By Pacific Island Times News Staff
The Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Pacific has awarded a $14.5 million contract to Pacific Federal Management Inc. to build training facilities at Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz.
"The work to be performed provides for the construction of training facilities to support III Marine Expeditionary Force, 9th Engineer Support Battalion," the Department of Defense said.
The project, which is expected to be completed by March 2026, is part of a massive defense investment on island in preparation for the relocation of 5,000 Marines from Okinawa to Guam, with the first tranche anticipated to arrive later this year.
According to Navy's programmatic agreement memo released in August last year, the training facilities consist of a medium-heavy equipment training area, (HE Dig Pit,), a water supply training area and a bulk fuel training area designed to train personnel in the operation of combat earthmoving equipment, purification of non-potable water and the distribution of bulk fuel (using either fuel or non-potable water.)
According to the memo, HE Dig Pit is an open pit filled with soil that will be utilized for training purposes. It also includes a tank trap training area for an excavator to perform with a dozer blade.
"The DoD finds that the subject construction will have no historic properties affected because while historic properties were identified in the (area of potential effects), the properties have undergone the agreed upon mitigation processes and are thus no longer extant," the memo states.
The construction of training facilities for the 9th Engineer Support Battalion is among the five projects for Camp Blaz identified by the Navy in the August 2023 memo.
Others include the artillery battery facilities, recreation center, religious ministry services facility and a training center building with operational simulator trainer spaces.
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