Navy seeks to expand Guam housing to support troop buildup

The U.S. Navy unveiled new plans to grow the number of housing units for service members and their families who are stationed in the Western Pacific.

In collaboration with Joint Region Marianas, the service will begin an initiative aimed at expanding housing capacity by 2,400 housing units to meet an increase in service members heading to Guam over the next decade, according to Joint Region Marianas.

“This effort is not just about meeting housing numbers,” said Rear Adm. Brett Mietus, commander of Joint Region Marianas. “It’s about ensuring our military members have the quality of life they deserve.”

The service expects military personnel on Guam to grow from 17,000 active-duty members in fiscal 2024 to almost 24,000 personnel in fiscal 2033.

The Navy “is considering a range of acquisition approaches, which may include lease, lease-to-purchase, purchase, or other transaction structure” for up to 1,600 family housing units and 800 unaccompanied housing units on the island, according to a Navy contract solicitation published Friday.

By June 2028, according to the solicitation, the Navy plans to have 917 family units and 400 unaccompanied units available for occupancy.

The remaining housing units are expected to be available by June 2032.

The first phase of the initiative requires information from developers — due Oct. 13 — on available homes and potential housing sites, according to the solicitation. The second phase will see chosen developers submit housing proposals, with a stated release date of November 2025.

He was bayoneted in Guam. Shot on Iwo. Now, at 100, he is a sergeant.

The Navy is focused on providing homes for military families with between two and four bedrooms, apartments for single military personnel, housing available as early as 2028 and building 75% of the new housing units in Guam’s central region, Joint Region Marianas said in a release.

Roughly 21,000 people affiliated with the U.S. military live on Guam currently, a U.S. territory that houses Andersen Air Force Base, Naval Base Guam and Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz.

The latter was activated in 2020, becoming the first new Marine Corps base in nearly 70 years.

As part of a 2012 agreement between the U.S. and Japan, 4,000 Marines are expected to relocate from Okinawa to Guam, in an effort to reduce the American military footprint on the Japanese island.