Guam, US military agree to guidelines to prevent damage to historical sites

HAGATNA, Guam — The governor of Guam, a military official and the island’s historic preservation officer have signed off on a new agreement that outlines how to mitigate damage to historic and culturally significant sites on the island during military training.

The Programmatic Agreement for Training and Testing was signed Tuesday by Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero, Rear Adm. John Menoni, Commander, Joint Region Marianas and Carlotta Leon Guerrero, the Guam State Historic Preservation officer.

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The agreement is set to expire in five years. The agreement will require all incoming Department of Defense military and civilians, their families, contractors and visiting foreign military members to undergo cultural sensitivity training in partnership with the island’s historic preservation office, the Pacific Daily News reported.

The deal also includes a detailed outline of planned military training events, their location and the type of archaeological report that will be generated after each event. The data will be used to monitor the effects of the training exercises on historic sites on the island.

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The agreement replaces the Mariana Island Range Complex Programmatic Agreement from 2009.

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