Top military leaders visit Palau, Guam

The islands of Micronesia continue to attract top military personnel who want to form their own impressions and understanding by visiting.

Brig. Gen. Brian S. Laidlaw, director of Strategy, Plans, Programs, and Requirements, for the Pacific Air Forces at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam visited Palau and met with President Surangel S. Whipps Jr. on Feb. 13.

Brig. Gen. Brian S. Laidlaw meets with President Surangel S. Whipps, Jr. Photo courtesy Office of the President of Palau

Whipps thanked Laidlaw for the partnership, according to the Office of the President.

Sgt. Major of the U.S. Army Michael R. Weimer met with military leaders in Guam, active-duty soldiers and personnel of the Guam National Guard the week of Feb. 5.

Based at the Pentagon, he is the senior enlisted member of the Army and is appointed to serve as the spokesperson on enlisted personnel issues.

According to the Guam National Guard, soldiers in Guam were interested in U.S. border security - to include Guam, and the Guam buildup.

As regards war fighting, he told personnel, “We have to change the mindset that we are safe, because we are not.”

Weimar also expressed that Guam needs a plan that can be resourced and sustained. “He was sensitive to our small landmass and our difficulties maintaining infrastructure due to climate and distance,” Mark Scott, public affairs officer for the Guard; told the Journal. Weimar said, "We must defend Guam, but we can't break Guam."

According to the U.S. Army, pay and compensation and quality housing and barracks are the top concerns of Army personnel in general. mbj

Palau moves into implementation phase on long-awaited hospital relocation

KOROR, Palau — More than three decades after it was built, Palau’s only hospital is firmly on a path toward replacement. President Surangel S. Whipps Jr. convened the first meeting of the Belau National Hospital Relocation Steering Committee on May 14, marking the start of what officials are calling the implementation phase of a project that many say is long overdue.

Final sentences confirmed for businesspeople and co-conspirators in Shriners bingo case

The final defendants were sentenced for their roles in conspiring to defraud the Aloha Shriners of the proceeds of an illegal gambling operation involving the Guam Shrine Club and its Hafa Adai Bingo parlor in Tamuning, according to a May 21 release from the Office of the U.S. Attorney for Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.