Pacific Daily News:
Andersen Air Force Base holds technology that would aid in protecting the island in the event a missile is ever launched at Guam, Brig. Gen. Andrew J. Toth said at a Rotary Club of Tumon Bay weekly meeting Tuesday.
“If a ballistic missile should get launched for whatever reason, we can detect it, track it and shoot it down,” he said.
Toth spoke about the numerous military assets at the northern base, as well as discussed Department of Defense events scheduled to take place throughout the island over the next few months.
A terminal high-altitude air defense system on base features a radar that is capable of ballistic missile defense, he said.
The base also holds a number of B-52 bombers that have provided the island with continuous bomber presence since 2004. F-22 fighter jets and B-2 bombers also frequent the island over short periods for training purposes, he said.
Another asset on base that has aided the island tremendously is the Navy’s Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 25, he said. HSC-25 conducts search-and-rescue missions throughout Guam, as well as emergency medical evacuations.
Toth said the Guam Guard is expected to take on the same medevac roles by next summer. The Guard’s new aviation unit received two UH-72A medevac helicopters in June, and the entire unit is undergoing training to become fully certified so it can perform support missions, which include medevac operations and assistance for homeland security issues and natural disasters.
