thedrifter
05-08-06, 09:41 AM
Semper Fi: former Marines defend Corps at women's meeting
by Clynt Ridgell, KUAM News
Monday, May 08, 2006
While Governor Felix Camacho has been preparing for the arrival of 8,000 Marines and their families by meeting as recently as last week with key Defense Department officials on the need for accelerating and financing improvements to Guam's infrastructure. Senator Judi Won Pat (D) and Vice-Speaker Joanne Brown (R) met with a group of women from various walks of life on guam to discuss the potential social problems that may come with these thousands of servicemen.
With the arrival of troops are coming to Guam and with that comes a lot of concerned women. Women who met today at Carmen's Mexican Restaurant in Hagatna to discuss different concerns with this pending influx of military personnel. But while women were inside discussing these issues, former Marine and war veteran John Gerber was upset that he was not allowed into the women's-only meeting.
Gerber criticized, "I think this is a very unfair biased meeting that they're having in here not to allow them to have Marines in there to defend themselves and the blatant statement that Senator Won Pat said on TV last night with all the sexual problems that they're having in Okinawa - what is she talking about?" In this instance Senator Won Pat was referring to reports out of Japan of rapes committed by Marines against local Okinawan women.
Although Gerber feels that it has all been blown out of proportion, he admits that Marines are not perfect. He said, "I'm not going to say that Marines are not going to get into trouble here, you know Marines are human beings just like anybody else, but I'll tell you this for every Marine he has twenty superiors looking after him twenty-four hours a day and if he gets in trouble gets in some sort of mischief the Marine Corps will deal with him severely.
"Unlike on Guam you can be accused of rape and be a bus driver and still be employed and then be transferred to another sector and ordered not to talk to that girl that you were accusing that doesn't happen in the Marine Corps you are dealt with severely."
In fact retired USMC colonel Adolpho Sgambelluri was a provost marshal with the Marine Corps in Okinawa back in the early sixties and he questions the accuracy of reports that Marines committed rapes in Okinawa going as far as to say that these reports may be a result of propaganda. He hotly responded, defending the Corps, saying, "This notion that Marines are going to be involved when they get to Guam with rape and pillaging and destroying the village and raping the women and little girls. A bunch of crap, a bunch of crap."
While Sgambelluri and Gerber were upset that they weren't allowed inside the meeting to defend the Marines, the meeting inside was actually meant for women only and did not focus on bashing marines and perpetuating the fear of rape. Instead, the focus was on social issues and what kinds of impacts may result from such a rapid influx of this many people.
For example, Lydia Tenorio administrator for the Bureau of Social Services Administration said instead of bringing up concerns about rape the group brought up concerns about single local consenting women who may actually be looking forward to the arrival of Marines. "I'm also afraid that it may turn out to be the year of the baby booming year we'll have and increase in pregnancies we'll have unwanted pregnancies we'll have unwed pregnancies that's actually going to have a lot of impact on our society because whose going to have to take responsibility over this but our island community," she explained.
In fact the focus of the meeting was to bring up concerns like this and to discuss how the island community can prepare itself to be more accountable and responsible when these Marines arrive. Co-chair of the international networking committee of the Organization of People for Indigenous Rights former senator Hope Cristobal is concerned primarily with our island's leaders. She told KUAM News, "I'm concerned about the kind of leadership that I feel is lacking I feel that the chamber of commerce has basically taken the leadership on this and this is not truly just about economics it is about how our family lives are going to be impacted it's about how most importantly also how our environment will be impacted."
While it's obvious that the women inside were concerned about the social impacts of these Marines, outside Gerber also expressed his concerns about what might happen and what has happened when you mix locals with military personnel. He said, "Everyone is worried about our Marines. I was in the Marine Corps, I was born and raised in Ordot. I never heard of one incident where a marine in the past fifty-five, sixty, seventy, years was ever accused of rape or getting into any misconduct on Guam, but I can tell you this in the early 1990's, I remember the lance corporal that was invited to the Umatac fiesta beat to death and left to die in the bamboo patch down there. I remember those three sailors that were strangled down at Cabras Island robbed and strangled, I remember the two sailors that were taken up behind Ordot dump robbed and executed.
"Now if you ask the parents of those kids whether they should station troops on Guam, they'll say, 'Hell no, that's a dangerous place.'"
Ellie
by Clynt Ridgell, KUAM News
Monday, May 08, 2006
While Governor Felix Camacho has been preparing for the arrival of 8,000 Marines and their families by meeting as recently as last week with key Defense Department officials on the need for accelerating and financing improvements to Guam's infrastructure. Senator Judi Won Pat (D) and Vice-Speaker Joanne Brown (R) met with a group of women from various walks of life on guam to discuss the potential social problems that may come with these thousands of servicemen.
With the arrival of troops are coming to Guam and with that comes a lot of concerned women. Women who met today at Carmen's Mexican Restaurant in Hagatna to discuss different concerns with this pending influx of military personnel. But while women were inside discussing these issues, former Marine and war veteran John Gerber was upset that he was not allowed into the women's-only meeting.
Gerber criticized, "I think this is a very unfair biased meeting that they're having in here not to allow them to have Marines in there to defend themselves and the blatant statement that Senator Won Pat said on TV last night with all the sexual problems that they're having in Okinawa - what is she talking about?" In this instance Senator Won Pat was referring to reports out of Japan of rapes committed by Marines against local Okinawan women.
Although Gerber feels that it has all been blown out of proportion, he admits that Marines are not perfect. He said, "I'm not going to say that Marines are not going to get into trouble here, you know Marines are human beings just like anybody else, but I'll tell you this for every Marine he has twenty superiors looking after him twenty-four hours a day and if he gets in trouble gets in some sort of mischief the Marine Corps will deal with him severely.
"Unlike on Guam you can be accused of rape and be a bus driver and still be employed and then be transferred to another sector and ordered not to talk to that girl that you were accusing that doesn't happen in the Marine Corps you are dealt with severely."
In fact retired USMC colonel Adolpho Sgambelluri was a provost marshal with the Marine Corps in Okinawa back in the early sixties and he questions the accuracy of reports that Marines committed rapes in Okinawa going as far as to say that these reports may be a result of propaganda. He hotly responded, defending the Corps, saying, "This notion that Marines are going to be involved when they get to Guam with rape and pillaging and destroying the village and raping the women and little girls. A bunch of crap, a bunch of crap."
While Sgambelluri and Gerber were upset that they weren't allowed inside the meeting to defend the Marines, the meeting inside was actually meant for women only and did not focus on bashing marines and perpetuating the fear of rape. Instead, the focus was on social issues and what kinds of impacts may result from such a rapid influx of this many people.
For example, Lydia Tenorio administrator for the Bureau of Social Services Administration said instead of bringing up concerns about rape the group brought up concerns about single local consenting women who may actually be looking forward to the arrival of Marines. "I'm also afraid that it may turn out to be the year of the baby booming year we'll have and increase in pregnancies we'll have unwanted pregnancies we'll have unwed pregnancies that's actually going to have a lot of impact on our society because whose going to have to take responsibility over this but our island community," she explained.
In fact the focus of the meeting was to bring up concerns like this and to discuss how the island community can prepare itself to be more accountable and responsible when these Marines arrive. Co-chair of the international networking committee of the Organization of People for Indigenous Rights former senator Hope Cristobal is concerned primarily with our island's leaders. She told KUAM News, "I'm concerned about the kind of leadership that I feel is lacking I feel that the chamber of commerce has basically taken the leadership on this and this is not truly just about economics it is about how our family lives are going to be impacted it's about how most importantly also how our environment will be impacted."
While it's obvious that the women inside were concerned about the social impacts of these Marines, outside Gerber also expressed his concerns about what might happen and what has happened when you mix locals with military personnel. He said, "Everyone is worried about our Marines. I was in the Marine Corps, I was born and raised in Ordot. I never heard of one incident where a marine in the past fifty-five, sixty, seventy, years was ever accused of rape or getting into any misconduct on Guam, but I can tell you this in the early 1990's, I remember the lance corporal that was invited to the Umatac fiesta beat to death and left to die in the bamboo patch down there. I remember those three sailors that were strangled down at Cabras Island robbed and strangled, I remember the two sailors that were taken up behind Ordot dump robbed and executed.
"Now if you ask the parents of those kids whether they should station troops on Guam, they'll say, 'Hell no, that's a dangerous place.'"
Ellie