By SETH ROBSON | STARS AND STRIPES Published: May 9, 2021 A new commander has taken charge of a new Marine Corps base on Guam, where 5,000 members of the III Marine Expeditionary Force are set to move over the next five years from Okinawa. Camp Blaz, near Andersen Air Force Base, was commissioned in September as the first new Marine installation since Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany opened in Georgia on March 1, 1952. Its new leader, Col. Christopher Bopp, took command Friday from Col. Bradley Magrath at the Camp Blaz Aviation Maintenance Hangar, the Marines said in a statement posted Saturday on Facebook. Magarth oversaw the transition of forces from Marine Corps Activity Guam to the new base, according to the Marines.
Navy awards contract for Camp Blaz EOD compound
Staff reports
The Navy this week awarded a $25 million contract for a project related to the Guam military buildup.
Honolulu-based Hensel Phelps Construction Co. will design and build a Combined Explosives Ordnance Disposal compound at Camp Blaz, which is the new Marine Corps base under construction in Dededo.
The project has an expected completion date of October 2023.
Marines from Okinawa and elsewhere are scheduled to arrive on Guam in significant numbers, beginning 2025, after Camp Blaz is completed. The base was officially activated Oct. 1, 2020, and an activation ceremony is expected in 2021.
“Our project team is motivated to support our Marines and their vital mission and we look forward to providing a world class, state of the art EOD Facility,” said Mark Nakagawa, NAVFAC Pacific DC project manager.