The US military is cutting back staff at its missile testing facility in the Marshall Islands as the Army implements new contracting requirements.
Marshall Islands officials have asked the Army command at Kwajalein to do its best to reassign Marshall Islanders losing security positions to other jobs.
The base has experienced budget and personnel cuts over the past four years that have reduced the Marshall Islands workforce from about 1,200 to fewer than 900.
The Army's Acting Public Affairs Officer, Mike Sakaio, says one change requires that certain law enforcement functions be performed by Department of the Army civilian employees rather than by contractors.
Mr Sakaio also says the US Army Kwajalein Atoll has recently added nearly a dozen new construction jobs through its contract partners in the last six months and will assist Marshallese workers who wish to apply for these jobs.