As the host unit at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, the 36th Wing mission is to be prepared to execute the pacing OPLAN.
While the U.S. Air Force is mission ready, deterrence is not assured and actions must be taken to be prepared for conflict. To strengthen deterrence and ensure preparation to fight and win should deterrence fail, the USAF needs to continue to adapt to the threat and the competitive environment.
More than 8,000 joint service members, civilians, and contractors work and live on Andersen, including 2,500 dependents and 22 tenant units. Andersen’s two runways, two landing zones, and 7.5 million square feet of ramp, are capable of supporting every aircraft in the Department of Defense inventory. Originally built as a B-29 bomber base, Andersen has been in continuous use since 1945 as a strategic platform for Indo-Pacific power projection for the United States and partner nations. Andersen has the largest fuel storage and largest munitions storage capacity in the United States Air Force. Andersen Air Force Base, Naval Base Guam, and Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz comprise the Navy-supported Joint Region Marianas, one of the 12 joint bases within the Department of Defense. All three bases are the westernmost sovereign United States military installations, located approximately 13o North, 144o West, 3800 miles west of Hawaii, 2,800 miles north of Australia, and 1,300 miles east of the Philippines. The three bases together account for nearly a third of Guam’s land area and support the island’s 35,000 service members, civilians, dependents, and retirees