[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Living on Guam (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 1/23/2020 3:21:02 AM EDT
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TL/DR: I moved to Guam, forced to step up prep game.
My family and I recently PCSed to Guam and will remain here for the next 3-4 years. I was always what I would consider a half assed prepper. I had food, guns, med training through both my previous civilian job and the Navy, but lacked on generator, fuel, and water preps. When I received my orders here, I was sent a link to the welcome aboard page which also included a page on disaster prep. The island in general has a preparedness mindset out of necessity and the base has preparedness seminars. We elected to live on base due to distance from rental properties, cost of fuel ($2.60 on base versus $4.50 out in town), and gate traffic. Housing is all built with typhoons in mind with concrete and cinder block construction. The roofs are slabs that have been lowered in place (the i-bolts are still in place). Every house has a built-in transfer switch. One of the recommendations was to bring a generator. I only had a small Harbor Freight generator and since I was living in Bahrain at the time and had a bit of extra money, I upgraded to a Honda EU2200 Companion. I went with this model due to the ability to run it parallel and it’ll be small enough to travel with when we PCS back CONUS and start using an RV more often. After speaking with my sponsor here and learning how long the power has been out during the last typhoons, I’ll be getting a propane kit to go with it (open to suggestions as I’m just in the research phase as of right now). Water in general is safe to drink, but they do have warning periods when it’s not recommended. We have both a Brita filter and a water dispenser. The base exchange has locations to refill 3- and 5-gallon water jugs. We picked up two 5-gallon containers but will probably pick up at least 2 more. Guns are a pretty big thing here. For an island of 170,000 there are about 10 gun shops and a few of the base civilians have FFLs. The only thing off limits are NFA items and “pistols” have to have barrels under 12” for the brace crowd. All guns are registered and gun owners have to have a Firearms ID. Concealed carry is shall issue with proof of some sort of firearms training. Cost of the non-concealed firearms ID comes out to $124 for the application, fingerprint fee, and some other fee. Once you receive your initial non-concealed firearms ID the concealed can be applied for an additional $103. The firearms IDs are good for 3 years, but I believe once you upgrade to concealed the only fee that is paid is the $103 upon renewal instead of the $200+ for both. I’ll only have to worry about this if I extend a year. The cost to register guns is $49.00 per. I elected to have 2 of my pistols (Glocks in 9mm) sent to me through my usual FFL back home and had the FFL here order a Ruger PC9. Base residents are allowed to store firearms in housing. Hunting is allowed. Wild pigs are rampant and several Philippine deer can be harvested per year, but I haven't done much in the way of research as far as licensing and hunting areas. I'll probably get into archery to hunt deer on the Air Force base. As things come up, hopefully I'll update this thread before it hits the archive. UPDATE 5MAR: After a little drama with FFLs, my pistols finally got here. They'll get registered with Guam PD tomorrow, at about $50 each. This process has been pretty expensive for a couple handguns. Ammunition is a bitch to get just due to demand. Thankfully, the DoD cops I work with are about to put in a bulk order for 9mm through an FFL coworker. In other news, we had a 4.8 earthquake this morning. I'd felt one before but my wife felt it necessary to wake me up to ask wtf it was. |
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Quoted:
TL/DR: I moved to Guam, forced to step up prep game. My family and I recently PCSed to Guam and will remain here for the next 3-4 years. I was always what I would consider a half assed prepper. I had food, guns, med training through both my previous civilian job and the Navy, but lacked on generator, fuel, and water preps. When I received my orders here, I was sent a link to the welcome aboard page which also included a page on disaster prep. The island in general has a preparedness mindset out of necessity and the base has preparedness seminars. We elected to live on base due to distance from rental properties, cost of fuel ($2.60 on base versus $4.50 out in town), and gate traffic. Housing is all built with typhoons in mind with concrete and cinder block construction. The roofs are slabs that have been lowered in place (the i-bolts are still in place). Every house has a built-in transfer switch. One of the recommendations was to bring a generator. I only had a small Harbor Freight generator and since I was living in Bahrain at the time and had a bit of extra money, I upgraded to a Honda EU2200 Companion. I went with this model due to the ability to run it parallel and it’ll be small enough to travel with when we PCS back CONUS and start using an RV more often. After speaking with my sponsor here and learning how long the power has been out during the last typhoons, I’ll be getting a propane kit to go with it (open to suggestions as I’m just in the research phase as of right now). Water in general is safe to drink, but they do have warning periods where it’s not recommended. We have both a Brita filter and a water dispenser. The base exchange has locations to refill 3- and 5-gallon water jugs. We picked up two 5-gallon containers but will probably pick up at least 2 more. Guns are a pretty big thing here. For an island of 170,000 there are about 10 gun shops and a few of the base civilians have FFLs. The only thing off limits are NFA items and “pistols” have to have barrels under 12” for the brace crowd. All guns are registered and gun owners have to have a Firearms ID. Concealed carry is shall issue with proof of some sort of firearms training. Cost of the non-concealed firearms ID comes out to $124 for the application, fingerprint fee, and some other fee. Once you receive your initial non-concealed firearms ID the concealed can be applied for at an additional. The firearms IDs are good for 3 years, but I believe once you upgrade to concealed the only fee that is paid is the $103 upon renewal instead of the $200+ for both. I’ll only have to worry about this if I extend a year. The cost to register guns is $49.00 per. I elected to have 2 of my pistols (Glocks in 9mm) sent to me through my usual FFL back home and had the FFL here order a Ruger PC9. Base residents are allowed to store firearms in housing. Hunting is allowed. Wild pigs are rampant and several Philippine deer can be harvested per year, but I haven't done much in the way of research as far as licensing and hunting areas. I'll probably get into archery to hunt deer on the Air Force base. As things come up, hopefully I'll update this thread before it hits the archive. Are there bad neighborhoods? Is there some aggressive native population or something to encourage CCW off base? |
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Quoted: Thanks for the write up! I always wondered what it was like living on Guam. Are there bad neighborhoods? Is there some aggressive native population or something to encourage CCW off base? |
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What I remember about pulling into Guam is how clear the water was. Looking down from the ship's deck it seemed to be inches deep. The off base roads were slick as can be when it rained. After spending all the time getting over there eating ship food a stop at McDonalds was pretty sweet.
If you are going to use your gen, you might check and see what kind of hook up your house has. We have a pair of 2000's and had our house wired to take a generator. The 2000's don't have a 220 output, but the hookup for the house is set up for 220 because of the well pump and other 220 outlets. A bigger generator is on our needs list. When we loose power we can run all the important stuff with ext. cords from the 2000's except the well pump. |
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Quoted: The Chamorros have 3500 years of practice  |
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My best friends father was the attorney general on Guam in the 70’s. He finished high school there. He said the best way to commit suicide was to walk down main street with a rising sun flag. He told me they had approx. 40,000 Guamanians on the island when the Japanese took over. After they were done only about 400 were left. |
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A friend of mine has lived on Guam for the last 20 some years and loves it.
It's too hot for me. The scuba diving is fabulous and inexpensive. The worlds largest Kmart is there. There is little official corruption like the kind in Puerto Rico. Immigration from other islands and from PI is an issue. Many of these immigrants come from cultures where hard work is not appreciated. The native Chamorros are very patriotic and join the military at the highest rate in the country. The issue for survival is that it is a prime target for the Chinese in case of war. The air base will be flattened by missle attack. All electricity is generated by an oil fired power plant. Solar panels might be a good investment. It's an island and everything is imported. Growing food is difficult due to the frequent storms. It's like living in a military town. Every one is either in the military or related to someone that is. Most people end up having access to the PXs on the bases. |
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Quoted:
Thanks for the write up! I always wondered what it was like living on Guam. Are there bad neighborhoods? Is there some aggressive native population or something to encourage CCW off base? they have "chomoro gangs" and "native fight clubs". If you end up in one of these places you will get beat up. they have a large tourist areas which are safe, as well as the beaches/hotels. |
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Wondering if there's a lot of Space A flights from the US, or if most cargo comes by ship or Japan? |
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One of the recommendations was to bring a generator. I only had a small Harbor Freight generator and since I was living in Bahrain at the time and had a bit of extra money, I upgraded to a Honda EU2200 Companion. The 2200 is a good choice since gas will be short in any longterm event. You also don't need much electric, get a couple box fans and maybe run a fridge. A big cooler is nice buy ice will be in short supply. Get gas from the marina as they dont have the ethanol. Propane will be a great upgrade as well. You can order MREs/ FD/bulk food through the commissary as well. The base has a plan for the the base and they can get by for a few days w/o anything. After that it will suck pretty bad. rode out a storm in a flintstone one year, basically stuck inside drinking for 3 days and grilling meats. |
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cargo is mainly ship. space A is available but limited. They have a pacific med hop that comes through every month or so and sporadic tankers. Mainly its a bomber base. Quoted:
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Wondering if there's a lot of Space A flights from the US, or if most cargo comes by ship or Japan? |
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Quoted: I don't know why they said bring one, you can buy them at the BX. Hell they usually have 3-4 sitting out front. The 2200 is a good choice since gas will be short in any longterm event. You also don't need much electric, get a couple box fans and maybe run a fridge. A big cooler is nice buy ice will be in short supply. Get gas from the marina as they dont have the ethanol. Propane will be a great upgrade as well. You can order MREs/ FD/bulk food through the commissary as well. The base has a plan for the the base and they can get by for a few days w/o anything. After that it will suck pretty bad. rode out a storm in a flintstone one year, basically stuck inside drinking for 3 days and grilling meats. Another thing I forgot to mention since you brought up MREs and bulk food so most of the exchanges have Mountain House on the shelf. |
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Spent some time there on a tender. Being on base will be easier but from a prep perspective the entire island is a just-in-time stocking nightmare. Most of the locals come to the base anyway so during any type of event things will be picked clean in short order. The exchanges only have the Mtn House 2 serving pouches so you may want to think about getting some #10 cans from Amazon. Might be worthwhile to think about a smallish solar setup, something like 200w solar suitcase and a 100 aH battery then just get you a 12v fridge like an ARB. Quiet and doesn’t need gas. Take everything else and leave the battery when you pcs back to the world. The thing Guam has going for it that PR doesn’t is that it’s a pretty damn important strategic outpost for maintenance and logistics for multiple branches so I’m sure they would have relief supplies ready to touchdown as soon as the winds died down with an ARG waiting off the coast, to say nothing of all the mil that could/would be pressed into service. ETA: Quoted:
Water in general is safe to drink, but they do have warning periods when it’s not recommended. We have both a Brita filter and a water dispenser. The base exchange has locations to refill 3- and 5-gallon water jugs. We picked up two 5-gallon containers but will probably pick up at least 2 more. |
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Quoted:
Read that with an i in tinder in there. I bet in guam that's got to be something Quoted:
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Spent some time there on a tender. . |
| Does Guam have the 1980s import restrictions? If you had a sudden craving for kimchi and a desire to see the world from a roof, could you have an FFL order you a Daewoo K2 with a folding stock? What about bringing it back to the states when you're done in Guam? |
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I really like Guam.
Chamorros are really great people. They're super nice if you're polite, and they're extremely hospitable. Liberation Day is a big annual event in Guam. That's when they celebrate the US invasion that removed the Japanese occupation. If you have any interest in WW2 history, you're basically in the middle of it. You can still find tunnels that were dug in by slave labor for the Japanese forces in various locations. Up near Talafofo Falls is the cave where Shoichi Yokoi hid for 28 years after the end of WW2. The National Park Service has several museums in different locations. Those are really well done. There's also a private museum, the Pacific War Museum on Hwy 6, just nearby L&L Ammo. It's run by a retired Marine NCO and has some really neat artifacts. Used to be, when you made the right from Marine Corps Dr to Route 6, on the left there was a place with a bunch of welded metal art and a Japanese tank in the parking lot - kind of an abandoned building. Not every day you're driving down the street and see a Japanese tank. There's a hike up into the jungle somewhere on the island where you can find a location where the Japanese lost a tank battle to the US. Apparently there's a bunch of old tank hulks up there. Caliente in Hagatna has some really good food. The place is usually packed. I used to see Mayor Cruz there quite often. He's pretty alright, even for a politician. Out by Umatac Bay is where Magellan landed when he was trying to circumnavigate the globe. There's also an old Spanish fort there, Nuestra Senora de la Soledad. I was stationed on Oahu for just over 3 years at Schofield Barracks - I like Guam way better than Oahu. The people are just way more cool and friendly in Guam. As far as Micronesia, I think a large part of it is that they lack an enzyme that helps to process alcohol, but they still like to drink. They get drunk really easy. I got stuck on Chuuk when the airplane got broken and beer was prohibitively expensive there - I was lucky because a couple of Aussies were buying - we wound up drinking Budweiser in a bait shop parking lot just nearby a sunken Japanese ship from WW2. ETA: That's not a problem for the Chamorros - it's just the outer islanders from places like Chuuk and Pohnpei. You'll be a short airplane ride from Saipan (major battle there), Chuuk (Japan's Pearl Harbor from WW2) and Palau, where Peleliu is one of the nearby islands. Seriously in the middle of WW2 history where you are. |
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Does Guam have the 1980s import restrictions? If you had a sudden craving for kimchi and a desire to see the world from a roof, could you have an FFL order you a Daewoo K2 with a folding stock? What about bringing it back to the states when you're done in Guam? |
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I spent 4 years on Guam and absolutely loved it! I hunted pigs, SCUBA dived all the time and taught too. The hiking is great, people were way cool, water sports like hiking or jet skiing is available too. Food was great. I dove from the beach at Talafofo bay and returned to a fiesta that was in full swing, got invited to join them. Lots of Pilipino influence. If you are a very advanced diver, going out beyond the breakers is safe beyond the river wash and the diving is amazing. Fau Fau bay after Typhoons is awesome as it gets cleaned up leaving no silt. I was there for Typhoon Paka and that was no joke. Much of the island was without power for 6 months. At ComNAV Marianas the SeaBees had the previously off line base power plant up and running in a few days. The heat and humidity was oppressive after a Typhoon. When I was there, you could get sailing lessons at the Marina. I went sailing with author Matt Bracken on his sail boat. Also go deep sea fishing! I think you are in for a good time! |
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I spent 4 years on Guam and absolutely loved it! I hunted pigs, SCUBA dived all the time and taught too. The hiking is great, people were way cool, water sports like hiking or jet skiing is available too. Food was great. I dove from the beach at Talafofo bay and returned to a fiesta that was in full swing, got invited to join them. Lots of Pilipino influence. If you are a very advanced diver, going out beyond the breakers is safe beyond the river wash and the diving is amazing. Fau Fau bay after Typhoons is awesome as it gets cleaned up leaving no silt. I was there for Typhoon Paka and that was no joke. Much of the island was without power for 6 months. At ComNAV Marianas the SeaBees had the previously off line base power plant up and running in a few days. The heat and humidity was oppressive after a Typhoon. When I was there, you could get sailing lessons at the Marina. I went sailing with author Matt Bracken on his sail boat. Also go deep sea fishing! I think you are in for a good time! I did in the mid '80s at such locations as "junkyard" and "American tanker" from shore. Also dove Cormorant and Tokai Maru, only place you can touch sunken ships from WW1 and WW2 at the same time. |
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……... My house is actually on top of an exhumed Japanese mass grave. We're probably making a trip to Saipan in the summer. Coming to a theatre near you ( well, not YOU, you'll be inexplicably missing, as the story will explain ), near US, sorry, in 2022. |
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"Poltergeist: Guam" Coming to a theatre near you ( well, not YOU, you'll be inexplicably missing, as the story will explain ), near US, sorry, in 2022. Quoted:
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……... My house is actually on top of an exhumed Japanese mass grave. We're probably making a trip to Saipan in the summer. Coming to a theatre near you ( well, not YOU, you'll be inexplicably missing, as the story will explain ), near US, sorry, in 2022. |
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Good luck on Guam. How do you prep for the potential capsizing of the island? Ropes?
Guam could tip over |
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Good luck on Guam. How do you prep for the potential capsizing of the island? Ropes? Guam could tip over |
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Good luck on Guam. How do you prep for the potential capsizing of the island? Ropes? Guam could tip over |
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Lived there as a kid when my dad was stationed there in the 80's. Stepped on a stone fish and it nearly killed me. Other than that, it's a pretty cool place. |
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I liked Guam, but was only there for 2 weeks chipping paint. Glad to hear they've gone to Shall Issue and that you can store in Base Housing. There is a duty to retreat in self defense shootings here, but from what I've read it can be dealt with depending on the scenario. |
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Quoted: I had a great time there in 1981. The only bad thing was the guy who relieved me when my battalion was leaving was murdered right after we left. Him and couple other guys tied up at gun point. I hear the way they was tied it caused positional asphyxiation.  |
