Guam may be quite a bit closer to Pyongyang, Tokyo and Manila that it is to Honolulu, Seattle and Los Angeles, but the steps to the Territorial Legislature Building are just as American as the steps to the US Capitol.
And to prove that point, the US Air Force has reassigned 350 airmen and two B-1B Lancer bombers to the slice of America in the Western Pacific.As the Air Force’s Pacific Command sent via Twitter, the Air Force is ready to #FightTonight.
The two state-of-the-art Lancers are for at least the time being, assigned to the 37th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, stationed at Guam’s sprawling Andersen Air Force Base at the northern end of the island.
In a news release from the US Pacific Air Forces;
Two U.S. Air Force B-1B bombers, under the command of U.S. Pacific Air Forces, joined their counterparts from the Republic of Korea and Japanese air forces in sequenced bilateral missions, August 7.
This serves as the first mission for the crews and aircraft recently deployed from Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota in support of U.S. Pacific Command’s Continuous Bomber Presence missions.
After taking off from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, the B-1s assigned to the 37th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, flew to Japanese airspace, where they were joined by Koku Jieitai (Japan Air Self Defense Force) F-2 fighter jets. The B-1s then flew over the Korean Peninsula where they were joined by Republic of Korea Air Force KF-16 fighter jets. The B-1s then performed a pass over the Pilsung Range before leaving South Korean airspace and returning to Guam.
Throughout the approximately 10-hour mission, the aircrews practiced intercept and formation training, enabling them to enhance their combined capabilities and tactical skills, while also strengthening the long standing military-to-military relationships in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.
Other than Andersen AFB, Guam is the headquarters of the 7th Fleet’s Navy Expeditionary Forces Command Pacific, the nuclear subs of Submarine Squadron 15, and the Naval Special Warfare Unit One.
