navy in guam

Navy In Guam - The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) arrives at Guam's "conventional aircraft carrier." Credit: Photo by Public Relations Officer 1st Class Peter Lewis, courtesy of the U.S. Navy.

When President Trump told the people of Guam that his administration "stands with you a thousand percent," that pledge did away with the mathematical impossible and reaffirmed his commitment to America's most remote 210-square-mile territory for more than a century. on the surface of the earth.

Navy In Guam

About 3,300 miles from Hawaii, at the western end of the Pacific Ocean, Guam was captured from the Spanish in 1898 and has been a possession of the United States ever since, except for about thirty months during the immediate Japanese occupation. The attack on Pearl Harbor. After its recapture in 1944, the island became a vital strategic operational base, dubbed the "tip of the spear" during the Pacific campaign of World War II and later playing a major role in the Vietnam War.

Naval Base Guam Poster

Today, there are two main facilities on Guam - Andersen Air Force Base in the north and Naval Base Guam in the south, which were merged in 2009 to create Joint Base Mariana, where one-third of the island is occupied by the US military. Andersen Air Force Base is home to a two-lane airstrip miles, massive ammunition and fuel storage facilities, bombers making regular rounds to the island from the US mainland and a squadron of naval helicopters.

The naval base is home to four nuclear submarines that play a vital role in US intelligence gathering operations in the region, as well as a number of support ships including Pacific Command, Pacific Fleet, Seventh Fleet and Sibi. There are also plans to move 5,000 US Marines from Okinawa to Guam to augment the present force of 7,000 men.

All of this adds up to enormous capabilities in a strategic location, but almost 3 times closer to Pyongyang than the US mainland, and has never gone down well with the North Korean regime. In the past there was talk of an invasion of Guam, but until now it always seemed like an empty threat; the amplification and revitalization of Kim J Wang On and his missile program changed all that.

In August, North Korea's leader boasted of plans to invade Guam and President Trump warned of "fire and fury like the world has never seen," sending tensions to a new high in the region. America's forward operating base has become a geopolitical focus. More than a month after that angry exchange, Trump spoke in his first address to the United Nations of his willingness to "totally destroy North Korea" if necessary; Guam's moment on the world stage seems to be proving anything but short-lived.

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"North Korea's rampage is nothing new," said Philip Ramirez, a regional analyst at Defense Watch. "The Kim dynasty has always used its opportunities to persuade the US, and it has mostly been ignored. What makes this period special is Trump."

Unlike previous White House officials, Ramirez said President Trump "took the bait" and responded in kind. From North Korea's perspective, it was a surprise, and after years of clamoring against the "evil enemy of the United States," it may have caught Pyongyang by surprise and given Kim Jong Un no choice but to save face. up. At the very least, it appears to have stuck the two leaders in the rhetorical equivalent of a revolving door, creating a rift in world politics and giving President Putin a golden opportunity to elevate Russia as a diplomatic broker on the world stage. .

It also puts Guam in the crosshairs — but why is the island so important to the ongoing chess game between Washington and Pyongyang?

Carl Schuster, the former director of operations at the US Pacific Command's Joint Intelligence Center, told CNN that it is the "best location in the Pacific" after Japan and South Korea, and that it has significant advantages for both. It is known in the region as "Normal Aircraft Carrier": The American Independence operates like a real US Navy ship, and the White House can launch attacks from Guam at any time.

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The island's enormous potential for projecting soft power and propaganda is also significant. American B-1 bombers took off from Andersen Air Force Base over South Korea in a show of solidarity after the missile test last June. That gets the point across, but how realistic is the threat to Guam when such actions do not bode well for Pyongyang?

The North Korean regime has steadily pursued its missile program since Kim Jong Un came to power in 2011, and has so far launched about 85 missiles. Only in 2017 did he launch more missiles than his father, and these missiles flew farther and farther, and there were also nuclear tests. The recent launch of two missiles over Japan dispelled doubts about the range; At 2,300 miles, the latest flight was Pyongyang's longest ever and is close to reaching Guam.

However, things may not be as bleak as they first appear in this small part of America. According to Ramirez, it's one thing to have range, it's another to hit a target that's nearly 30 miles long and only 12 miles wide at its widest, from more than 2,000 miles away.

"Guidelines have always been a weakness," Ramirez said. "They mostly rely on old, really old, Soviet-era guidance technology, and that's the problem. The new missiles have the legs for the job, but nothing with reliable accuracy."

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There are unconfirmed rumors that Pyongyang may switch to satellite guidance based on China's BeiDou satellite system, but for now it appears that North Korea's missiles may be too inaccurate to deliver a precision strike.

"It's common to portray Kim as some kind of delusional maniac. For example, President Trump called him "

"At the UN, but the truth is he's a cunning operator," Ramirez said. "He doesn't want to risk losing face, so now the 'operational plan' to attack Guam with ballistic missiles has turned into dropping missiles into the sea around Guam. It doesn't require much precision."

Moreover, an effective deterrent awaits. According to George Charparos, Guam's homeland security adviser, "there are several layers of ballistic missile defense," including the High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system installed on the island two years ago and warships regularly equipped with the Aegis. placed in nearby waters. It looks like North Korea will have no easy task hitting Guam.

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If Kim Jong Un's missiles aren't as threatening as they first appear, the hype and a Twitter-happy US presidency could cause more problems.

"The danger is that the threat of trade leads the North Koreans to believe that they are going to do something that the United States is not going to do, and nobody knows what Kim might do at that time," Ramirez said. "Both sides really need to dial it back."

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USS Nimitz (CVN-68) is en route to Port Afra, Guam, for a June 2020 port visit.

Naval Base Guam is a strategic US naval base located in Port Afra and occupying the Orota Peninsula. In 2009, it merged with Anders Air Force Base to form the Joint Mariana Area, a joint naval-led base.

The ship repair facility in Guam was located near Naval Base Guam and along Afra Harbor. It was closed in 1997 following the recommendations of the base committee and closed in 1995.

Naval Base Guam is home to Command Submarine Squadron 15, Coast Guard Sector Guam and Marine Special Warfare Unit 1, and supports 28 other commands. It is home to dozens of units, including Pacific Command, Pacific Fleet, Seventh Fleet and Sibi.

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USS Frank Cable is based in Guam for use by 7th Fleet submarines and USS Emory.