ONRA:July17th,2010

Hafa Adai,

Reported to be broadcast to millions across Asia via ESPN Star Sports, GoodLuck to Spike22Academy’s Rob Washington who will be representing Guam in SingaporeMixed Martial Arts competition this weekend in Martial Combat 6. InGuam, PXC 21 is en route for July 24^th, Rites Of Passage9 Indestructable is set in Saipan for July 30 and The MariansOpen has set a date for the Team Invitational Submission Grappling Tournament for August 21^st.

In celebration of GuamNationalGuard week –42competitors from branches across the armed forces competed in the2010  GuamNational GuardCombatives tournament this past weekend as a qualifier to determine Guam representatives for  the AllArmy Combatives Tournament in Fort Benning Georgia this September.

All set aside from the differences that might exist for the world’s two most dominant

MMA title events and in two battles among 4of the words top heavyweight fighters—fans across the globe were the overall winners with the past few weeks  landmarking and high-octaneheavyweight bouts in StrikeForce Fedor Vs.Verdum and UFC116:Lesnar vs. Carwin.

SALUTE!

A standing ovation for the legendary Emelianenko “the last emperor”Fedor ; after a decade of total domination in world MMAs heavyweight category— Fedor was not only defeated but submitted in the 1^st round by challenger Fabricio Verdum in Strikeforce. Though the last emperor has finally fallen in competition, in sincerest regard Fedor Emelianenko has been elevated even higher as a champion with his humble reaction to defeat at the end of an impressive decade’s reign in the words” One that doesn’t fall doesn’t stand up”…and an extended applaud to Strikeforces new heavyweight champion Fabricio Verdum for dethroning the formerly undefeatable champion and writing his name in history to be known as “The Man That Beat Fedor”.

WE WANT MORE!

In his return bout from a years absence from the octagon and in epic display of irresistible force meeting immovable object,  Brock Lesnar gets an encore after a rise-from-the depths performance with a2ndRound Submission victory over formerly Undefeated (12-0)ShaneCarwin—in a surprising spice of humility from the former Professional Wrestling —“I stand before you a humble champion”…

for one second,Words spoken to a world audience sent fans around the globe into true consideration of a man the MMA world often found so easy to hate.

So among what we can decipher from the classic heavyweight battles of weeks past: 1.Even in this day and age, Jiujitsu still prevails with defensive and offensive victories against the world’s best.

2.There is always always always a better man.

and

3. Even though arrogance and drama might sell more tickets–Humility has a big place in the future of MixedMartialArts.

Many fans around the world were heartbroken to see the loss of Emelianenko Fedor. Even acknowledging how competitive  MMA has become over space and time, it seems that many of us would love to believe in the good hearted and undefeatable.

Is it an anchor to our favorite comic book heroes or maybe its an internal grip to the hopes that good will always triumph over evil. Yet MMA, like many other things, constantly  reminds us that we are all mortal and that even if they were real—even superheroes can lose.

In many ways Martial Arts, even with all the pebble-taking grasshoppers, fence-painting Daniel sans, and ever so hungry fly-kicking pandas—Martial arts ultimately is a heartful pursuit of strength.Where martial arts can appeals as strength over the self, Mixed Martial Arts seems in larger celebration of strength over others. Fortunately though, that even in the highest levels of competition and entertainment, it appears this  pursuit of strength over others has unveiled that our worlds best can still find questions in victory and on the  different-side-of- the-same token discover answers in defeat.

Congratulations BrockLesnar. Well done Emelianenko Fedor.

the sacrifice that comes to develop precision punches and devastating kicks, the sweat and blood spilled to develop breathtaking throws and situation-ending submission holds; EmelianankoFedor in his MMA-immortalized career and Brock Lesnar in the main event of UFC16  have proven that the pains endured to improve the hands and feet, in humility can yield even larger harvests  for the heart and spirit.

Thanks for dropping by.

Truth:ToxicTestimonial13N144E

—– Forwarded Message —-
From: EAC/HAC <ecris64@teleguam.net>
To: Anjen Dee <a8783@teleguam.net>
Sent: Fri, June 25, 2010 2:05:29 AM
Subject: Re: Toxic Testimonial from Navy Veteran stationed on Guam

Email Received : This Months Specials
C-4 #8

VetNet Headlines
New VetNet Poll Q.
Agent Orange Equity Act hits the Pay-Go wall
Benefit Buzz New on TV Hour
Veterans History Quiz

June 12, 2010
Subject: Re: Toxic Testimonial from Navy Veteran stationed on Guam

Lengthly personal account by Vancil Sanderson stationed 1966 on Guam.  Read
comments, too.
http://veteransnetwork.net/newnote.php?id=01479261f8f25f7

08/13/07 3:13 pm
Van Sanderson
branch: Navy

comments:
My name is Vancil Sanderson and in 1966 I was a part of the illegal and
immoral experiments performed on military
personnel on Naval Station Guam, Cocos Island, Guam. A radioactive substance
was
being put into our food.
Many years later, 1983, I started having severe health problems. In 1993 I
was
forced to apply for SSD and for my service
connection. After 2 years of trying to get my military records,
Congresswoman
Barbara Vucanovich assisted me in getting my
records. We found out that the military had purged the records of the
experiment on
Cocos Island. Other parts of my records
were also purged. With the purging of my records I was forced to research my
military service to prove my case for disability
compensation and that it is service connected. The following is what I have
found
about the island of Guam and it\’s serious
contamination problem.
In 1944 the Battle for Guam was fought. Many men died on both sides. Almost
20,000
people were killed in the battle. About
5,000 US and 15,000 Japanese. The war in the Pacific was coming to a climax.
Guam
was a key part on the attack of Japan.
With all the dead on Guam and the war still raging a huge problem arose.
Filth Flies
and other disease carrying insects were
multiplying by the billions on all the dead. There weren\’t enough people to
do away
with all the bodies to stop the problem. The
answer to the problem was DDT. The island wide use started just after the
battle.
The entire island was sprayed by air day
after day, month after month. The use of DDT by air may have gone on for
years. DDT
was also used in the disposal of many
of the bodies. The bodies were DDT\’d, wrapped or bagged then DDT\’d, then
put in
graves and DDT\’d again. DDT wasn\’t the
only pesticide being used. DDT was used on Guam until it\’s ban.
Herbicides were being used in the building and maintenance of the
infrastructure of
Guam. I believe 10 military installations,
both Navy and Airforce, were built right after or during the war. Andersen
AFB is
the largest attack base in the world. It was
used in the bombing of Vietnam. There were numerous Navy installations as
well, NCS,
Barricada Station, Guam Naval
Complex(6 bases) and Naval Station Guam, Cocos Island. Herbs were used to
build
these bases and to maintain them. The
first herbicide used according to WWII veterans was Agent White. Veterans
have also
testified to the use of Agent Orange as
early as 1955. Guam was a staging area for Vietnam and was used to store the
rainbow
herbs. At least as early as the Korean
war the US was storing the rainbow herbicides on Guam. Agent Purple has been
reported by the DOD as having been stored
there during Korea, for use in Korea. I personnally am in contact with 5
vets who
used AO on Guam in the sixties, the earliest
being 1962 and the latest 1969. Veterans who worked in the storage areas of
Guam
have taken pictures of the various
herbicides. They have also written letters in support of the pictures and
also
stated they used these herbicides on Guam. It was
even used in aerial spraying according to veterans.
Silvex,2,4,5-TP, another of these herbicides can be found throughout the
drinking
water system of Guam, as well as 2,4-D,
2,4,5-T, 2,3,7,8-TCDD. The Northern Guam Lens Aquifer was the sole-source
drinking
water aquifer for Guam and is
contaminated by every substance the military had to offer and some. Fena
Lake is the
water supply for the Navy and the Fleet
that ported on Guam. The lake is surrounded by the Naval Magazine and is
contaminated. The only way for these substances
to get into the Northern Guam Lens Aquifer and Fena Lake is through military
use or
disposal. The aquifer, at the north end of
the island, was contaminated by the 3 bases that sit atop it, Andersen AFB,
NCS and
NAS. The first year tested for Silvex in
the aquifer was 1983 at the NCS wells. Silvex, which can contain more dioxin
than
Agent Orange, tested high at .21ppm. .05
is the MCL for Silvex.
Dioxin, the main substance of concern in these herbicides, can be found all
over the
island. The highest amount in the world
I have been able to find is on Andersen AFB. 19,000ppm in the soil. Higher
than
anywhere in Vietnam. This amount
represents, not just dioxin from herbicides, but from the disposal of dioxin
forming
substances by burning. Burning substances
like oil, organochlorine pesticides like DDT, fuels, PCB\’s and a host of
others.
These burning ponds were on Navy bases as
well. Wind patterns I have looked at for the island of Guam, would have been
sending
dioxin all over the island. During
Vietnam and after the amounts must have been astronomical. I know PCB\’s are
dioxin
forming when burned and the island of
Guam was not allowed to ship PCB\’s off island until 1993 or 94 per the EPA.
What
this means is that for years this substance
and many more were disposed of on Guam. It didn\’t change until the EPA came
into
being and it wasn\’t until 1978 the military
complex of Guam found they had a very serious problem with contamination.
Especially
in the drinking water.
What I have tried to describe is a very small island with a huge military
presence.
Pesticides were used in all facets of the
military, especially on these pacific islands. Insecticides like DDT were
used
against the disease carrying insects. Herbicides like
Agent Orange, Silvex and 2,4-D were used against the plant life. This is the
way the
military did things. Guam is just the worst
case scenario.
Next I found, starting with the Nuclear Weapons testing in the Pacific,
Operation
Crossroads, that Guam was used as a
staging area. Guam between 1946 and the end of the testing, 1963, was a part
of the
radiation zone for the testing in the
Pacific. It was also being used as a decontamination site for the ships of
the
testing. Apra Harbor and Cocos Lagoon were the
areas I found that were being used. (Cocos Island and lagoon tests high for
pcb\’s,265 times allowed and for Sr89 and 90 at
4121ppm on the base).Guam was also a storage area for contaminated munitions
from
the testing. Guam would have been
receiving radiation from the bomb testing by way of water, air and
contaminants from
the storage and decontamination. I would
like to take a quote from the \”Blue Ribbon Panel Committee Action Report\”
on
Guam.\”What was perpetrated against this
region was the largest ecological disaster in human history. This disaster
was no
less than the detonation of over 108,000
kilotons of nuclear explosive directly up jet stream of Guam. The amount of
contamination was 42 times the approximately 150
million curiesreleased as a result of testing in the United States of
America.\” The
report indicates that significant amounts of
fallout from the testing existed until about 1974. I know the US Government
had the
Univ. of Washington testing the food
supply, water and some vegetation from 1954 to about 1979. They have some of
the
samples archived. Other ways for
radioactive contamination would have also come from the decontamination of
planes.
As I have said Guam was a part of the
radiation zone and planes monitoring the bomb blasts followed and measured
the
fallout. The planes got pretty hot and some
times the planes had to sit on the runway area to cool down before
decontamination.
This runoff from the planes was ending up
in the aquifer as well. Radiation contamination was a fact on Guam and it
had many
sources.
Next is the contamination to the aquifer by way of military procedures or
the way
things were done for the time. The
number one contamination problem for the military on Guam may have been TCE.
Or it
would be better stated that the
synergistic effect of all the substances may be the big problem. Whatever
way you
look at it, it adds up to a lot of
contamination of the most toxic substances the military uses. And it was
running off
unabated into the water supply for Guam
and the fleet for at least 34 years. Feb. 1978 Andersen AFB, Guam, the
airforce
finds it has a serious problem with TCE
contamination to the water supply. The 11 wells of the Marbo Complex are
contaminated, some severely. TCE continued to
be a serious problem for the aquifer even after the discovery. The
military\’s only
way to combat the problem was to dilute the
wells. Take the water from less contaminated wells and mix with the severely
contaminated wells before consumption. Levels
even then were high. Dilution isn\’t a an efficient way to clean drinking
water. At
best it\’s a bandaid solution, if that. It wasn\’t until
about 1995 that the technology was developed and installed on Guam. This
technology
was developed for the military at
McClelland AFB, Calif in the late 80\’s.
While stationed on NCS, Guam in 1966 and 67 I could taste, see and smell
what
appeared to be a solvent in the drinking
water. According to ATSDR the level of TCE would have to have been at least
1,000,000ppb. What this means is that all the
levels of contaminants in the drinking water would have been much higher
than
indicated by the DOD. With my personal
knowledge and hearings held before congress in Nov. 1987, this shows the
contamination was extrememly high.(Page 84 of
the Mike Synar hearings before congress explains that all the readings
released by
the airforce for Andersen AFB were diluted
figures and didn\’t represent the true contamination levels of the
aquifer)GAO
reports for Guam support the dilution and when it
started. In the GAO April and May 1987 reports it is stated that base
commanders
immediately started dilution upon the
discovery of the contamination. It was discovered in Feb. 1978 and all
readings
after this time, Mar. 1978 on, were diluted.
What this means is that there was a lot of contamination going into the
aquifer and
ultimately being consumed by military and
civilian personnel.The TCE levels were a huge problem because of all the
types of
uses and how the military did things during
Vietnam and before. TCE was the solvent of choice and used to washdown
planes after
each flight. It was a mixture of TCE
and water. Andersen AFB was the largest attack base in the world and all
flights for
B-52\’s attacking Vietnam originated and
ended on Guam in 1965, 66 and into 67. This represents 1000\’s of flights
just for
the B-52\’s. After each sortie the planes are
washed down with the TCE mixture. The mixture then went into the drainage
system and
into the aquifer. Andersen\’s drainage
system and numerous dumby wells (Dumby wells were punched all over Andersen
for
better recharge of the aquifer. May be
as many as 200 of these wells) carried all the contamination directly to the
aquifer. Any contamination that didn\’t make it to the
drainage systems would have been runoff by the heavy rainfalls by way of the
many
sinkholes and dumby wells on the island.
These sinkholes provided rapid transfer of contaminants from the surface to
the
aquifer, per the GAO, and were all over the
island. The military was using some of these sinkholes as dumps. Some
drainage
systems were tied directly to the sinkholes and
dumby wells. I would venture to say over 100,000 flights of B-52\’s tookoff
from
Andersen. Add in all the other types aircraft
stationed, serviced and overhauled on Andersen and you could have had over a
1,000,000 planes done at Andersen just
during Vietnam. Veterans who worked on the flightline also have told me
after the
B-52\’s left on a sortie, the bunkers, where all
the prep work for the B-52\’s was done, were sprayed with the TCE mixture.
Every
bunker had a drainage system tied to the
main drain for the flightline. TCE was the most widely used solvent for all
airforce
operations.
The way the military handled it\’s toxic waste for years, was by dumping or
burning
and that was how it was done until the
80\’s. On Guam you have 3 military installations over the Northern Guam Lens
drinking water aquifer. One is Andersen AFB
which is an NPL site. The amount of contamination generated by Andersen
during
Vietnam would have been the highest in the
world. All of this had rapid transfer to the aquifer. This is substantiated
by the
PHA and bioenvironmental engineering well
reports for Andersen. The PHA shows how high dioxin and other toxics are on
Andersen, the highest amount being
19,000ppm of TCDD in the soil. The bioenvironmental reports show the array
of
chemicals. There are many other sites with
high amounts of dioxin. Site No. 31, Chemical Storage No. 4(CS-4), had
dioxin rates
as high as 130ppm. This site is
up-aquifer from NCS wells 1 and 1a(are now NCS A and B) The herbicide silvex
is in
high amounts in the NCS wells,
.21ppm per GEPA in 1983. Dioxin(2,3,7,8-TCDD), 2,4,-D, 2,4,5-T and many more
pesticides and chemicals can be found in
the NCS wells, still today. There can be no drift, because the north end of
this
island is all military all the time. Just ocean and
military. And the military is the only one using most of these substances.
The naval installations were also contaminating the aquifer, just not to the
extent
of Andersen. NCS and the NAS are
superfund sites. Quite possibly NAS should have been an NPL site. They did
things
the same way as Andersen, dump and
burn. Same types of toxic waste. Same washdown procedures that contaminated
the
environment. Same creation of dioxin by
burning. Used the same types of insectides and herbicides, for the most
part.
Applied and stored them the same. The Navy
was handling the toxic waste just as the airforce was, that was for the
times. This
is just the north end of the island and the
contamination to the sole-source drinking water aquifer.
The south end consists of the Guam Naval Complex, less the NAS. The Naval
Magazine
surrounds the drinking water
supply, Fena Lake, for the navy and the ships that ported on Guam. The
magazine is a
superfund site. All of the insecticides
and herbicides(pesticides) were used in the same manner as other military
installations. The base contaminated the environment
around it including the lake. This lake, during and after WWII, would have
been
sprayed with DDT for control of disease
carrying insects. Herbicides were used as well for control of weeds in and
around
the lake.
In all, the military is responsible for, and I believe this number is
growing, there
are 207 contaminated sites, 28 or more
superfund sites and 2 NPL sites on Guam. The island of Guam is about 30
miles long
by an average of 8 and 1/2 miles wide.
Massive amounts of pesticides were used in the military buildup and
maintenance of
the military complex on Guam. After the
complex was built it was expanded and the military controlled about 2/3\’s
of the
island at the pinnacle.
There are health problems that coincide with the military buildup,
neurodegenerative
disease. It has many names but is best
described by ALS/PDC. Neurodegenerative disease got to epidemic proportions
between
WWII and the middle 50\’s for
Guam natives, the Chamorro people. I know the DVA is studying this disease
in
military personnel, stationed on Guam, at the
VA center in Reno, Nevada. Same time frame. The study has been slowed due to
a high
response by veterans stationed on
Guam. The problem with the study is that it doesn\’t cover a broad enough
time
period. The Board of Veterans Appeals(BVA)
has found cases of Guam ALS in military personnel, who were stationed on
Guam, as
late as the early 70\’s. These aren\’t the
only health problems associated with Guam. According to David B. Cohen in
2004,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior
for Insular Affairs, about Guam, \”We see alarmingly high rates of diabetes,
hypertension, obesity and many types of cancer
and other diseases\”. I know in the Mike Synar hearings in 1987 the congress
was
initiating studies or already had of cancer, for
a base or bases on Guam. I am or have been in contact with maybe as many as
100
veterans, and or family members, and or
friends of these veterans who have these catastrophic illnesses. I have been
contacted by some of the Chamorro people of
Guam who are having numerous health problems. Whole families can be affected
with
diseases.
What we have is a small island that was strategic to the military buildup
during and
after WWII. Guam is still strategic to the
US. Government document after government document supports the massive
contamination
to this island. The military pesticide
manual explains totally how to use these substances and for what. All
military
installations on Guam followed the manual. The
rainbow herbs, silvex and DDT were all used or stored on Guam. Veterans
confirm the
use of herbs like Agent White, during
and after WWII. Agent Purple was stored on Guam for use in Korea. Agent
Orange was
used maybe as early as 1955, but I
know veterans who used AO during the 60\’s and as early as 1962. I saw these
herbicides being used in 1966 and 67. Many
other veterans witnessed the use or used them. Veterans have pictures of the
herbs
and the naval yard where they were stored.
DDT was passed out like condoms. If you need it use it. All our forays into
the
jungle, we had to use the DDT. Whenever the
bug problem started to pick up, DDT was used on the perimeters and some
distance
into the jungle. Pesticides were used
regularly around the barracks.
We have a wide array of pesticides, VOC\’s, Benzene, Toulene, PAH\’s,
SVOC\’s,
radionuclide and many other of the most
toxic substances the military uses and all of this contamination was ending
up in
the drinking water. Of course there was contact
through the skin and through inhallation upon the disposal and use of these
toxics
as well. Then you take and add in the Nuclear
Weapons Testing from 1946 through 1963 and the use of Guam as a staging area
for the
testing and it was used for the
decontamination of ships and storage for radiation contaminated munitions
and
equipment. You add all this up and there is a
huge contamination problem. The health problems of the people of Guam and
military
personnel prove this. The hearings before
Congress prove it. The EPA and GEPA documents prove it. The many GAO reports
prove
it. ATSDR proves it. The DOE
and DOD proves it. And last and most importantly veterans and there sworn
testimony
prove it.
To support all the documents and all the statements made by me, A professor
Luis
Szyfres from the University of Gaum has
come forward and blown the whistle to all the contamination on gaum. Every
document
he presents is peer-reviewed. Many of
the documents are the same as in my case. ATSDR, GAO, DOE, DNA and many
others. He
is a highly respected scientist in
his field and his field is contamination, at least one of them. His
credentials are
impeccable and he\’s studying the contamination
to Guam. He says that civilian and military personnel would have been
exposed by the
air that they breathe, the food and the
drinking water. Much of the work he\’s done is for the US Government.
What Guam has is a huge contamination problem with substances like
insecticides,
herbicides, vocs, svocs, pcbs, pahs,
other pesticides, solvents, fuels, various radioactive substances like
cesium and
strontium 90. All of this was ending up in the
sole-source drinking water aquifer under Andersen AFB, NAS and NCS. All drew
their
water from this aquifer. 75% of the
islands water supply is drawn from the aquifer under these bases. Studies
have been
done on the cancer rates to military
personnel on Guam, per GAO and Congress. Page 52 of the Mike Synar hearings
points
this fact out. Guam was the major
staging area for WWII, Korea, Nuclear Weapons and Viet Nam.
That means the Viet Nam era herbicides were stored and used there. This is
supported
by the veterans that used them,
scientists, well reports, GAO, GEPA and EPA reports. The burnsite on
Andersen that
has dioxin in soil at 19,000ppm was
used to dispose of pesticides. Herbicides are a pesticide. This is per the
2002
ATSDR report for the site. Although this report
is a Public Health Assessment, it shows what the military was being exposed
to on a
daily basis. Dioxin is everywhere on the
base. It was and still is in the drinking water of Guam. I have contacted
ATSDR and
they have told me their information only
goes back to about 1989. Most of the contamination already had happened. And
before
1978 there was no effort to stop the
contamination because the military says they didn\’t know about it. All of
this
supports the fact that military personnel, stationed
on Guam, were contaminated with a wide array of contaminants and sometimes
in
massive amounts such as the DDT, radiation
and rainbow herbicides.
Thankyou for your time.
Vancil I. Sanderson

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Visitor Comments
I was married to a Marine and was at Camp Pendleton the year it was declared
a Superfund site in 1978, the year I gave birth to our daughter at NRMC. I
became very ill during the ptrgnancy. Silvex, PCBs, VOCs, metals were found
there. High levels of lead in the drinking water also. I now have A
neuroendocrine cancer with inoperable right ovarian tumor (Carcinoid
cancer), A blood cancer, was CIN 1 cervical cancer, prediabetic, heart
problems, migraines, asthma and other medical issues.
My dad was stationed on Guam from about 1958 or 59 until 1961 or 62. The
ritual, almost every day, was to get home from school and wait for the
misquito truck – every kid on base rode their bike behind it and then went
to the chiefs club for a soda – I have always wondered what long term
effects this might have on me – Jack
I was stationed at Naval Communications Station Finegayan(sp), Guam from
1965-67. This was my last duty station before retiring after 20 years of
service. I am now approaching 80 years of age and have had numerous health
issues over the years, including Diabetes, Melanoma, 3 bouts of bladder
cancer and other maladies which I think are related to my tour of duty on
Guam.
Carl
hi my name Walt i was on guam for a month in 1976 for iwas in the navy
aboard a navy ship. Because I got diabetes Mellitus, type 2 i,ve known it
about it since 1985 I was diagnosed then.
My Dad had boils all over his body while serving in Guam in World War II. At
least that is what he thought they were and they lasted for 5 days. It was
not written much in his records, but he wtrote my mom and told her. We still
have those letters. Half of his records are missing and he has an S on his
records and The VA wants to know what he did he the War to have them sealed.
We know it is against the law, but we have been having a hard time. He is
still living and he has cold sweats and is out of it at times. He was in the
3rd Marine Division and the second wave that entered Guam late 1942 or very
early 1943. He was one of the few that survived his platoon. All this is
very scary and I wonder if that is the reason he has so many problems.
Sandy Balkin
sbalkin@aol.com
i would like to know how much rainbow agents where use on NCS as I was
station there from 65 to67 and stood post on the base I know they spray
around thee barracks and it smell awful for three or four day and nothing
grew
I was stationed at Andersen Air Force Base Guam for 18 months in the 1972-73
time frame. I lived in one of the barracks in the Marbo annex and drank the
water on a daily basis. In 2004 I was diagnosed with end stage liver
disease. Later I lost my kidneys as a result. In 2007 I got a liver and
kidney transplant. Do you know if there could be a correlation ?
allen@allenwestbrook.com

My Dad was in Japan from \’46-\’47 as part of the occupying force. and then
in Japan for R&R or other duties (prisoner escort etc) while fighting in
Korea 51-52. He passed away 9 Mar 2008. We are going through the grueling
task of getting DIC for his wife (stepmom). He was declared 100% disabled
but VA in their wisdom can\’t see a connection to his disability and his
death.

Fred
Your article is very interesting!! My husband was stationed in Guam during
the Vietnam War. He is now 61 years old and having numerous heath problems;
skin irritations(sores), digestive and hypertension problem and his liver
profiles usually come back abnormal. He filed a claim for VA compensation
after hearing about herbicides and pesticides being stored in Guam. His
claimed was denied for the following reason; There was no reason in the
available evidence of records to establish service connection for his
illnesses and that most of his problems occurred 35 years after discharge.
He did have problems earlier on but we just didn\’t know until recently they
could be caused by the chemicals used in Guam. We plan to appeal the VA\’s
denial of his claim. Do you have any suggestions as to how we can prove to
the VA that even though he has been out of the service for 30+ years, that
his health problems could indeed be service related? Thanks for your help
and your very enlighting article.

Betty
Dear Vancil,
My name is Sandra Smudzin, born Oct 15 1946, daughter of EMC Walter Stanley
Smudzin USN born september 30, 1918 and Theresa Catherine Smudzin, born Oct
31 1925. My father was on Guam in the mid 1950\’s for about one year before
my mom and I joined to live with him in a metal building. I remember being
sprayed everynight by \”Smokey Joe\” we called him. My dad spent the entire
war in the Pacific then on to retire from the Navy after 21 years.
After returning from Guam my mother had to enter a mental hosipital and I
began having anxiety problems. I have fibromyalga and other ailments. Loss
of energy has been experienced by both my parents and myself. Our dear
friend, who lived by us on Guam died of cancer at age 62.Her daughter now 50
has lupis. My mother developed precancerous condition in her throat and was
operated on in the early 1960\’s. They also suffer from hypertension, high
cholesterol, and mom and I are pre diabetic among other ailments.

The nervous disorders that I have experienced all my life since leaving Guam
makes me wonder if they haven\’t something to do with the atomic bomb fall
out and poisons. A man on the destroyer the Fletcher saw the bomb(Bravo)
near the bikini Island explode from the ship. I believe I was on Guam at the
time.

I am so sorry for all the peoples of Guam. The native Islanders were always
very kind to us children. They would climb coconut trees and cut the husk
and give the juice and meat to us. They would weave us hats to wear. They do
not deserve what is happening to them. I have a friend who was exposed to
massive ammounts of DDT and it is now DDE in her body. She has no immune
system. I have a poor immune system.

I am glad this problem is being brought to light. I was urged to look into
it by my Doctor who was a research scientist studing these things.
I am most devistated by what has happened to the native populations in Guam
and the area.
Anyone I can help or wants to text me my e-mail is sss445@live.com.
Thank you,
Sandy Smudzin
Hello, Am VietNam Vet having served @Tahkli thailand 12/66 – 12/67. Trying
to service connect DMII due to direct exposure to herbicides since 2001.
Denied at RO, BVA, and is now remanded from Court of Appeals for Veterans.
Was in 4252 Strat Wg, (SAC) with HQ at Andersen AFB, Guam. Had occasion to
visit Guam during an extensive telecommunications outage. Wondering if I
should have approached the claim from this standpoint. Immediately went on
medication for Thyroid, cholesterol, and HBP, within a few months of
retirement (Aug 1987). Would like to hear from you, if you wouldn\’t mind
sharing current info, etc. email: autley@austin.rr.com. Thanks.
Dear Vancil,
We once had an activist, former Senator Angel Santos fighting for our rights
that the military stole our land and alot of contaminants in our soil. This
explains WHY alot of folks being diabetic 2 and other illness. Cancer is a
growing problem on our island. I\’ve seen people dying slowly because they
can\’t afford the medical cost. It\’ll be nice if the military will offer
some assistance towards the medical cost for those who are affected.

Thank you for your comments and I will pass this message to my friends.

a_mesa56@hotmail.com

Mr. Sanderson,

This is a very interesting document. I worked for the Navy for over 35 years
and served as Safety Specialist/Manager at the Ship Repair Facility, Naval
Air Station, Naval Supply Depot, Naval Magazine, Naval Hospital Okinawa
Japan, returned and worked at ComNavMar at Naval Station after 1965. I will
print it out, highlight some areas that I feel are very important for me and
my family.

I came from a family of sixteen (16) children and we have history of
diabetes, cholesterol, high blood pressure, etc.

I\’d like to communicate/get back to you soon.

Vicky Taitano, Piti, Guam (671) 888-5064

I am currently 45 yrs young. I\’m local & very concerned about these
contamination issues. I live in the southern side of the island. I\’ve
always thought that we were in the cleaner(contaminant wise) side. Now we
understand that the whole lagoon is and has been contaminated for many many
years. Just to give you and anyone a quick lesson in the eating habits of
the chamorro people when it comes to fish; parrotfish is also eaten raw
cooked in lemon juice and salt, unicorn fish, internals eaten after fry or
barbeque. These are just a couple ways and examples and the local people
have been eating these fish from contaminated waters for years. It is my
hope that these issues are brought to light as well and that some type of
health test program started and compensation provided to people still alive
today, of course all paid by the fedgov\’t because it\’s their mess. I would
really like to know the contamination area resulting from the Cocos Island.
I see below that the whole lagoon is identified but what data is that based
on? I wonder if it is much larger and was spread much more inland due to all
the typoons throughout all those years.
I was a sailor and civilian on Guam in the mid sixties, late sixties and
again in the late seventies. I haven\’t heard of the problem. It doesn\’t
surprise me though. With the cost of waste disposal the military would have
taken the cheapest route they could. I have experienced health problems in
my later years myself. However, these are not associated with the problems
described herein. I know Guam is made from coral and is very porus. It will
absorb like a dry sponge.
I have heard about all this contaminants in Guam, Guam have the most cancer,
and dibectic for the size of the island. I know lots of local people die
from cancer, very young. In fact my brother is only 50 years old die from
cancer.
…and here\’s the federalis blaming the brown tree snake for decimating our
island\’s bird population. – poo poo!! Is that why a lot of our people are
dying at a young age – 55 – 65? My co-worker who passed away 2004,
remembered running behind, along with her village friends in Sinajana, a
military jeep that was spraying DDT!!! She died from pancreatic cancer.

HERE COMES THE \”MILITARY BUILDUP\” with their anti-environment construction
and disposal of all sorts of waste! God bless our Island of Guam and its
people!

Si Yu\’os Ma\’ase\’.
Hang in there and don\’t give up; my prayers are with you and all others
affected.
I am from Guam and have lived there since 1943-1962, then was back there
again in 1972-73. Many of my sibblings have developed thyroid, hypertension,
and other ailments. Would these contaminants have contributed to our
problems.

B. Santos
Hi Vancil,
Do you know if they had remainder of agent orange in Korea between
1971-1973.

You may email me at a_mesa56hotmail.com
Hi Vancil,
I read your column and it\’s very interesting. I\’m from Guam and alot of
the native islanders\’ are suffering from diabetic and cancer. I don\’t
understand why the military cannot provide those affected on those dates
with full medical coverage. Right now their\’s a serious problem about
medical coverage on our island. Old folks can\’t afford the premium so they
die slowly because our island is too expensive.

4 years ago, my niece and I were walking and touring and enjoying the little
shops on Coronado Island, San Diego. My granddaughter caught the attention
of a resident and he asked where we were from. I had told him I was visiting
from Guam and he just gave me a very peculiar look, he told me he was on
Guam during the 50\’s and 60\’s. Moments into our conversation
he told me that he hasn\’t forgotten about his mission out in the Pacific
and that he often wondered about the impact of that mission on the nearby
islands which included Guam. He said that they were doing tests on the
Bikini Islands
which has been proven to be very harmful and that those tests would have
affected the air and the surrounding locations. He has carried that on his
concience all those years and he asked that I contact the local media on
Guam to research this. I mentioned to him that my mother, Grandfather and
many of my relatives had died of cancer but didn\’t know what connection it
would have to this incident. He sounded so sure that it had some bearing on
the tests that were done in the 50\’s and 60\’s. This person retired from
the military and lived on Coronado Island. I never got his name although he
was so persistent that I bring awareness to this particular military
activity. It doesn\’t seem like he would be making this up ..for what? Now
that I think abut it, people always comment that we lived on paradise; fresh
air, no pollution, no smog, nice sunshine and tropical climate, all the
requirements for good health. But where did all this lytico and bodig, and
the high rates of cancer and diabetes are coming from? Alot of our food is
blamed but chamorro food is so similar to Thai food. I\’m wondering if the
Thai and Indonesian people have the same health problems. If not, then this
definitely is something to look into. P. June Terlaje

Onra:June17th,2010

For any grapplers interested in competing, for any spectators interested in watching, and for those travelers interested in exploring, the Art of War 5 All-Island Grappling and Submission Challenge is this Saturday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gym in Saipan.

It’s June in Guam and a number of our students in off-island studies are returning home for a summertime of fun, catching up and — training?

Summer always seems to be an exciting time for training with many students of the martial arts because it’s an opportunity to share techniques and strategies from academies abroad and, in effect, improve our collective skills as an island and industry with its horizons now focused on the larger arena in world martial arts competition.

Even with the speed bumps that we might be finding in mixed martial arts, it seems that our Brazilian jiu-jitsu community moves forward unaffected by issues that challenge its professional partner.

The 2010 Brazilian Jiu-jitsu World Championship was just two weekends ago and we should be proud to see, despite our small population and even smaller island, how visible Guam has become in the sport and martial art of BJJ that is fast sweeping the world.

For those of us who might have caught a look at the first-ever live broadcast of the BJJ World Championships, it was a proud moment to not only catch frequent glimpses of Guam-based clothing company logos, it was also a pleasure to watch Shoyoroll and Guam’s own Vince Quitugua in a lengthy interview and give fight commentary at such a widely broadcast event. And a salute to the Carlson Gracie Academy and a host of other Guam representatives for carrying our island into that prestigious arena.

We’ve got a CBJJ blackbelt card holder now in Stephen Roberto from the Purebred/Lloyd Irvin Jiu-jitsu Academy.

And, last but definitely not least, let’s give heartfelt congratulations to a name not unfamiliar to the Mariana Islands’ fight and golf fans, to a young athlete focused on the positive promotion of competitive martial arts, and to a fighter who boasts one of our island’s most impressive MMA resumes. Ladies and gentlemen, (winning five matches for the title) our third Brazilian Jiu-jitsu World Champion –Frank “The Crank”Camacho.

Cuki Alvarez said it well two weeks ago when he mentioned we’d be gaining world championships.

As an athlete or competitor, world championships seem to be the ultimate goal. But how often do we question oursleves on our goals as martial artists?

Guam has really grown and is really proving itself an asset to world BJJ. As time unfolds, our island seems to be well connecting itself to world major events and world top athletes. And, in effect, bridging those that surround us to a vibe of positivity.

As islanders, this gives us pride; as industry it gives us credibility; as competitors it gives us accessibility; and as spectators it gives us entertainment. All the while, as students of the arts, it gives us education.

Which came first?

So, was it the code of our martial arts training that gave us opportunity in sport? Or, was it the opportunity in sport that gave us our code in martial arts training?

We can sit and think about that for hours, but while we ponder these thought, we can agree on one thing — Brazilian jiu-jitsu has been very positive for the island of Guam, and Guam is giving back by being positive to Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

We have grown from a dark corner of secret training to becoming a beacon of industry intelligence for other islands, a crossroad for opportunities for traveling professionals, and an internationally respected destination for quality training packaged in golden sunsets and platinum Hafa Adais.

Congratulations to Mariana Island BJJ, not just for the World Championships, but for good composure, for healthy competition, for a thriving youth atmosphere, and for a job done well and most humbly –forever a work in progress.

Thanks for dropping by.

ONRA:May20th,2010

Hafa Adai,

Guam grapplers recover from another successful Marianas Open on May 8^th as Saipan Welcomes Korea back to Mariana Islands MMA with their triple main event for Korea vs. The Marianas inTrenchWarz12:BattleBrawl at the Saipan World Resort this Friday May21st.

While on the same day  a host of MMA fighter athletes and Jiujitsu Instructors from the Pound, Spike22Academy, CarlsonGracieGuam, and the Guahan Top Team place the backdrop of a youth outreach program to host a brief Brazilian Jiujitsu and Submission Grappling instructional for the 2^nd Annual JourneyTo TheWorlds YouthActivities Exhibition 2010 from 11am to 4pm at the Dededo Sports Complex this weekend.

“Tsumayooshi”—to us it might sound like a strange word but its actually the Japanese translation for the word “toothpick”. I guess theres more than one way to communicate An idea.

I’d like to offer any due apologies to anyone who might have felt disrespected from a statement I made in the most previous ONRA that the last PXC was a stain for Guam MMA.

I think I could have chosen my words more carefully and I may have let my often-unprofessional opinion get in the way of courtesy. Many people—the promoters, the commission, the staff, the fighters, and fans put their time aside in hopes for a flourishing event; And for all the hard work and commitment to consistently reinvite this development in athletics and entertainment should not go unsaluted. Afterall Korea is reminded that GuamMMA is real and the commision made a respectable showing with a sizeable staff uniformed not just iwithclothing but apparentlywith  intention.

In reality, there are so many dynamics involved with Guam Combatives that we all have different ways to do our part for what we feel might be productive for a lifestyle, sport, and industry that we hope to be around extensively.. Beit in the now-quite-different BJJ scene, or high school wrestling, Olympic Judo, —these all seem to work with a mutual benefit in what could be our greatest world athetic potential—competitiveMartial Arts.

We are fortunate to see the extents that industry and athletic venture capitalists are going to in implementing Martial Arts as a staple and finding a way to weave it into our extended life experiences. We have seen public-speaking, event-fundraising, large scale entertaining, fitness-enhancing, world-traveling, and landmarking episodes in what seemed to start In the early days as the pursuit of reliable self-defense.

Heres a question—Is Martial Arts the same as Mixed Martial Arts? You know, previously we could have so easily said yes but we have to realize that both are no longer necessarily practiced with the same core-philosophies. Though Martial Arts can arguably be labeld the bigger umbrella of the two.. They have, these days, seemed to have grown in a different light.

One might say that martial arts is the philosophy of defense and that Mixed Martial Arts is the philosophy of offense; another might say that Martial Arts Code of Honor is replaced in MMA with a code of victory.

So , after figuring out what those differences might bethen we might also want to ask ourselves “Which philosophy do we want to move forward with?”

When looking at the very real and very proficient fight-athletic abilities that our young are achieving so early in life—we really need to pay attention to where were going with this and we really need to pay attention for the direction we might want to steer them.. The popularity of televised MMA, Video-games, Youtube, celebrity endorsement, the fighter intraining who might not stay too far away from home…It is inevitable that many of our youth will gravitate towards the pursuit of success in this arena.

So maybe, it might be beyond our control that many will naturally gravitate toward MMA, but we are blessed with the ability ( and different methods) to enhance the Martial Arts and Mixed Martial Arts  product so that we can move confidently knowing that people gravitate towards a positive thing, plan with a positive perspective, and aim for a positive direction.

Not everyone is into competitive Martial Arts to save the world (so to speak). Not everyone is in for the glorification of our islands.  sometimes people just want to compete or sometimes people just see it as a way of having fun. Fine, dandy, and well-respected.

But for those who might be in it for any type of bigger purpose—it is sure to be a blessing for an island that works diligently to enforce, enhance, and encourage a positive and formidable framework for this bigger picture; In  what can be for many—a world and host, not of caution; but a world and host of opportunity.

Thanks for dropping by.

TheFokaiSocalProject:WordsOfAFrogman

Not necessarily agreed–but this was taken from an email forward written by a veteran voicing his concerns on the US approach towards terrorists and human rights. Some of the language is explicit. but considering the casualties our country has endured at the hands of terrorists and for teh perseverance of freedom, we will post ver batim

Strength and Honor

Don’t know if I would be welcome jumping into the email chain between you and the Landon boys. Some of the comments on the terrorists that come in to our country and about the war got my blood boiling. This is what came out,
I’m not a smart man I’m just a frogman, so this will not be elegant or well written. I don’t hold a degree from a big fancy college; but I have a binder full of graduations certificates from the best Special Operations Schools. Instead of a Blackberry full of business contacts, I carry a radio with my QRF (Quick Reaction Force) freq’s and my AIRNETS that I can call on if I get into a gunfight. Instead of checking my email each morning to see what my stocks are doing I check mine to see where IED’s have gone off; and what aircraft I am being assigned for my next mission. Here are some things I can say, trust me, chemical weapons have been found out here in the sandbox. Terrorists should be treated as enemy combatants even if they do not wear a uniform. Don’t set a distinction and call these fuckers who try to set off bombs in Times Square or on a plane, by calling them detainees. They are terrorists. Let’s call a spade as spade here.
Somehow people who have never served a day in the military, but have evidently been successful enough in life to be able to afford to run for office, have never learned how to win a war. The way to win a war is to destroy the enemy and kill enough of their guys that it no longer makes it worthwhile to fight back. Instead, we play in to the enemies hands. We have handcuffed ourselves by political correctness and limited our ability to fight. The US Govt has spent millions to equip our troops with equipment to fight at night. Now in Afghanistan some of our most highly trained and best equipped troops; who specialize at hunting down the enemy in their homes and killing them at night are only allowed to conduct missions during the day time. They are not even allowed to shoot at people who are planting IED’s just outside the main gate of their camps. They have to wait till they are done placing the IED. Then send out EOD, to risk their necks, to disarm the IED. We are saddled with working with indigenous forces who we know are dirty. At times we have even had to conduct raids on the homes of members of the host country military because they are terrorists; in most cases highly placed in the terrorist groups.
These terrorists (yes, I call them terrorists cause I don’t give a fuck who I offend) who try to attack my country, not just my fellow countrymen overseas, but inside my country against civilians; they should be treated as enemy combatants. But instead they are read their rights and then its leads to a court room circus. This is a war and the way to end a war is to destroy the enemy; not try to play by the moral rules that liberal pussies who have never carried a gun for a living try to place on rough men who do. Men who have never seen evil in the world. Academics who live behind the cloistered walls of civilized society. We are not dealing with civilized men. We are fighting against men who are still living in the 12th century, but are armed with much more effective weaponry that just makes them more dangerous. The way to end this entire war is to “Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war” let us do are jobs and don’t hamstring us. When we signed up for the military and volunteered again for one of our Nation’s Special Operations Forces, it means that we want to be at the tip of the spear and take it to the enemy. We are very good at our jobs. Sure we can train indigenous forces, but what we are really good at is killing the enemies of our Country. If you look at the history of Warfare that is what wins wars— killing the opposition. The Japs gave up because we killed so many of them, the Brits gave up cause we killed so many; they said fuck it we’ve still tons of colonies elsewhere. The Egyptians gave up in six days to the Jews because they killed so many of them. It may sound ignorant to the liberals, who say things like the Cold War was won with a shot being fired. OK, got me. We won! We just spent money till Russia ran out of it. Yes we have won every major battle of this war on terror, now let’s just hope the political pussies in Washington can locate their testicles to finally win the war. Here’s a hint for them. Reach into your purse, probably in there you will find them. Have them reattached with some of that free health care you keep talking about. Once they find their testicles, let us go and do our jobs and kill these terrorists who are threatening our country. Again I’m just a man who makes his living with a gun in my hands and a radio on my back. God Bless. A. Frogman

TheMarianasOpen2010

S

Some images and videos  from the MarianasOpen2010 BJJ and SubmissionGrapplingTOurnament:More results to follow

ONRA:May6th,2010.

Hafa Adai,

Guam clothing brand, Shoyoroll clothing company makes the front page of this months Gracie Magazine, with more than enough photos to line the pages of BJJs most respected monthly publication, the Marianas Open Brazilian Jiujitsu and Submission Grappling Tournament is this weekend at the FatherDuenas Phoenix Center and TrenchWarz12:BattleBrawl is on schedule for May21st at the Saipan World Resort.

Following last weekend’s PXC19, The Pacific Daily News, maybe mistakenly, published an end statement that PXC 19 was Guam’s first recognized professional Mixed Martial Arts event…no offense to the author , promoters, or Commision but after years of hardwork networked with local and international MMA industry heads— words describing response would be laughter, disappointment, and frustration.

Virtually a decade and a half in the transformation from No Holds Barred Fighting to to MixedMartialArts Competition with almost a hundred successful large and small scale combat sports events accumulated in the islands— sadly Guam’s landmark return to live MMA with a rew commission has in several ways become a stain in an industry that has, in the past, been working tirelessly for progress and community positivity.

When keeping in the light all the achievements local and abroad that we have established as a collective competitive martial arts identity—do we feel that this weekend’s past event was a true representation of things positive that we have collectively been trying from the start to illustrate in our MMA Industry Ventures .

Fans are not necessarily into this MMA thing for the same reasons. That’s something that could be understood and appreciated. But in the years that weve been trying to develop our fighters and industry, don’t we think its important that we work to educate our audience and further sophisticate the entity that skeptics might disdain and regard as nothing but bloodsport?

How are we doing this when we allow international ambassadors to take the back seat to the sensation of violence? How are we doing this when as sponsors, supporters, promoters, or columnists if after 14years—we still cannot recognize the difference? And in the end how can we do this if still for the sake of the community—we refuse to make a stand?

As the matchmaker of JungleRules1:TheWarInThePacific in 2001—I carelessly matched Hansen Nithan, a first time fighter to face a world class number 2ranked Professional Shooto fighter , Tetsuji Kato.

In 2005 in Fury4, After failing to find a replacement opponent for a fighter 8weeks in hard-training, Toshikazu Isseno arrive on Guam with 15 supporters from Japan—only to find out that, as a matchmaker , I failed to find a replacement opponent for Harris Sarmiento who pulled out from injury just 2days before the event; Leaving Issei without a fight and his supporters and our visitors disappointed.

But Fast forward to 2010 and where are we now?

Replacement fighters are more readily available in the islands and we’ve become far more educated to host any mismatches of the sort and not because of any commission, but because of experience.
As a former co-promoter, I have done shameful things and I am not here to throw stones in glass houses. the network i proudly stand with has grown from the mistakes and still continues to do our part to ccompetitive cultivate and showcase–a healthy experience in competitive Martial Arts.

As the sport has graudated internationally from NHB to MMA we need to work beyond cultivating the mystery of who might be the best fighter on island to graduate this way of thinking to real concerns of our fighters positions and potentials in a regional and world industry that is calling our name on more occasions than ever.

Much respect to the organizers of PXC for offering Guam fighters an event to showcase and in effect, cultivate, their talent. There is definitely volumes to say for an event that has maintained over 40 shows. A sincere applaud for the staff– After all, with these events comes a tremendous amount of work.

With the performance of our fighter-athletes, we can say that in some ways this last event was progressive.However–With all due respect to the promoters and commission, many fighters and fans have felt that we have actually taken a few steps backwards in what many thought was supposed to be the return and revamp for Guam’s Mixed Martial Arts Industry. An industry supposedly aimed for community positivity…of quality MMA representation.

For those who attended the event—Im sure we have noticed the increase in talent yet the absence of spectators.

How are we measuring the success of MMA? Personal venture, sport legitimizing, island pride, people movement…Do we measure the success in dollars earned, in accumulated victories? Is it the spill of blood or the rise of spirit? Is MMA a great thing because it sells tickets and fills our pockets, or is it a great thing because of its impact and very real potentials for mass enhancement? Are we trying to develop a sport and lifestyle or are we hoping to legalize violence? What do we want to provide for our fans, sponsors, fighters, and skeptics?

MMA globally and locally has proven itself to be a very powerful product . with great power comes great responsibility so as industry figures, we owe it to the island to ponder these questions and to move in awareness of the inevitable ricochet o f the decisions that we make in this small community.

Many people can appreciate the spectacle of a great fight but I think more can appreciate the pursuit of cultivating a great island. Hopefully in all our individual ventures in Martial Art or combat sport, in event sponsorship or event attendance, in training to fight or in organizing a show–we can continue move forward accordingly. In ventures beyond business—in hopes beyond entertainment, and in conscious service of the island we, in more ways than one, represent.

Thanks for dropping by.

NewYork,TheCrank,AndCpt.F!

Thanks and Congratulations Frank Camacho,JT Torres, and the rest of Team LloydIrvin.in the NewYork INternationalOpen Jiujitsu Championships

ForLife:EnsonInoue

ONRA:April8,2010

Hafa adai,

Guam grapplers in the U.S. mainland are gearing up for the Pan American Jiu-Jitsu Tournament this weekend in California.

Members from the Guahan Top Team will be representing Guam at the Abu Dhabi World Pro 2010 April 15-17.

Enson Inoue will be returning to MMA competition on April 25 against Antz “Notorious” Hansen for the co-main event In Japan’s event ASTRA.

There’s a new face in Guam’s grappling community: the newly formed Guam Grappling Organization started by Guam wrestlers involved in mixed martial arts competition. The organization looks to bring some new flavor to revitalize Guam wrestling, starting with its takedown-only tournament Slam or Be Slammed on May 1, which is open to all styles of wrestling and martial arts.

Also on May 1, Premiere Xtreme Combat returns under the new rules and official sanctioning of the newly formed Guam Unarmed Combat Commission.

And, on May 8, Guam BJJ and no-gi competitors, young and old alike, will have another shot in the next Marianas Open.

Bearing in mind how dynamic Guam’s grappling and BJJ environment has evolved over the years, and seeing how intent our athletes have been in pursuing higher-level competition abroad, there is little way that we can argue that, outside of self-defense, Guam’s grappling population has collectively evolved more into a venture of athletics than that of entertainment.

However, the new restraints and new prerequisites of the GUCC are bound to slow down the frequency of amateur and professional MMA events, which leaves us curious as to where we might be able to best activate this growing pool of fast-evolving talent. And, without any foresight of where to escort this very real concern in the bigger picture, Guam MMA could be missing out on some opportunities.

I received a phone call from one of the members of the GUCC hours after the last Onra column was published. We conversed over the intention of that particular column and over the intention of the GUCC. A comment was made stating that no one has ever tried to do anything for MMA in the past besides try to make money from it, and that the newly formed GUCC was created to truly legitimize MMA and BJJ as sport — even though they didn’t even know what BJJ stood for.

Wikipedia defines sport as “an organized, competitive and skillful physical activity requiring commitment and fair play. It is governed by a set of rules or customs.” And the The Free Dictionary online defines legitimate as “being in compliance with the law.”

Waivers and contracts were signed and notarized. Fight purses were made available to the commission more than 24 hours before the event, licenses were paid and signed at the Guam Revenue and Taxation offices. Fighters were paid in full and injuries were cared for immediately after the events.

Money and time were invested to bring off-island media to Guam to give our island a bigger spotlight. And firm connections have already been established through these efforts to resonate and build upon more than two dozen matches for local fighters secured off island in at least seven countries in the last four years.

The frustration here isn’t because we’re afraid to be legitimate. The frustration here is because we aren’t being recognized for the legitimacy that has taken years for this industry to accumulate.

So, it isn’t the hate for the commission — it’s for the love of the game.

Food for thought.

Thanks for dropping by.

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