BY PAULY SUBA
Journal Staff
Rear Adm. Brett W. Mietus, the incoming commander of Joint Region Marianas, said he is beginning his tour with a commitment to listen and build relationships as he transitions into the role. Mietus will officially assume command during a ceremony on May 29 at Guam High School.
Mietus, a naval flight officer who most recently served as commander of the Patrol and Reconnaissance Group in Norfolk, Virginia, said his goal for the first 30 days is to absorb information and understand the local landscape before making any changes.
“One of the things Admiral (Michael G.) Mullen, who was a former chairman of the Joint Staff, taught is don’t come in with a whole set of fresh ideas too soon, because you’ll end up just breaking things, and no need for me to break anything here,” Mietus said. “So, I’ll listen and learn for about 30 days, and then figure out where to make tweaks and adjustments along the way.”
Rear Adm. M. Brent DeVore, the outgoing JRM commander, introduced Mietus at a roundtable on May 27 at the JRM headquarters and reflected on his own abbreviated tour, which included recovery efforts after Typhoon Mawar, the arrival of the first Marines at Camp Blaz, and progress on the Guam Missile Defense System.
“Unfortunately, it’s kind of time for me to leave. A shorter tour than I expected,” said DeVore, who will soon assume command of Expeditionary Strike Group 3 in San Diego. “Sad to go. But this was not my first time to Guam, and I don’t think it will be my last.”
DeVore outlined three major themes from his time on island: typhoon recovery, the Marine relocation build-up, and missile defense modernization. “We’re managing about 70 active projects here on island, about $5 billion worth of active construction,” he said, highlighting projects like the $800 million breakwater repair, the rebuilding of HSC-25’s helicopter hangar, and upgrades to military housing and energy resiliency infrastructure.
He also mentioned that cooperation with local leaders will continue through the Civil-Military Coordinating Council. “This is back to a ‘One Guam’ approach. So that we’re not building solutions in separate silos,” DeVore said.
Mietus, who has previously visited Guam for exercises as a P-8 detachment officer, said the consistent message he received before arriving was about the character of the island’s people. “I talked to a number of people when I found out that I was coming here, and to a person, they say, you’re going to love it. And I would say, why? And they would say, because of the people,” Mietus said. “From moment one, that’s what I’ve experienced here.”
He said, “My goal for the first 30 days is to listen, to learn, to work around the island, and take those three things that (DeVore) said and understand where I need to make adjustments based off of the learning that I have.”
DeVore emphasized Guam’s growing role in U.S. defense strategy, particularly the development of the Guam Defense System. “We’ve got to look towards what that next generation need is here to defend the island,” he said. “So, you saw a first instance of that back in December during the flight test, the experimental test, to launch a missile against a ballistic threat that we launched off the northern part of the island. And that was a tremendous success. That truly is rocket science in play and made really good progress there.”
He said, “It really is just modernizing and stitching together some existing capabilities that already exist in the Army, plus some new development. And the hard part, the hard work, is always the integration of those systems to get all the individual systems to talk to each other.”
On community integration, DeVore highlighted the island’s hospitality and cultural richness. “This island has so much to offer, clearly,” he said. “This weekend was the Mango Festival. We’ll turn to the next festival… We’ll be celebrating Liberation Day in July, and all of those hit on the hospitality and the warmth, which is an incredibly endearing part of this island.”
He pointed to the role of local businesses and tourism in supporting servicemembers and the broader economy. “There’s an industry of small businesses who are eager to get back to the population… We want to see their success. That’s help for everybody,” DeVore said.
Mietus echoed this, tying Guam’s environment to wellness and readiness. “In a previous job… I was part of the team that developed Culture of Excellence 2.0 for the Navy… Guam offers a lot of that,” Mietus said. “Just things like sunlight, things like getting outdoors, things like being a part of a community. I mean, foundationally, this is a place that should resonate in people’s soul.”
He also described a recent meeting with Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero as a positive early step. “She’s an awesome lady… so it was just a really great conversation, and just to get a chance to build that friendship, to build that relationship so that we can partner together,” Mietus said.
DeVore also addressed concerns over military-related housing demand. “We invested close to half a billion dollars’ worth of work in new construction on Andersen Air Force Base,” he said. “As part of renewing and refreshing, we’re densifying that same footprint… So that effort will continue, certainly over the next five or six years.”
He said Apra Palms is also being considered for redevelopment. “That was kind of the Sesame Street area of all the little kids running around again,” DeVore said. “Maybe another 150 family units there inside the fence line.”
DeVore said that commercial partnerships for military housing are under review. “A little over a year ago, we put out a solicitation… what kind of commercial property is out there… that could house military?”
In response to the governor’s call for longer command tours, DeVore acknowledged his assignment was shorter due to his unique career cycle. “I was on an off cycle from where I was in my own individual career,” he said. “But by getting a rhythm of assignments of a couple years, you develop this cadre of people with Guam experience, with Guam advocacy.”
Mietus acknowledged the challenge of managing flag officer assignments. “Sometimes when it comes down to flag detailing, you have the best intentions, and then something happens… and the organization needs to make adjustments,” he said. “So I do have expectation we’ll return back to normal. This is just a temporary hiccup.”
As he prepares to officially take command, Mietus said he is committed to building on the work already underway. “So again, really excited for this opportunity, really excited to get a chance to learn, to get a chance to partner together, and to take this one step further than what we understand,” Mietus said.
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Mietus prepares to lead Joint Region Marianas
Mietus prepares to lead Joint Region Marianas
- Date Posted: May 29, 2025
- News: Guam
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Mietus prepares to lead Joint Region Marianas