LOCAL media relayed a report by Kyodo news service that last week in Tampa, Fla., during the Republic National Convention, our governor told reporters he is “open to the possibility of hosting the U.S. military’s Osprey aircraft ... assuming concerns about its safety are fully addressed.” He also opined that “Guam will need to take a closer look at its safety record.”

“Open to the possibility of hosting?” Guam will look at the safety record? Who in Guam would be capable of doing that? Will he perhaps have one of his Community Outreach political hires walk around the aircraft and kick the tires? Are we supposed to assume that Gov. Calvo or any of Guam’s elected officials, individually or collectively, will be consulted or have veto power if the Marines, with the blessing of the U.S. Congress, elect to base Ospreys in Guam? It boggles the mind.

This is the kind of self-serving political rhetoric that doesn’t go unnoticed at the higher levels of government and the military; just one more example of how out of touch Guam politicians are with the way things work in the real world. Complaints about the Osprey safety record emanating from Okinawa are par for the course, as they have complained about everything and everyone since WWII. Okinawan politicians are also out of touch with reality to a degree as they continue to play the “Yankee go home” card but like Gov. Calvo are subject, in the final analysis, to decisions made far above their pay grade.

The best information available suggests that a couple of Osprey accidents earlier this year were attributable to pilot error, not to any inherent weakness or malfunction in the aircraft itself. People make mistakes. Every so often some airline pilot with thousands of hours in the cockpit flies his chariot into the side of a mountain, as we have witnessed here first-hand. Should our governor also insist that he become party to decisions about whether 747s should be allowed to operate in our vicinity?

Perhaps he should write another letter to President Obama (but make sure he does it before November) and again whine about how, like Rodney Dangerfield, Guam gets no respect. He’s obviously lost sight of the fact that respect is something earned, not arbitrarily conferred. His irresponsible and vapid comments to the Kyodo reporter – no doubt seeking some kind of undeserved recognition as a player in top-level national security decisions – are the kind of provocative drivel that has already helped to derail much of the original military buildup proposal.

Since the governor is so concerned about safety, while he’s at it I suggest that he consult with Hank Johnson about the Osprey, and to get Hank’s current views about the possibility of Guam tipping over and sliding into the Marianas Trench. Local metaphysical guru Norbert Perez could consult as a fallback witness if he’s not too busy with his teleportation, telepathy and invisibility projects. Who knows what dire things might happen if too many Marines – not to mention those heavy aircraft – should ever actually arrive here?