The United States Army is currently running an advertisement in Samoa News soliciting for a land lease and Radio New Zealand reports the Army has received four offers from landowners in American Samoa to lease their land for military training.

The public notice says the U.S. Army is seeking to lease about 80 to 15,000 acres of land for a five-year term, with options to renew.

The Army says it is considering the four offers but cannot discuss further details about them.

A spokesperson from the Pacific Army reserve headquarters in Hawaii, Brian Melanephy, says the land would be used for small tactics training, land navigation and driver training for its 320 Army Reserve soldiers in American Samoa.

“In American Samoa we have the need to be able to train our soldiers that are based there in a cost effective manner that gives them the appropriate training that they need.”

Brian Melanephy says the land must be must be available for exclusive use for the army for safety reasons.

Source: RNZI