government of Guam-owned non-defense infrastructure such as off-
installation roads or utilities systems because such an assessment was
outside of the scope of our review, although such construction and
associated construction employment could be necessary at the same time
that DOD is constructing its facilities.
We conducted this performance audit from March 2009 through October
2009 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing
standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit
to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable
basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives.
We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for
our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. See
appendix I for more information on our scope and methodology.
Results in Brief:
DOD and the government of Guam have both started planning for temporary
defense construction labor requirements; however, these plans are still
preliminary until DOD's facilities master plan has been finalized. The
master plan is to incorporate the results of the environmental impact
statement and its analysis of various socioeconomic impacts of the
realignment related to specific proposed actions. The environmental
impact statement is targeted to be finalized with a record of decision
in January 2010. In the meantime, DOD and the government of Guam have
done some preliminary planning that focuses on labor issues in support
of the military buildup. For example, the Navy determined the range of
workers needed temporarily by using a standard planning factor to
estimate the size of the construction labor force. Specifically, the
Navy's Joint Guam Program Office estimated that annual construction
spending of $1 billion would require about 5,000 to 10,000 workers and
that at the maximum the workforce would consist of about 20,000
workers. As the construction work progresses, the number of
construction workers needed will likely increase or decrease
commensurate with the level of annual construction funding. The Navy
expects the winning contractors to secure and maintain their own labor
force to construct the DOD facilities. Therefore, the actual number of
temporary construction workers needed to construct the DOD facilities
will become clear as the contracts are awarded and the contractors
begin to hire local residents and transfer workers to Guam from other
locales. The government of Guam is also trying to prepare island
residents to be part of the temporary construction work force. The
government plans to train island residents with the construction and
related skills needed to effectively compete for temporary construction
employment and also to focus on training these workers to compete for
more permanent jobs after the construction phase is over.
DOD has started identifying permanent federal and non-federal civilian
positions that will be associated with the realignment of Marines Corps
forces from Okinawa to Guam, but has only shared some of this
information with certain organizations within the government of Guam.
The latter needs more such information to prepare its civilian
workforce to compete for these positions. The Marine Corps estimates
that it will need to fill more than 1,450 civilian positions. The Joint
Guam Program Office also said that this number could increase to a
total of more than 1,600 jobs in order to meet the needs of the other
services. However, according to DOD officials, they have only shared
some jobs information with Guam waterworks and power authority
officials, but not with the Guam Buildup Office, which has overall
responsibility for the buildup within the government of Guam. Moreover,
DOD officials have not shared jobs information, including the type and
number of jobs, with the educational community on Guam. DOD officials
said the reason is that such information is preliminary, incomplete,
and subject to change. Without even such preliminary information as
that which DOD officials told us they shared with the Guam water and
power authorities, the University of Guam does not know the extent to
which it should provide additional higher education and training for
its students to better compete for these potential civilian positions.
In addition, DOD is unlikely to identify all the positions that will be
required to support the realignment of Marine Corps forces until the
environmental impact statement, with its analysis of various
socioeconomic impacts of the realignment related to specific proposed
actions, is completed in January 2010. However, DOD's Office of
Economic Adjustment is working with the government of Guam so that Guam
can respond to buildup requirements, including those contained in the
draft environmental impact statement, as they are released. While the
government of Guam does not have DOD's estimation of the number or
types of positions, the Guam government attempted to identify potential
federal-civilian, DOD support-contractor, and public-sector and other
civilian labor needs in order to support development of educational
programs that will prepare residents for these positions. For example,
the University of Guam is considering developing degreed courses of
study in engineering. At the time of our review, the University of Guam
only had a 2-year pre-engineering program that requires students to
finish their final 2 years of study elsewhere to obtain an engineering
degree. University of Guam officials estimated that it can take up to 3
years to develop new degree programs and recruit the faculty and then
another 4 to 6 years to have students complete the undergraduate or
graduate courses of study. DOD Directive 5410.12 requires the military
departments to provide maximum advance information and support to local
governments impacted by certain DOD basing and personnel actions to
allow planning for necessary adjustments in workforce training
programs. University officials said that they are at risk of developing
programs that might not be large enough or focused on the right courses
of study to effectively produce graduates in the fields that DOD and
other potential employers would require if the university officials
proceed to develop courses of study without current projected
employment information. Furthermore, a mismatch may develop between the
number of qualified applicants and the positions available. Without
DOD's clarification of the types and numbers of needed positions,
University officials and Guam Community College officials said it will
be difficult to develop programs that will prepare Guam's residents for
civilian employment opportunities. We are therefore recommending that
DOD provide Guam with routinely updated federal civilian and support
contractor employment information, including the latest projected
numbers of positions needed in key specialties, and to routinely update
this information until the buildup is complete.
Initially, our draft report recommended quarterly updating. In
commenting on a this draft, DOD partially concurred with our initial
recommendation that DOD provide updates quarterly because DOD officials
believe that updating the jobs information quarterly is too frequent
and suggested semi-annual updates. We believe that semi-annual updating
meets the intent of our recommendation, so we have modified our
recommendation to delete the reference to quarterly updates. In its
response, DOD officials said they intend to provide the maximum
advanced information to the government of Guam as soon as possible.
They also said they shared some of their federal civilian and support
contractor jobs information with officials from the Guam waterworks and
power authorities. While this may be the case, they did not share the
jobs information with the Guam Buildup Office, which has primary
responsibility for the buildup within the government of Guam, nor did
they share any information with the University of Guam and the Guam
Community College, which will be the source of trained individuals who
may qualify for many of the federal civilian and support contractor
positions needed to support the military buildup on Guam.
Background:
Because of Guam's unique strategic location, the United States has long
maintained a significant military presence on the island to support and
defend U.S. interests in the western Pacific Ocean region. The small
remote U.S. territory is located about 1,600 miles east of Manila in
the Philippines, 1,560 miles south of Tokyo, Japan, and 3,810 miles
west of Honolulu, Hawaii (see fig. 1). Guam's July 2009 population is
estimated at 178,430. DOD currently controls about 29 percent of the
land, which is about 62 square miles of the island's total 212 square
miles. The U.S. military presently operates two major installations on
Guam: the U.S. Naval Base-Guam, located on the southwestern side of the
island at Apra Harbor, and Andersen Air Force Base in the north.
To reduce the burden of the U.S. military presence on Japanese
communities while maintaining a continuing presence of U.S. forces in
the region, the U.S.-Japan Defense Policy Review Initiative[Footnote 2]
established a framework for the future of U.S. force structure in
Japan, including the relocation of American military units in Japan to
other areas, including Guam. As a part of this initiative, DOD plans to
move 8,000 Marines and their estimated 9,000 dependents from Okinawa,
Japan, to Guam. Separate from the initiative, the United States also
plans to expand the capabilities and presence of the military services
on Guam over the next several years. For example, the Navy plans to
enhance its infrastructure, logistic capabilities, and waterfront
facilities, including capabilities to support a transient nuclear
aircraft carrier; the Air Force plans to develop a global intelligence,
surveillance, and reconnaissance strike hub at Andersen Air Force Base;
and the Army plans to place an Army air and missile defense task force
on Guam. As a result of this planned realignment of U.S. forces, the
military population on Guam is expected to grow by over 160 percent,
from its current island population of 15,000 to over 39,000 by 2020.
Most of the extensive population growth and development resulting from
the buildup will occur in the northern half of the island, primarily in
the northwestern portion where DOD currently plans to construct a new
Marine Corps base at Finegayan. Joint Guam Program Office officials,
however, told us that the currently projected schedules and levels of
population growth and force structure could change as buildup plans are
further refined and approved.
The Navy is responsible for overseeing the military buildup on Guam and
is developing a master plan to address all aspects of the buildup. DOD
has tasked the Joint Guam Program Office, which reports to the
Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Installations and Environment), with
primary responsibility for developing and implementing the military
buildup plans and the Naval Facilities Engineering Command for
contracting for the construction of the infrastructure for the buildup.
The master plan will form the baseline for military construction budget
planning and facility and utility designs and provide a top-level view
of the size and type of facility requirements, candidate and preferred
land sites, and proposed use of the land to meet the requirements for
new personnel and forces planned for Guam. The master plan is expected
to be completed shortly after the environmental impact statement and
its associated Record of Decision are issued. These documents are
currently targeted to be completed and submitted to the Congress in
January 2010.
Figure 1: Map of the Territory of Guam and Location of Current and
Projected U.S. Military Installations:
[Refer to PDF for image: map]
Indicated on the map of Guam are the following current and projected
U.S. Military Installations:
Andersen Air Force Base:
Aviation operations (U.S. Marine Corps);
Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance Strike Force initiative
(U.S. Air Force).
U.S. Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station Finegayan:
Main encampment and family housing (U.S. Marine Corps).
South Finegayan Housing:
Housing (U.S. Marine Corps).
Anderson South:
U.S. Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station Barrigada:
Nimitz Hill:
Naval Hospital:
Sasa Valley Tank Farm:
Tenjo VIsta Tank Farm:
Apra Heights:
Apra Harbor Naval Complex:
Embarkation and amphibious training (U.S. Marine Corps);
Aircraft carrier transit berth and other waterfront work (U.S. Navy).
Naval Ordnance Annex:
Sources: U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, GAO;
and Map Resources (base map).
Note: The location of the Army's air and missile defense task force on
Guam has not yet been determined.
[End of figure]
To reduce the burden of the U.S. military presence on Japanese
communities while maintaining a continuing presence of U.S. forces in
the region, the U.S.-Japan Defense Policy Review Initiative[Footnote 2]
established a framework for the future of U.S. force structure in
Japan, including the relocation of American military units in Japan to
other areas, including Guam. As a part of this initiative, DOD plans to
move 8,000 Marines and their estimated 9,000 dependents from Okinawa,
Japan, to Guam. Separate from the initiative, the United States also
plans to expand the capabilities and presence of the military services
on Guam over the next several years. For example, the Navy plans to
enhance its infrastructure, logistic capabilities, and waterfront
facilities, including capabilities to support a transient nuclear
aircraft carrier; the Air Force plans to develop a global intelligence,
surveillance, and reconnaissance strike hub at Andersen Air Force Base;
and the Army plans to place an Army air and missile defense task force
on Guam. As a result of this planned realignment of U.S. forces, the
military population on Guam is expected to grow by over 160 percent,
from its current island population of 15,000 to over 39,000 by 2020.
Most of the extensive population growth and development resulting from
the buildup will occur in the northern half of the island, primarily in
the northwestern portion where DOD currently plans to construct a new
Marine Corps base at Finegayan. Joint Guam Program Office officials,
however, told us that the currently projected schedules and levels of
population growth and force structure could change as buildup plans are
further refined and approved.
The Navy is responsible for overseeing the military buildup on Guam and
is developing a master plan to address all aspects of the buildup. DOD
has tasked the Joint Guam Program Office, which reports to the
Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Installations and Environment), with
primary responsibility for developing and implementing the military
buildup plans and the Naval Facilities Engineering Command for
contracting for the construction of the infrastructure for the buildup.
The master plan will form the baseline for military construction budget
planning and facility and utility designs and provide a top-level view
of the size and type of facility requirements, candidate and preferred
land sites, and proposed use of the land to meet the requirements for
new personnel and forces planned for Guam. The master plan is expected
to be completed shortly after the environmental impact statement and
its associated Record of Decision are issued. These documents are
currently targeted to be completed and submitted to the Congress in
January 2010.
In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, which
establishes environmental policies and procedures that are followed by
federal agencies to the fullest extent possible, DOD is preparing an
environmental impact statement, the results of which will be included
in its master plan.[Footnote 3] In addition, according to National
Environmental Policy Act and the corresponding regulations established
by the Council on Environmental Quality, when an environmental impact
statement is prepared and economic or social and natural or physical
environmental effects are interrelated, then the environmental impact
statement will discuss all of these effects on the human environment.
Therefore, the environmental impact statement will include an analysis
of various socioeconomic impacts of the realignment related to specific
proposed actions, as appropriate. Further, OSD officials also indicated
that a technical study of the socioeconomic impact of the realignment
will be included as an appendix to the EIS. The environmental impact
statement is targeted to be finalized in January 2010.
DOD Directive 5410.12 Economic Adjustment Assistance to Defense Related
Communities, July 5, 2006, establishes policies and guidance of an
Economic Adjustment Program to minimize economic impacts on communities
resulting from changes in defense programs, such as base closures,
realignments, consolidations, transfer of functions, and /or reductions
in force. According to the directive, it is DOD policy that every
practical consideration shall be given to implementing DOD actions that
seriously affect the economy of a community in a manner that minimizes
local economic impact and that DOD shall take the leadership role in
assisting substantially and seriously affected communities.
Specifically, the secretaries of the military departments will, among
other requirements, provide maximum advance information and support to
local governments to allow planning for necessary adjustments in local
facilities and public services, workforce training programs, and local
economic development activities.
The Office of Economic Adjustment is a DOD field activity that reports
to the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Installations and
Environment), under the Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition,
Technology, and Logistics). The office is responsible for providing
technical and financial assistance to state and local governments, and
the Territory of Guam when affected by significant DOD actions. The
assistance enables the affected jurisdictions to respond to the impacts
of DOD's actions. The Office of Economic Adjustment's financial
assistance is in the form of grants and enables local jurisdictions to
staff a local adjustment effort and undertake assessments, studies,
and/or initial planning, while the technical assistance is focused on
facilitating contact with the appropriate federal agencies and
departments for a coordinated and responsive federal program of
assistance.
DOD and the Government of Guam Are Planning for Construction Labor
Requirements, but These Requirements Are Preliminary:
DOD and the government of Guam have both started planning for temporary
defense construction labor requirements; however, these requirements
are still preliminary until DOD's facilities master plan has been
finalized. The master plan is to include the results of the
environmental impact statement, which will contain an analysis of
various socioeconomic impacts of the realignment related to specific
proposed actions and an appendix with a technical study of the
socioeconomic impact of the realignment. The environmental impact
statement is targeted to be finalized with a record of decision in
January 2010. In the meantime, DOD and the government of Guam have done
some preliminary planning that focuses on labor issues in support of
the military buildup.
DOD's Efforts in Planning for Defense Construction Labor Requirements:
Following the record of decision on the environmental impact statement
--currently targeted to be finalized in January 2010--DOD is expected
to complete a Guam Joint Military Master Plan, which will provide
requirements, including the number, location and size of facilities as
well as the time frame for when these facilities are to be completed.
The information contained in the master plan should provide a better
estimate of overall labor requirements than what currently exists. At
the time of our review, the Naval Facilities Engineering Command, which
has responsibility over all of the military buildup construction on the
island, does not have definitive estimates of the number of
construction workers needed to complete buildup-related infrastructure
construction. Thus, to compensate for now, the Navy is using a simple
planning factor that determines the range of the number of workers
needed based on the amount of annual funding for infrastructure.
Specifically, the Navy estimates that for every $1 billion spent
annually on construction, it will likely require between 5,000 and
10,000 workers. As construction work progresses, the number of
construction workers needed will likely increase or decrease
commensurate with the level of annual construction funding. For
instance, if the Navy estimates that $2.5 billion will be spent in a
given year on buildup construction, then between 12,500 and 25,000
workers would be required. The Navy's planning data currently show that
the construction labor force will likely peak in fiscal year 2013 at
about 20,000 construction workers, and then drop to about 7,500 workers
by 2016.
Because Guam cannot provide all of the labor required, the Navy also
has developed estimates on where it will draw its construction
workforce. Navy estimates show that Guam currently has about 5,600
construction workers on island, which is comprised of about 4,200
citizens of Guam and about 1,400 workers in the Foreign Alien Labor
Program who are on Guam temporarily on H-2B work visas.[Footnote 4] The
Navy also estimates that Guam will eventually be capable of providing
approximately 7,000 workers in addition to potentially 6,000 workers
from the Hawaiian Islands. The Navy estimates that the remaining
construction workforce could consist of as many as 8,000 H-2B visa
workers. Federal law provides no more than 66,000 H-2B visas may be
issued to qualified foreign workers each fiscal year.[Footnote 5]
However, under the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008, during
an initial period that ends December 31, 2014, qualified nonimmigrant
workers may be admitted to Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands under the H-2B visa process established in accordance
with the Immigration and Nationality Act[Footnote 6] without counting
against the 66,000 numerical limitations referenced above.[Footnote 7]
After the initial period ends on December 31, 2014, this temporary
exemption from the overall numerical limitation expires.[Footnote 8]
Additionally, the conference report on H.R. 2647, the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010, contained several provisions
that, if enacted, may impact workforce issues related to the
realignment.[Footnote 9] According to government of Guam officials,
Guam's government agencies have partnered with their federal
counterparts such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the
Department of Homeland Security, to address compliance and enforcement
of alien labor laws and regulations.
The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, which has responsibility for
contracting for infrastructure construction, has proposed contract
selection criteria that it believes will reduce the socioeconomic
impact on Guam. For example, contractors will be required to hire some
foreign construction laborers and also to provide logistical support
for the workforce, such as housing, feeding, and transport, and to
provide safety, security, and medical care. Additionally, the proposed
criteria will require contractors to certify the workers' medical
condition based on government of Guam requirements prior to bringing
them to the island, and contractors must provide medical care for the
duration of their workers' stay on Guam. For example, under this
proposed criteria, all prospective employees are to be given pre-
employment physical exams that meet Guam Department of Public Health
medical requirements. Because the existing medical capacity on Guam
cannot accommodate the expected construction workforce increase,
contractors will be responsible for the following types of medical
care: first aid, primary, trauma, medical evacuation, and
rehabilitation. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command will also have
overall responsibility for ensuring compliance and conformance with
contract requirements. According to Navy officials, the Naval
Facilities Engineering Command will encourage contractors to act
together to develop solutions to any logistical issues presented by the
buildup. For example, DOD has held three industry forums, for potential
contractors, to discuss and share information on the Marine Corps'
relocation-and-associated business opportunities with the government of
Guam to ensure that the contractors are prepared to meet all life and
safety requirements.
The Government of Guam's Steps in Preparing to Meet Workforce Labor
Requirements Resulting from the Military Buildup:
In an effort to meet the needs of the military buildup, the government
of Guam has taken some steps in preparing to meet potential workforce
labor requirements before DOD has issued its master plan. Once DOD has
issued the master plan, the government of Guam will be able to make
more refined workforce decisions. In the meantime, according to
government officials, they are focusing on building workforce skill
sets that will likely sustain Guam's workforce through the different
phases of the buildup. Although the initial phase would involve
training residents to qualify for jobs in the construction trades, the
government of Guam recognizes that the majority of these jobs are
temporary and so its efforts are also focusing on jobs that will likely
be needed after the construction phase ends. For example, the Guam
Department of Labor has established an apprenticeship program, with
support from the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training
Administration in the form of Workforce Investment Act[Footnote 10]
funding, for Guam workers to apprentice with the Guam Power Authority
and the Guam Shipyard. The Guam Department of Labor has also expanded
the apprenticeship programs through partnerships with the Guam Hotel
and Restaurant Association and the Guam Contractors Association.
According to the Department of Labor's Employment and Training
Administration, nearly $1.4 million in Workforce Investment Act funding
has been invested in participant salaries, benefits, and educational
assistance on Guam to support registered apprenticeship. In 2006, the
Guam Department of Labor established the Guam Registered Apprentice
Program to contract with businesses to accept apprentices and to
provide these businesses with incentives to help develop a skilled
workforce. Since it was established, the participating businesses have
requested $2.1 million in tax credits from the government of Guam. In
addition, in the fiscal year 2010 budget request that the government of
Guam submitted to the Office of Management and Budget in July 2008, the
Guam Department of Labor requested nearly $23 million for additional
apprenticeship and talent-development training programs in anticipation
of workforce needs of the buildup. This request however was not
ultimately provided to the U.S. Department of Labor and therefore was
not included in Labor's budget request for fiscal year 2010. Labor
officials also acknowledged that they lacked the necessary information
to effectively provide assistance. For example, according to Labor
officials, DOD has not provided the department with buildup data or
guidance related to the role of federal agencies in providing buildup
assistance to Guam.
U.S. Department of Labor and the Guam Department of Labor have also
partnered in other workforce areas. For example in February 2009, U.S.
Department of Labor and Guam Department of Labor representatives worked
together to re-design services and training strategies, and devised new
ways to address skill needs in preparation for the buildup. The
representatives developed a plan to identify occupational competencies
and gaps in Guam's workforce associated with these competencies.
Moreover, the Guam Department of Labor, in partnership with the Guam
Public Schools System, has developed a program to expose high school
students to both public sector and private sector businesses in
construction, information technology, health, education, and other
fields. From the summer of 2005 to the winter of 2008, 1,813 students
have participated in the program. When the students return to school,
after working in area businesses, they are encouraged to continue their
vocational education career path.
Guam Community College is also involved in developing workforce skills
of the local residents for the buildup. In partnership with the U.S.
Department of Labor, the college has secured grant funding of $383,000
in order to train 100 post secondary individuals for skilled
construction, advanced electrical, and information technology jobs.
According to officials with the community college, the college has also
received an additional $470,000 in grant funding for secondary career
and technical training. The officials also told us that they requested
but did not receive information from DOD on the number and type of
permanent federal civilian jobs the military services would need when
they begin to move their forces there. The Community College entered
into a memorandum of understanding in November 2008 with the Guam
Contractors Association and the Guam Contractors Association Trade
Academy to cooperate to attain their common goal to prepare local
residents for permanent employment in construction and related fields
to replace tradesmen who are leaving employment by attrition, to
improve the quality of skills and knowledge within the existing
workforce, and to increase the number of qualified skilled workers for
an expanding workforce while reducing the need for nonimmigrant alien
workers. In addition, the Guam Contractors Association--which
represents more than 440 firms in the engineering, construction, and
supporting industries--has backed the need for workers for the buildup
by establishing the Guam Contractors Association Trades Academy. The
academy conducted its first classes in October 2006 and, according to
the academy's officials, more than 400 students have participated in
its programs. At the time of our review, more than 160 students on
Guam, with another 100 students on Saipan and 60 on Pohnpei, both
islands in the region, were participating in the program. Association
officials said they believe that qualified individuals from these
islands as well as other islands in the area will likely seek
construction jobs on Guam during the construction phase of the buildup.
DOD Has Shared Only Some Limited Preliminary Civilian Employment
Estimates within the Government of Guam, a Factor That Limits Guam's
Ability to Develop Its Civilian Workforce:
DOD has developed some limited preliminary information about the number
of permanent civilian jobs that will likely be available when the
military has started to arrive on the island, but only some of this
information has been shared with certain elements of the government of
Guam, but not at all with Guam's higher education community. DOD
Directive 5410.12 requires the military departments to provide maximum
advance information and support to local governments impacted by
certain DOD actions to allow planning for necessary adjustments in
workforce training programs. Without this information, the government
of Guam may be challenged to plan for potential jobs that support the
buildup, including the ability to train and prepare individuals so they
qualify for these jobs.
DOD Has Started to Identify Civilian Job Opportunities with the
Military:
DOD has started to identify permanent federal civilian positions that
will accompany the 8,000 Marines moving to Guam. According to the
Marine Corps, its estimates, at the time of this review, identify more
than 1,450 civilian positions that will need to be filled after it
moves to Guam. Marine Corps officials expect that most of these jobs
will need to be filled by residents of Guam because the officials do
not think that many current employees will move from Okinawa. The other
services have also begun to identify their permanent federal civilian
positions as well. Table 1 below shows the total number of civilian
jobs estimated by the services as of September 3, 2009.
Table 1: Total Number of Civilian Jobs Currently Being Estimated by the
Services as of September 3, 2009:
Service: Marine Corps;
Estimated number of civilian jobs: 1,467.
Service: Air Force;
Estimated number of civilian jobs: 125.
Service: Navy;
Estimated number of civilian jobs: 9.
Service: Army;
Estimated number of civilian jobs: TBD.
Service: Total;
Estimated number of civilian jobs: 1,601.
Source: Joint Guam Program Office.
[End of table]
According to DOD officials, they have only shared some jobs information
with Guam waterworks and power authority officials and not with the
Guam Buildup Office, which has overall responsibility for the buildup
within the government of Guam. Moreover, DOD has not shared this
information, including the type and number of potential jobs with the
educational community on Guam because DOD officials have noted that
such information is preliminary, incomplete, and subject to change.
Furthermore, DOD is likely to refine these estimates when the
environmental impact statement, which will include an analysis of
various socioeconomic impacts of the realignment related to specific
proposed actions, is finalized in January 2010. OSD officials expect
that these socioeconomic analyses will include information on Guam's
labor force including expected employment by industry, civilian labor
force demand, and the federal government's share of employment.
According to Office of Economic Adjustment officials, they will
continue to assist the government of Guam to respond to impacts from
DOD actions, as information is released and requirements are
identified, including those contained in the draft environmental impact
statement. The Office of Economic Adjustment awarded an initial $2.5
million grant to the government of Guam to hire an advisory consultant
team, which possesses expertise in planning, environmental, and fiscal/
financial services. As specific labor information is released and
requirements are identified, the government of Guam may utilize the
consultant team or other resources to further frame its workforce
adjustment efforts.
Guam Has Attempted to Develop Workers for Civilian Jobs but Needs
Updated DOD Information As It Becomes Available:
The government of Guam has attempted to identify potential federal
civilian, DOD support-contractor, and public-sector and other civilian
labor needs created by the increased military presence in order to
support development of educational programs that will prepare residents
for these civilian jobs. For example, officials at the University of
Guam have already begun to develop courses of study leading to
appropriate professional degrees that would help qualify its graduates
to compete for permanent civilian positions with the military. For
example, university officials said that they are aware that the
military will need qualified engineers to help staff its organizations
once they have moved to Guam. However, the officials do not know how
many engineers will be needed or which engineering fields officials
should put their educational emphasis upon. For now, University
officials are considering setting up a new engineering degree program
because currently they only offer a 2-year pre-engineering program that
requires students to finish their final 2 years of study at the
University of Iowa to obtain the engineering degree.[Footnote 11] The
university had six students enrolled in the pre-engineering course in
the fall of 2007 and, according to university officials, they now have
24 students enrolled in the program. University of Guam officials
estimated that the university can take up to 3 years to develop new
degree programs and recruit the faculty and then another 4 to 6 years
to have students complete the undergraduate or graduate courses of
study. At the time of our review, the Marine Corps move to Guam was
planned to be completed in 2014.
University officials said they have requested information regarding the
number and types of positions that DOD plans to move to Guam and are
aware of the preliminary nature of the information. However, they said
that they are at risk of developing programs that might not be large
enough or focused on the right courses of study to effectively produce
graduates in the fields that DOD and other potential employers would
require, because DOD has not communicated to the government of Guam
(other than the power and water authorities) or the university any
details about DOD's preliminary estimates regarding the information.
Nonetheless, DOD is required to assist communities seriously impacted
by major defense closures and realignments. Specifically, DOD Directive
5410.12 requires the military departments to provide maximum advance
information and support to local governments impacted by certain DOD
basing and personnel actions to allow planning for necessary
adjustments in workforce training programs. However, without DOD's
clarification of the types and numbers of needed positions, university
officials said it is difficult to develop a university degree program
that would effectively prepare its labor force. As a result, university
officials said a mismatch may develop between the number of qualified
applicants and the positions available since the university needs to
know what disciplines its graduates need skills in to compete for
available jobs and enough time to develop appropriate programs.
Likewise, Guam Community College officials also said they need
additional information about civilian employment opportunities to
develop their programs, although its courses of study generally take
less time to complete than a 4-year university's courses of study.
Conclusions:
In anticipation of the DOD buildup, Guam is positioning its citizens to
compete for employment during the temporary defense construction phase
and for permanent civilian jobs with the military and those in the
community. However, the government of Guam and the educational
community on Guam do not have the latest and most accurate and detailed
information from DOD on what jobs Guam will need to fill and
approximately when these jobs will be available. While these estimates
are subject to change, DOD does possess preliminary employment
estimates based on existing positions with the Marines in Okinawa.
Without this information, the government of Guam may be challenged to
effectively plan for potential jobs that support the buildup and future
continuing military presence, including the ability to train and
prepare individuals so they qualify for these jobs. Finally, DOD may
have difficulty filling critical civilian positions if qualified
applicants are unavailable on Guam when needed.
Recommendation for Executive Action:
To assist the government of Guam to properly train and prepare its
future workforce to effectively compete for permanent federal civilian
and DOD contractor support positions that will be available once the
force has arrived in Guam, we recommend that the Secretary of Defense
direct the Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition, Technology, and
Logistics) to develop a process for projecting and sharing updated
information describing federal civilian and DOD contractor support
positions likely to be available--by specialties when feasible--and to
routinely update this information until the buildup is complete.
Agency Comments and Our Evaluation:
Initially, our draft report recommended quarterly updating. In
commenting on a this draft, DOD partially concurred with our
recommendation to provide updates on a quarterly basis because DOD
officials believe that updating the jobs information quarterly is too
frequent and suggested semi-annual updates. We believe that semi-annual
updating meets the intent of our recommendation, so we modified our
recommendation to delete the reference to quarterly updates. In DOD's
response, its officials said they intend to provide the maximum
advanced information to the government of Guam as soon as possible.
They also said they shared some of their federal civilian and support
contractor jobs information with officials from the Guam waterworks and
power authorities. While this may be the case, DOD did not explain how
those organizations will prepare Guam's civilian workforce to compete
for civilian positions with DOD. Moreover, DOD did not share the jobs
information with the Guam Buildup Office, which has primary
responsibility for the buildup within the government of Guam, nor did
DOD share any information with the University of Guam and the Guam
Community College, which will be the source of trained individuals who
may qualify for many of the federal civilian and support contractor
positions needed to support the military buildup on Guam.
We are sending copies of this report to interested congressional
committees, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Navy, and
the Governor of Guam. In addition, the report will be available at no
charge on GAO's Web site at [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov].
If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please call
me at (202) 512-4523 or leporeb@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices
of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last
page of this report. Other major contributors to this report are listed
in appendix III.
Sincerely yours,
Signed by:
Brian J. Lepore, Director:
Defense Capabilities and Management:
[End of section]
Appendix I: Scope and Methodology:
To determine the extent that DOD and the government of Guam have
planned temporary defense construction labor requirements and the means
to meet these requirements, we obtained and reviewed studies and
assessments, briefings, annual reports, congressional testimony, and
other pertinent documentation prepared by DOD, government of Guam, and
certain U.S. federal departments and agencies such as the Department of
the Interior and the Congressional Budget Office. We obtained and
analyzed construction labor projections and preliminary construction
schedules provided by the Navy's Joint Guam Program Office. We also
obtained and reviewed the Joint Guam Program Office's draft master
plan, which provides general information on preliminary buildup
requirements including potential facility requirements and candidate
sites for the location of these facilities. We discussed currently
estimated construction requirements and DOD plans to address these
requirements with officials from DOD's Office of Economic Adjustment,
the Navy's Joint Guam Program Office, Pacific Command, Naval Facilities
Engineering Command-Pacific, Naval Facilities Engineering Command-
Marianas, and Marine Forces Pacific. We also interviewed officials from
the Department of the Interior's Office of Insular Affairs, the
government of Guam's Guam Buildup Office, and Guam's Departments of
Labor and Public Works. We obtained documents from the Guam Community
College and the Guam Contractor's Association regarding training
opportunities in construction trades. We also interviewed officials
from these organizations to determine how they are planning for Guam's
workforce to develop sustainable employment skills following the
construction phase of the buildup. In addition, we obtained
documentation and met with officials from the U.S. Department of
Labor's Office of Education and Training Administration to determine
what activities the office has been involved in to support Guam with
the military buildup. We did not review the potential for temporary
construction labor to construct any needed government of Guam-owned non-
defense infrastructure such as off-installation roads or utilities
systems because it was outside of the scope of our review, although
such construction and associated labor could be necessary at the same
time that DOD is constructing its facilities.
To determine the extent that permanent non-defense civilian employment
requirements have been identified and the means taken by the government
of Guam to develop its civilian workforce to better qualify for
potential job opportunities, we obtained and reviewed studies and
assessments provided by DOD, government of Guam, and certain U.S.
federal departments and agencies such as Marine Forces Pacific and the
Department of Labor. We obtained and reviewed documentation of
financial and technical assistance, including grant amounts, provided
to Guam by DOD's Office of Economic Adjustment. We obtained and
reviewed documents from the University of Guam and Guam Community
College including the types and numbers of degree programs and
graduates as well as studies on Guam's educational effectiveness and
income distribution. We also obtained and analyzed the government of
Guam's Civilian-Military Task Force fiscal year 2010 budget request
that specifically addressed labor needs related to the buildup and
spoke with members of the Task Force's Labor and Infrastructure
committees. In addition we met with and interviewed officials from
DOD's Office of Economic Adjustment, the Navy's Joint Guam Program
Office, Pacific Command, Naval Facilities Engineering Command-Pacific,
Naval Facilities Engineering Command-Marianas, Marine Forces Pacific,
the Department of Labor's Education and Training Administration, the
Department of the Interior's Office of Insular Affairs, the government
of Guam's Guam Buildup Office, and Guam's Departments of Labor and
Public Works.
[End of section]
Appendix II: Comments from the Department of Defense:
Office Of The Under Secretary Of Defense:
Acquisition, Technology And Logistics:
3000 Defense Pentagon:
Washington, DC 20301-3000:
October 13, 2009:
Mr. Brian J. Lepore:
Director, Defense Capabilities and Management:
U.S. Government Accountability Office:
441 G Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20548:
Dear Mr. Lepore:
This is the Department of Defense (DoD) response to the GAO draft
report, "Defense Infrastructure: DOD Needs to Provide Updated Labor
Requirements to Help Guam Adequately Develop Its Labor Force for the
Military Buildup," dated September 9, 2009 (GAO Code 351319/GA0-10-72).
Detailed comments on the report are enclosed.
The Department appreciates the opportunity to comment on this draft
report and partially concurs with the GAO's recommendations that
directs the Department to develop a process for projecting and sharing
updated information describing federal civilian and DoD contractor
support positions likely to be available by specialties when feasible
and to routinely update this information, such as quarterly, until the
buildup is complete.
In accordance with DoD Directive 5410.12: Economic Adjustment
Assistance to Defense-Impacted Communities, dated July 5, 2006, it is
the Department's intent to provide the maximum advance information to
the Government of Guam as possible. The DoD will identify federal
civilian and contractor support positions as they become known to
assist the Government of Guam in the planning for the necessary
adjustments in local facilities and public services, workforce training
programs, and local economic development activities. The Department
recommends meeting with the appropriate stakeholders, including
representatives from the Government of Guam, semi-annually vice
quarterly, to coordinate this issue as the current analysis indicates
that the data will not have any appreciable changes within a quarterly
timeframe.
The Department appreciates the work performed by the GAO in this regard
and the opportunity to comment on the draft report.
Sincerely,
Signed by:
John Conger, for:
Dorothy Robyn:
Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Installations and Environment):
Enclosure: As stated:
[End of letter]
GAO Draft Report ” Dated September 9, 2009:
GAO Code 351319/GA0-10-72:
"Defense Infrastructure: DOD Needs to Provide Updated Labor
Requirements to Help Guam Adequately Develop Its Labor Force for the
Military Buildup"
Department Of Defense Comments To The Recommendation:
Recommendation 1: The GAO recommends that in order to assist the
Government of Guam to properly train and prepare its future workforce
to effectively compete for permanent federal civilian and DoD
contractor support positions that will be available once the force has
arrived in Guam, the Secretary of Defense direct the Under Secretary of
Defense (Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics) to develop a process
for projecting and sharing updated information describing federal
civilian and DoD contractor support positions likely to be available-by
specialties when feasible and to routinely update this information,
such as quarterly, until the buildup is complete.
DOD Response: DoD partially concurs with the GAO recommendation. In
accordance with Department of Defense Directive 5410.12: Economic
Adjustment Assistance to Defense-Impacted Communities, dated July 5,
2006, it is DoD's intent to provide the maximum advance information to
the Government of Guam as soon as possible. DoD will identify federal
civilian and DoD contractor support positions as they become known to
assist the Government of Guam in the planning for the necessary
adjustments in local facilities and public services, workforce training
programs, and local economic development activities. To date,
preliminary estimates have been provided to the Guam Waterworks
Authority and Guam Power Authority. However, the planning associated
with the integration of civilian personnel requirements in support of
the relocating Marine Corps units with the newly established Joint
Region Marianas is still in progress, so the exact number and type of
positions have not yet been determined. The Department's Civilian
Personnel Policy/Civilian Personnel Management Services will work with
the cognizant Service components to ensure they keep the Government of
Guam apprised of the anticipated career fields, associated skill sets,
and potential range of employment opportunities to assist in workforce
adjustment efforts. DoD will continue to partner with, and provide
information to the Government of Guam, including the University of
Guam, on the types of career fields and civil service positions as new
information is developed. DoD recommends meeting with the appropriate
stakeholders, including representatives from the Government of Guam,
semi-annually vice quarterly, to coordinate this issue as the current
analysis indicates that the data will not have any appreciable changes
within a quarterly timeframe.
[End of section]
Appendix III: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments:
GAO Contact:
Brian J. Lepore, (202) 512-4523 or leporeb@gao.gov:
Acknowledgments:
In addition to the contact named above, Harold Reich, Assistant
Director; Josh Margraf; Richard Meeks; Amy Frazier; Grace A. Coleman;
Renee Brown; Richard Powelson; and Katherine S. Lenane made major
contributions to this report.
[End of section]
Related GAO Products:
Defense Infrastructure: Planning Challenges Could Increase Risks for
DOD in Providing Utility Services When Needed to Support the Military
Buildup on Guam, [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-653].
Washington, D.C.: June 30, 2009.
High-Level Leadership Needed to Help Guam Address Challenges Caused by
DOD-Related Growth, [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-500R]. Washington, D.C.: April 9,
2009.
Defense Infrastructure: Opportunity to Improve the Timeliness of Future
Overseas Planning Reports and Factors Affecting the Master Planning
Effort for the Military Buildup on Guam. [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-08-1005]. Washington, D.C.: September
17, 2008.
Defense Infrastructure: High-Level Leadership Needed to Help
Communities Address Challenges Caused by DOD-Related Growth.
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-08-665]. Washington, D.C.:
June 17, 2008.
Defense Logistics: Navy Needs to Develop and Implement a Plan to Ensure
That Voyage Repairs Are Available to Ships Operating near Guam when
Needed. [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-08-427].
Washington, D.C.: May 12, 2008.
Defense Infrastructure: Planning Efforts for the Proposed Military
Buildup on Guam Are in Their Initial Stages, with Many Challenges Yet
to Be Addressed. [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-08-722T].
Washington, D.C.: May 1, 2008.
Defense Infrastructure: Challenges Increase Risks for Providing Timely
Infrastructure Support for Army Installations Expecting Substantial
Personnel Growth. [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-07-1007].
Washington, D.C.: September 13, 2007.
Defense Infrastructure: Overseas Master Plans Are Improving, but DOD
Needs to Provide Congress Additional Information about the Military
Buildup on Guam. [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-07-1015].
Washington, D.C.: September 12, 2007.
U.S. Insular Areas: Economic, Fiscal, and Financial Accountability
Challenges. [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-07-119]. Washington, D.C.: December 12,
2006.
DOD's Overseas Infrastructure Master Plans Continue to Evolve.
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-06-913R]. Washington, D.C.:
August 22, 2006.
Results-Oriented Government: Practices That Can Help Enhance and
Sustain Collaboration among Federal Agencies. [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-06-15]. Washington, D.C.: October 21,
2005.
U.S. Insular Areas: Multiple Factors Affect Federal Health Care
Funding. [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-06-75].
Washington, D.C.: October 14, 2005.
Opportunities Exist to Improve Future Comprehensive Master Plans for
Changing U.S. Defense Infrastructure Overseas. [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-05-680R]. Washington, D.C.: June 27,
2005.
Results-Oriented Government: GPRA Has Established a Solid Foundation
for Achieving Greater Results. [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-04-38]. Washington, D.C.: March 10,
2004.
Environmental Cleanup: Better Communication Needed for Dealing with
Formerly Used Defense Sites in Guam. [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-02-423]. Washington, D.C.: April 11,
2002.
Compact of Free Association: Negotiations Should Address Aid
Effectiveness and Accountability and Migrants' Impact on U.S. Areas.
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-02-270T]. Washington, D.C.:
December 6, 2001.
Foreign Relations: Migration From Micronesian Nations Has Had
Significant Impact on Guam, Hawaii, and the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands. [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-02-40]. Washington, D.C.: October 5,
2001.
Overseas Presence: Issues Involved in Reducing the Impact of the U.S.
Military Presence on Okinawa. [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO/NSIAD-98-66]. Washington, D.C.: March
2, 1998.
U.S Insular Areas: Development Strategy and Better Coordination Among
U.S. Agencies Are Needed. [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO/NSIAD-94-62]. Washington, D.C.:
February 7, 1994.
[End of section]
Footnotes:
[1] Prior reports include GAO, Defense Infrastructure: Overseas Master
Plans Are Improving, but DOD Needs to Provide Congress Additional
Information about the Military Buildup on Guam, [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-07-1015] (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 12,
2007); Defense Infrastructure: Planning Efforts for the Proposed
Military Buildup on Guam Are in Their Initial Stages, with Many
Challenges Yet to Be Addressed, [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-08-722T] (Washington, D.C.: May 1,
2008); Defense Infrastructure: Opportunity to Improve the Timeliness of
Future Overseas Planning Reports and Factors Affecting the Master
Planning Effort for the Military Buildup on Guam, [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-08-1005] (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 17,
2008); High-Level Leadership Needed to Help Guam Address Challenges
Caused by DOD-Related Growth, [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-500R] (Washington, D.C.: April 9,
2009); and Defense Infrastructure: Planning Challenges Could Increase
Risks for DOD in Providing Utility Services When needed to Support the
Military Buildup on Guam, [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-653] (Washington, D.C.: June 30,
2009).
[2] DOD officials refer to the process through which the United States
and Japan negotiated the initiatives that realign U.S. forces in Japan
as the Defense Policy Review Initiative. The realignment initiatives
were the result of Security Consultative Committee meetings in 2005 and
2006 between U.S. and Japan officials. The Security Consultative
Committee is made up of the U.S. Secretaries of State and Defense and
Japan's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of State for Defense.
The committee sets overall bilateral policy regarding the security
relationship between the United States and Japan. The results of these
meetings established a framework for the future U.S. force structure in
Japan, including the Marine Corps move from Okinawa, Japan, to Guam.
[3] The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, codified as amended
at 42 U.S.C. § 4321-4347, and the regulations established by the
Council on Environmental Quality require, in part, that an
environmental impact statement be prepared if a proposed project
constitutes a major federal action significantly affecting the quality
of the human environment. See 40 C.F.R. Part 1500.
[4] The H2B visas category applies to residents of foreign countries
who are coming to the United States (the term "United States" includes
Guam in this context) temporarily to perform nonagricultural temporary
labor or service if unemployed persons capable of performing such labor
or service are unable to be found in the United States (8 U.S.C. §
1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(B)). For additional regulations pertinent to the
issuance of H-2B visas, see also 8 C.F.R. § 214(h).
[5] 8 U.S.C. § 1184(g)(1)(B).
[6] 8 U.S.C. § 1101 et. seq.
[7] Pub. L. No. 110-229, § 702(a) (2008) (codified at 48 U.S.C. §
1806(b)).
[8] See GAO, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands: Pending
Legislation Would Apply U.S. Immigration Law to the CNMI with a
Transition Period, [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-08-466]
(Washington, D.C.: Mar. 28, 2008).
[9] H.R. Conf. Rep. No. 111-288, at 485-488 and 889-890 (2009). For
example, one section specifies a number of measures aimed at ensuring
the maximum number of U.S. workers are solicited before H2B visa
waivers are issued, and would further require the Secretary of Labor to
approve a recruitment plan. Another section would require that military
construction projects carried out on Guam and related to the
realignment comply with the requirements of subchapter IV of chapter 31
of title 40, U.S. Code, and would require that the Secretary of Labor
issue wage rate determinations annually until 90% of the funds for the
project are expended.
[10] The Workforce Investment Act, Pub. L. No. 105-220 (1998).
[11] Students may attend other engineering schools, but the University
of Guam has an agreement with the University of Iowa whereby the latter
will honor the students' credits earned at the University of Guam.
[End of section]
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