[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 100 (Tuesday, July 15, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H5187-H5188]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         CIVILIAN-MILITARY RELATIONS IN GUAM IS BEING FRACTURED

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 21, 1997, the gentleman from Guam [Mr. Underwood] is recognized 
during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, in Guam and many other American 
communities children are at the forefront of our Government policies, 
and like many communities, children are also at the forefront of our 
relationship with the military, whose large presence on Guam is well-
known to many of the Members of this Chamber. Those in Guam and here in 
Washington must understand the dimensions of this history.
  The military's recently announced intention to establish Department 
of Defense Dependent Schools on Guam will divide an island for which 
over the past few decades community leaders, elected leaders, and 
military leaders have worked hard to dismantle barriers that force the 
perception of two separate communities on Guam. The barriers were 
coming down until the military announced that they were returning the 
school system on Guam to the pre-World War II era.
  The school system prior to the World War II was divided. Military 
dependents attended a school called the American School, while local 
Chamorro children attended local schools. The naval government's 
official policy on education at the time was ``to provide every 
possible means to ensure that the children of American residents in 
Guam shall not suffer perhaps permanent injury'' because of their 
residence on Guam. This was perceived as an indication that those 
native to Guam were not good enough.
  After World War II, although the school system in name was 
integrated, in reality, the districting was manipulated by the Navy to 
maintain segregated schools. Although the naval government operated all 
of the schools on the island and was thus responsible for the quality 
of education on Guam, double standards were maintained. When the 
relationship was finally integrated in the 1960's, when I was in high 
school and completing my education, and just as the process took time 
to heal here on segregation in the United States, so did the feelings 
of segregation on Guam. It took years to build relationships between 
the civilian and military community on Guam, and now this is being 
destroyed.
  What we have worked in Guam so hard to dismantle is easily built up 
by the military. The military has pursued this issue inexhaustibly. 
They call it Operation Bright Vision. Maybe in the shortsighted eyes of 
military planners on Guam, this is a bright vision. With the 
President's announced initiative of one America to bring together 
people of different races, setting up the dynamics to divide the 
community on Guam is clearly the wrong vision for all of America. 
Rather than bright vision, it is a dark cloud over Guam and the rest of 
the United States.
  The military will attempt to characterize this issue as a failed 
contract. Yes, they did have a contract for monetary payment with the 
Government of Guam, but those were for administrative reports. The 
Government of Guam high schools are fully accredited; the teachers are 
certified and the system has graduated many outstanding doctors, 
lawyers, and educators who serve here as well as on Guam. This must be 
important to understand.
  But the Department of Defense all along, while telling me that they 
may establish schools in the fall of 1998, have continued to pursue 
this and surprised the entire island by announcing that schools would 
be established this fall, in October of 1997.
  They did all of this while failing to actively engage local leaders 
and education officials. They never talked to them. They let the 
contract become the mechanism of the discussion. The whole process is 
already symptomatic of a major breakdown between local military 
officials and the people of Guam.
  Difficult times lie ahead, and this is exactly because of this move. 
This effort is hostile in nature. To my knowledge, this may be the 
first time that the Department of Defense has established domestic 
dependent schools contrary to the desires and warnings of local 
officials, local leaders, and the local community. This paves the road 
for very difficult times in the military-civilian relationship on Guam.
  There is much more at stake here than the quality of education. This 
is a relationship issue. It is not just about schools; it is about 
military planning. It is more, even more than that. Our relationship is 
built upon people relating to other people, and the military will 
destroy this with their effort to divide our youth and to promote 
separate communities. Guam has to be seen as part of America by our 
fellow Americans.
  This outrageous move by DOD is hostile in its nature, hostile towards 
the local community from whom it wishes to separate, hostile toward the 
schools, and hostile toward its outstanding professionals and toward a 
people who have heretofore welcomed the military to their homes, its 
families, and its lands.
  Mr. Speaker, I include for the Record extraneous materials relating 
to this topic. These are letters by the current and former Speaker of 
the Guam Legislature. Speaker Unpingco characterize the island's 
sentiments well. Former Speaker San Agustin outlines the history of 
civilian-military relations on this issue.

                                        Office of the Speaker,

                                        Agana, Guam, July 8, 1997.
     Hon. Robert A. Underwood, M.C.,
     House of Representatives,
     Agana, Guam.
       Dear Congressman Underwood: I am compelled to write to you 
     regarding the recent decision by the Department of Defense to 
     open DOD schools on Guam. Without any consideration of the 
     social ramifications this would have, DOD has opted to 
     segregate this community and pull over 2,700 military 
     dependent school children out of the local public school 
     system. What kind of message is the Department of Defense 
     trying to send to the people of Guam?
       Attached is a copy of my letter to Rear Admiral Martin E. 
     Janczak, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Marianas, wherein I 
     state my concern over this decision on the part of DOD. To 
     summarize the letter, the plan to open DOD schools on U.S. 
     soil sends a strong message to the people of Guam that we are 
     nothing more than second-class citizens in the eyes of the 
     United States.
       I must convey to you the sentiments of this community. The 
     opening of DOD schools

[[Page H5188]]

     is just another sign of an ugly American attitude of treating 
     Guam as a foreign country when it is convenient and treating 
     it as a US possession when it suits its needs. This is no 
     longer acceptable!
       Most of all, opening DOD schools will revive racial 
     tensions on the island. Simply put, this plan implies that 
     white Americans are smarter than brown Chamorros. May I 
     remind you that the 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown vs. 
     Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas ruled that racially 
     segregated schools were unconstitutional because separate 
     educational facilities are inherently unequal. After years of 
     living harmoniously, the military will separate our children 
     and pit them against each other. What good will come out of 
     all this?
       I urge you to review this situation which has a potential 
     for disaster and find another alternative. Let's work 
     together on this issue and not against each other. I look 
     forward to your input regarding this matter of the utmost 
     urgency.
           Sincerely,
     Antonio R. Unpingco.
                                                                    ____

                                                    July 15, 1997.
     The Editor,
     Pacific Daily News,
     Agana, Guam.
       I want to congratulate the Department of Defense 
     establishment, principally the local Naval and Air Force 
     command, for finally succeeding in their efforts to restore 
     it's pre-World War II segregated educational policies on the 
     island of Guam.
       Since the liberation of Guam, the military commands have 
     consistently pursued it's goal, and that is to have a 
     segregated educational program for it's military dependents. 
     I'm sure that there is enough historical documents that will 
     reveal that at the immediate outset of World War II, a 
     segregated school was indeed established, principally at the 
     former Adelup school. During the Guerrero administration the 
     Adelup school was gradually phased out and integrated with 
     the Piti Elementary school and other local areas. Please note 
     that the Piti Elementary School was located at the foot of 
     Nimitz Hill, thereby accommodating military dependents living 
     at Nimitz Hill and the people of the municipality of Piti.
       Over the years, many accommodations were made for the 
     military by locating schools either adjacent to or near 
     military bases. Let me cite a few examples. (1) The Finegayan 
     Elementary School was located directly across the NAVCOM 
     station and near the FAA Housing Area to accommodate the 
     military dependents residing at NAVCOM; (2) The Upi 
     Elementary School was originally requested by the Anderson 
     Air Force Base Command to be constructed ``inside'' the 
     Anderson Air Force Base. Instead of consolidating and 
     improving the Yigo Elementary School, a compromise was 
     arrived. The compromise was to build the Upi Elementary 
     School ``right outside the fence'' approximately 100 feet 
     distance from the back gate of Anderson Air Force Base; (3) 
     Truman Elementary School in Santa Rita. This site location in 
     itself has an interesting historical sequence. It was decided 
     to build this particular Truman Elementary School right next 
     to the Apra Heights Housing Area and Naval Magazine Housing 
     Area and also at the same time near the Santa Rita Village. 
     It also was used as a ``pawn'' by the Navy's desire to build 
     an ammunition wharf at Sella Bay. Fortunately Governor 
     Camacho, during a meeting at the Pentagon (where I was 
     present) prevailed on the DOD officials to release the school 
     site and permit us to build the Truman Elementary School; 
     and gave up their demand for the location of the 
     ammunition wharf at Sella Bay. Indeed, this was rather 
     unfortunate, in that the military tried to persuade 
     GovGuam officials to agree to the Sella Bay ammunition 
     wharf location in order for the Navy to release the school 
     site designated as Truman Elementary School.
       Government documents will also reveal that the Department 
     of Defense, pursuant to Public Law 874, ``the School Impact 
     Aid'', has been consistently ``falling short in compliance'' 
     for full educational impact reimbursements. I'm sure former 
     Speaker Franklin Quitugua will remember that he tried very 
     hard, unsuccessfully, to seek full reimbursement from the 
     federal government for military educational impact efforts 
     under Public Law 874 for the last 25 years! The Federal 
     government, having been delinquent for full reimbursement 
     entitlements under this Public Law 874, the Ada 
     Administration was persuaded to adopt an alternative source 
     of financing that is the now so-called DoD Funds in lieu of 
     the impact Aid funding under Public Law 874. This single 
     action in itself truly paved the way for DoD to dictate as a 
     ``supplement'' to local funding sources for education. Under 
     Public Law 874, the funding, which comes under the purview of 
     the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, is part of 
     the overall basic budget cost to finance the entire 
     educational system. The simple action under the Ada-DoD 
     Funding Contract, gave the DoD the ``unusual authority'' to 
     either withhold or release such funds under it's military 
     terms, thereby DoD finally establishing educational standards 
     for the local educational system.
       Having established this position of financial strength, the 
     DoD, then actively pursued it's original intention to 
     ``establish it's own segregated school'' which they could not 
     do for over 50 years since 1946.
       In addition to the above, the local educational system was 
     federally mandated under the Organic Act of Guam to educate 
     all school children on Guam, regardless of their origin, 
     principally local, military and from our neighboring islands. 
     And I now wonder, if the DoD impetus, having achieved a 
     financial strength of dictating it's educational funding, 
     with a school population significantly divided into 3 basic 
     groups, that is the local, Micronesians, and the military 
     dependents, provided the resulting environment.

                          ____________________