(Editor’s note: Mayors Council of Guam president Piti Mayor Jesse Alig spoke with Kandit today about his impressions of the briefing Congressman San Nicolas coordinated between the military and the elected officials of Guam. Watch that interview below.)
The following is a news release from the Office of Congressman Michael San Nicolas:
Locally elected leaders today were formally hosted by Joint Region Marianas (JRM) and Admiral Nicholson for an official briefing by intelligence professionals in INDOPACOM out of Hawai’i, at the request of Congressman San Nicolas.
“Having received briefings from INDOPACOM as your Congressman over the years we felt it was important to extend the same to our local leaders, and we thank INDOPACOM, JRM, and Admiral Nicholson for facilitating this request,” said Congressman San Nicolas.
In the briefing, participating Senators and Mayors were updated on regional threats and the projected growth of those threats in the years ahead, as viewed from the military perspective of INDOPACOM. Opportunities for questions were provided which helped local leaders better understand the information provided.
“We can with confidence inform the people that your local leaders are as informed as your Congressman on the unclassified threats facing our island, and have sufficient information to better represent the people of Guam in the context of these threats,” Congressman San Nicolas continued. “While we wished to extend this to greater public participation the U.S. military does not extend requested briefing opportunities to the general public for national security reasons but we are very fortunate that much effort was made to do so for those elected to represent the people of Guam, and we extend our thanks to Admiral Nicholson, JRM, and INDOPACOM,” Congressman San Nicolas added.
This federal briefing marks the 5th time the Guam Congressional Office has brought federal expertise to inform local decision making, with previous briefings including the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM), the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI), the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE), The Municipal Securities Rule Making Board (MSRB), and today’s Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM).
“Your Congressional Office is making unprecedented efforts to – as best as possible – provide our island with information to help us make better decisions and we will continue to do so as opportunities permit,” Congressman San Nicolas concludes.
