Feature Search

Minot aircrews, ops support personnel and maintainers join Team Andersen to continue CBP mission

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Emily A. Bradley
  • 36th Wing Public Affairs
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam --  Approximately 360 Airmen and six B-52H Stratofortress aircraft from Minot Air Force Base, N.D., arrived here during the week of March 3 to begin their deployment in support of the U.S. Pacific Command's Continuous Bomber Presence mission.

The 69th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron replaced the 20th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron to fulfill the CBP mission at Andersen of maintaining a long-standing deterrent capability for the Asia-Pacific region.

"We are excited to return to Guam for the 69th's third CBP rotation; we look forward to furthering our relationships with Team Andersen and honing the skills of our aviators, maintainers, munitions specialists and support personnel," said Lt. Col. Matt McDaniel, 69th EBS commander. "Over the past 10 years and three deployments to the island for CBP missions, I've watched local support for our bomber community continue to grow both on Andersen and off base in the villages.

"I am impressed with the major improvements to the base's infrastructure and the advances made to synchronize the efforts of our joint and coalition partners. As we start operations this week with the largest contingent of CBP personnel and aircraft in recent history, we look forward to advancing Andersen's mission in the Pacific and improving our warfighting skills."

An additional benefit deployed Airmen gain is the opportunity to serve in close proximity to other U.S. services and regional nations while working on aviation and combat concepts through large-scale exercises hosted at Andersen, such as Cope North and Valiant Shield. Andersen also provides a unique opportunity for Airmen supporting the CBP mission to train with rotations of fighter aircraft units deployed from Japan as part of the Aviation Training Relocation program.

"As we look to the past, after more than 10 years of CBP at Andersen, we can be proud of our accomplishments," said Col. Reid Langdon, 36th Operations Group commander. "While we are extremely proud of the past and our CBP heritage, we look forward to the opportunities to advance and improve the CBP mission and to focus on emerging Air Sea Battle tactics, techniques and procedures. "

"Additionally, we will continue to ensure we are ready to fight tonight and that we continue to focus on meeting PACOM's strategic goals for the region. Each Airman here plays a critical role in our overall mission accomplishment and we are proud to have the Airmen from Minot join Team Andersen. It shows that Andersen truly is one team, one fight!"

The CBP mission also allows the Airmen to operate aircraft within the Pacific and support numerous exercises, operations and contingencies with the PACOM area of responsibility.

"The numerous scheduled exercises and our local training missions offer unique opportunities for our aviators and enlisted personnel to grow their tactical capabilities," McDaniel said. "We look forward to improving the relationships we have with our allies and partners in the Pacific in addition to continuing our long running ties with the base and local communities."

The 69th EBS will also be working with other deployed Airmen from the 5th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, 5th Munitions Squadron, 5th Maintenance Squadron and the 5th Operations Support Squadron.

For Team Andersen units, such as the 36th Maintenance Group, another rotation in support of the CBP mission provides an opportunity for the 36th Wing to do what it does best - generate combat capability.

"It's a testament to the superior capabilities of the U.S. Air Force and the ability of the 227 Minot maintainers to seamlessly integrate within the 36th Maintenance Group," said Col. Kim Brooks, 36th MXG commander. "We are excited to uphold an outstanding working relationship with our operators to make Continuous Bomber Presence a reality."