A west-facing rendering of Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz on Guam. (Joint Region Marianas)
The Navy is seeking bids for the construction of a joint communications center at the Marine Corps base on Guam.
The work at Camp Blaz, the Corps’ first new installation in 70 years, is estimated to cost between $250 million and $500 million and take more than three years to complete, according to the announcement on the System for Award Management website.
The announcement describes a multistory, warehouse-style building with secure facilities to provide support for naval computer and telecommunications.
It calls for the creation of a sensitive compartmented information facility, or SCIF, and an OSP Fiber Line SONET Ring, basically a network for synchronous data transmission over optical fibers, according to the contract solicitation.
The deadline for proposals is Jan. 28, according to the SAM site.
Naval Facilities Systems Command Pacific prepared the proposals request, which includes preparatory work, site demolition and potentially clearing ordnance left over from battles fought on Guam during World War II.
Guam plays a central role as a communications hub and staging ground as the Defense Department prepares for a potential conflict in the Indo-Pacific. Changes coming to Guam include the addition of new Coast Guard cutters, improvements at Andersen Air Force Base and a missile-defense system designed to ward off multiple threats from potential adversaries North Korea, China and Russia.
Blaz, activated in 2020, is the result of joint agreement between the United States and Japan to relocate some Marine assets from Okinawa. Japan is paying $3 billion of the estimated $8.6 billion cost to build the base and surrounding infrastructure.
Initial plans call for nearly 5,000 Marines at Blaz as part of the agreement with Japan. The Corps also plans to establish a new littoral regiment on Guam as a counter to Chinese moves to assert territorial claims in the South China Sea and build up its forces.
Blaz, a 4,000-acre site named in honor of the late Brig. Gen. Vincente “Ben” Blaz, a Guam native, has been under construction since August 2017.
The base is scheduled to reach full operational capacity by 2028, base spokeswoman Maj. Diann Rosenfeld told Stars and Stripes in December.
