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Guam: Land of the Chamorros
SFC Ryan Manuel
Air Defense Artillery Senior Leader Course

Guam: Land of the Chamorros

Guam is a self-governing and unincorporated territory of the United States. It lies in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and it is the largest and most populous of the Marianas chain of islands (Guampedia, 2015).

The island of Guam has a land mass of 212 square miles and its shaped like a footprint. The formation of the island was a result of two volcanoes that merged. It has two distinct geological compositions where two-thirds of the island is raised limestone on the northern plateau while the south is consisted of raised volcanic formations at Mount Santa Rosa and Mount Mataguak. Mount Lamlam is known to be the highest point with an elevation of 1,334 feet (Geography of Guam, n.d.).

The natives of Guam, who are basically of Malayo-Indonesian origin, are known as Chamorro. The Chamorros comprise 37 percent of the total population of Guam (Guam Visitors Bureau, 2016). Nearly one-third of the population are Filipinos while a small percentage of the population are of European lineage (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2016).

Guam has a complex cultural history and Encyclopedia Britannica (2016) provides a brief account of the people that settled in Guam. Indonesian-Filipino people settled in the island during the 2nd millennium BCE. Spain claimed the island in 1565 and it remained under Spain until 1898 during the Spanish-American war. The Spaniards surrendered Guam to the United States, except during the Second World War when the Japanese occupied the island, the United States president appointed a naval officer as governor of Guam until 1950.

The post war restoration of Guam made it a center for commercial and economic with the United States expanding its military interest in the island. Guam has a diverse population made possible by the establishment of a local, civilian government where people from all over the world found it easy to pursue careers and various economic activities in the island and even settle with their families due to lesser military restrictions in entering the island (Guam Visitors Bureau, 2016).

Culture

Economy: position in global market;

Government

Although Guamanians are US citizens, they cannot vote in US Presidential Elections. Guam is governed by the US under the 1950 Organic Act of Guam. The President of the United States is the head of state and a governor, who was presidentially appointed up until 1964 (Guampedia, 2015) is elected by popular vote for a four-year term heads their local government. Because Guam is not a State, it has no senators or representatives in Congress, although they send delegates to the House of Representatives with no voting privileges. The delegates have minimal role in Congress thus the citizens of Guam has no representation. (https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/GU) Guam decolonization

Military

As an incorporated territory, the United States has the sole responsibility for Guam's defense. The US military has two strategic bases located in Guam - Naval Base Guam and Andersen Air Force Base. With the US strategic shift to the Pacific and East Asia, the military bases are now more valuable because of its close proximity to North Korea and potential hot spots in Asia such as the South China Sea.

References
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gq.html

Encyclopedia Britanica (2016) https://www.britannica.com/place/Guam

Guampedia (28 December 2015). http://www.guampedia.com/about-guam/

Geography of Guam (n.d.) http://ns.gov.gu/geography.html

Guam Visitors Bureau (2016) http://www.visitguam.com/chamorro-culture/cultural-presentations/

Washington Post (2016) https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/some-in-guam-push-for-independence-from-us-as-marines-prepare-for-buildup/2016/06/16/e6152bd2-324b-11e6-ab9d-1da2b0f24f93_story.html

http://www.thaadguamea.com/about

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/world/article45241053.html

http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/world/guam.html