Joint Region Marianas, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the Guam Police Department are probing a brawl that broke out early Sunday in the tourist section of Tumon, Guam.
Footage of the fight captured on a mobile telephone and distributed online appeared to show up to 20 men and women throwing punches or attempting to break up the melee, which lasted about a minute.
At one point, one of the women loses her clothing, leaving her nude from the waist down.
Much of the shouting appears to be in English, with U.S. accents.
It’s unclear if the brawlers were active-duty service members, but the Navy runs Joint Region Marianas, which combines Naval Base Guam on Apra Harbor and Andersen Air Force Base.
The island also is home to Coast Guard Sector Guam and Submarine Squadron 15, with a large Navy Seabee contingent at nearby Camp Covington.
Numerous personnel routinely rotate to Guam to train and enjoy liberty.
For example, the dock landing ship Germantown conducted amphibious operations off Santa Rita on Saturday with embarked Marines and members of the Royal New Zealand Navy.
Joint Region Marianas spokesperson Lt. Cmdr. Rick Moore told Navy Times by email that the fight erupted on Pale San Vitores Road around 2 a.m. Sunday (Chamorro Standard Time).
“Disorderly behavior is not consistent with (Department of Defense) values or standards of conduct and is not representative of the majority of service members who conduct themselves appropriately while on liberty,” Moore said.
“DoD command leadership continues to reinforce the importance of behavior on liberty and the standards of conduct all service members are expected to maintain, both on and off duty.”
In a Monday evening email to Navy Times, Guam Police Department spokesman Sgt. Paul S.N. Tapao said that officers are aware “of the viral video of a riot” in Tumon.
“The incident was reported to GPD that night, however when officers arrived all parties had disbursed,” he wrote. “A criminal complaint was generated and the Guam Police Department is in discussions with U.S. military officials regarding this incident. This is an ongoing investigation.”
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Prine came to Navy Times after stints at the San Diego Union-Tribune and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He served in the Marine Corps and the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. His awards include the Joseph Galloway Award for Distinguished Reporting on the military, a first prize from Investigative Reporters & Editors and the Combat Infantryman Badge.
