Guam’s Governor Eddie Calvo posted a message to YouTube on Wednesday reassuring the people of Guam that there is no change in threat level resulting from North Korea events.
Said Calvo in the message:
I know we woke up to media reports of North Korea’s talk of revenge on the United States and this so-called new-found technology that allows them to target Guam.
I am working with Homeland Security, the Rear Admiral, and the United States to ensure our safety.
I want to reassure the people of Guam that currently there is no threat to our island or the Marianas. I spoke to Joint Region Marianas Commander Rear Admiral Shoshana Chatfield who confirmed this with me.
My Homeland Security Advisor who is in communications with Homeland Security and Department of Defense notes that there is no change in threat level resulting from North Korea events. HSA George Charfauros reminds us that there are several levels of defense all strategically placed to protect our island and our nation.
Additionally, I have reached out to the White House this morning. An attack or threat to Guam is a threat or attack on the United States. They have said that America will be defended.
I also want to remind national media that Guam is American soil and we have 200,000 Americans in Guam and the Marianas. We are not just a military installation.
With that said, I want to ensure that we are prepared for any eventuality. I will be convening the Unified Coordination Group, which includes myself and the Rear Admiral, to discuss the state of readiness of our military and our local first responders.
My office will continue to provide information to our community. What information we are given, we will pass it on to you.
At about 4,000 miles west of Hawaii, and 2,200 miles southeast of North Korea, Guam is on the edge of U.S. power in the Pacific. Its combined Navy and Air Force installation, Joint Region Marianas, is the home port for nuclear submarines, a contingent of Special Operations Forces and the launching point of flights for strategic bombers conducting rotational flights over Japanese territories and in the Korean Peninsula.
Guam has been a strategic linchpin since Spain relinquished control to the U.S. Navy following the Spanish-American War in 1898. Japanese forces sped to the island following the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 and captured it, subjecting its people to violence that some historians estimate to have killed 10 percent of its population.
