Guam is struggling as it faces mounting challenges to prepare for the planned military buildup on the island, including the relocation of U.S. Marines from Okinawa, and the prospect that in less than a decade, U.S. forces-related personnel will raise its population by nearly 25 percent.
The problems for its 170,000 islanders boil down to a lack of money to upgrade infrastructure to sustain an expected rush of big construction projects and to minimize the environmental impact, as well as insufficient disclosure of information by the U.S. military.
A local politician said many on Guam feel as if they were just told to "upgrade the port facilities, build roads and houses at the same time. But it's impossible."