KUAM News Guam: Andersen AFB gets increase in bombers

Just as regional tensions heighten with continual threats from North Korea against the United States, Guam is seeing an increased military presence with some of the military's most capable aircraft bombers here on island.  They're our eyes in the sky, and in a rare occurrence, Guam's Andersen Air Force Base in Yigo is hosting three major military bombers - the B-1b lancer, B-52 Stratofortress, and B-2 Spirit.

The B-52s have been in Guam for the past six months, and will be replaced over the next few weeks by six B-1 aircraft from South Dakota, which are now forward-deployed to Guam in support of the US Pacific Command's continuous bomber presence mission. 

Latest NKorea threat specifically targets Guam

• By Robert Q. Tupaz | Post News Staff
• Less than two months after touting “success” in testing a couple of ballistic missiles designed for long-range targets, the regime of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un last Thursday specifically threatened the island of Guam as a mark.
  “If the U.S. is reckless, misjudging the trend of the times and the strategic position of the DPRK, all the U.S. Military bases in the operational theater in the Pacific including Guam will face ruin in the face of all-out and substantial attack to be mounted by the Army of the DPRK,” warned the foreign ministry of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
  The North Korea regime was reacting to a show of force by the U.S. military positioning, for the first time, all three of its heavy bomber aircraft to Guam. While the deployment is not a long-term fixture, the presence of all three types of bombers in one location is an historic event, according to Air Force officials.

US military plans present difficult balancing act for Marianas

6:16 pm on 22 August 2016 

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By Johnny Blades - johnny.blades@radionz.co.nz

Their loyalty to the Americans cannot be questioned but the people of the Northern Marianas have their limits when it comes to military use of their land.

The United States military forces plan to use the Marianas islands of Tinian and Pagan as live-fire training sites for units associated with an imminent, large-scale build-up of US marines in neighbouring Guam.

Marianas authorites and residents are firmly opposed to the plans, and have been submitting their concerns to the US in a series of consultations.

U.S. Air Force bomber trio conducts joint mission from Guam

All three of U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command's strategic power projection bombers, the B-52 Stratofortress, B-1B Lancer and B-2 Spirit, conducted joint mission for the first time from the U.S. territory of Guam.

The Department of Defense said on Friday the three nuclear bombers took off from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam on Wednesday and carried out the first coordinated operation in the region under the U.S. Pacific Command. The bombers are three major strategic nuclear assets of the U.S. military along with the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and the submarine launched ballistic missile (SLBM).

The U.S. military deployed the strategic bomber trio at Andersen Air Force Base early this month to conduct missions including "continuous bomber presence" (CBP). The B-52 had been deployed in Guam since 2006, while the B-1B was positioned on August 6 and the B-2 on August 9. The U.S. Strategic Command said, “We are providing deterrence to maintain stability in the India-Asia-Pacific region by rotationally deploying strategic bombers on a regular basis in the region.”

The diplomatic community in Washington understands that the unusual joint operation of the three major nuclear bombers following their deployment in Guam is targeting China and North Korea, where tension has been rising over the planned deployment of the terminal high-altitude area defense (THAAD) system in South Korea.

The U.K.-based military magazine IHS Jane's Defence Weekly said that the joint operation is targeting North Korea constantly honing nuclear and missile provocations and China making sovereignty claim over the over the South China Sea. Along with President Barack Obama's visit to Hangzhou, China for the G20 summit on September 2, the measure can be interpreted as an armed protest against Beijing to warn not to act rashly and irresponsibly, analysts say.

Posted August. 22, 2016 07:07,   

Updated August. 22, 2016 07:17

4-Star Pacific Fleet boss releases new guidance amid increasing uncertainty

Navy Times, David Larter , August 21, 2016

This story was first published Aug. 21 at 5:24 p.m. and has been updated. 

As threats mount in the Pacific, the four-star head of the U.S. Pacific Fleet is directing his fleet to be ready to fight and to “reinforce the international order” by working with allies and partners in the region. 

With China saber-rattling in the East and South China seas, and a growing emerging threat from Islamic extremist groups in the region, Adm. Scott Swift called for the Pacific Fleet to support “an Indo-Asia-Pacific maritime domain where the established and enduring international framework of norms, standards, rules, and laws is preserved.” 

In assertive language, the document calls on sailors to be ready to fight and to posture the fleet to present a credible deterrent to challengers. Sailors should “Posture forward physically and mentally to deter and, if required, defeat potential foes,” the document reads. 

The serious tone of the guidance reflects the growing threat of great power conflict between the U.S. and China, said Bryan Clark, a retired submarine officer and former senior aid to Chief of Naval Operations Jon Greenert. 

War games begin in Korea despite North’s nuclear-strike threat

By Kim Gamel

Stars and Stripes

Published: August 21, 2016

SEOUL, South Korea — The U.S. and South Korea kicked off a new round of war games Monday despite protests from the North, which threatened a pre-emptive nuclear strike.

The annual Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercises come as relations between the two Koreas have sharply deteriorated since North Korea conducted its fourth underground atomic test in January. Tensions spiked again last week when Seoul confirmed that a senior North Korean diplomat had defected from his post at Pyongyang’s embassy in London.

About 25,000 U.S. servicemembers — including 2,500 from areas off the peninsula — and 50,000 South Korean forces will participate in the nearly two-week drills, which are mainly computer simulations.  

South Korea-US military drill draws North Korea threats

Agence France-Presse - Published 8:47 AM, August 22, 2016  - Updated 10:09 PM, August 22, 2016

(UPDATED) The North Korean Foreign Ministry calls the drill an 'unpardonable criminal act' that could bring the peninsula to 'the brink of war'

SEOUL, South Korea (UPDATED) – South Korea and the United States kicked off large-scale military exercises on Monday, August 22, triggering condemnation and threats of a preemptive nuclear strike from North Korea.

The two-week annual Ulchi Freedom drill, which plays out a scenario of full-scale invasion by the nuclear-armed North, is largely computer-simulated but still involves around 50,000 Korean and 25,000 US soldiers.  

The exercise always triggers a rise in tensions on the divided Korean peninsula, and this year it coincides with particularly volatile cross-border relations following a series of high-profile defections.  

North Korea warns it will destroy Guam if U.S. forces "take an insane step"

• Kim Jong-un has warned the United States against attacking his nation 
• The despot claimed he would destroy Guam and US bases in the region
• US military officials are preparing their annual war games with Seoul 
• Barack Obama has also deployed nuclear-capable bombers to Guam  

By Darren Boyle for MailOnline

Published: 15:59 GMT, 18 August 2016 | Updated: 17:46 GMT, 18 August 2016

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un has warned he will wipe out US military bases across Asia if Washington takes 'an insane step'. 

Paranoid Kim issued his threat as US forces in the region prepare for annual war games with their South Korean allies. 

President Barack Obama has deployed strategic B-1 bombers to Guam in a move which has angered Kim. 

According to a report on the Russian news service RIA Novosti, the hermit state warned: 'The situation on the Korean peninsula is entering a very dangerous stage because of the continuous US intrigues to increase the capacity of its nuclear weapons aimed at the DPRK. 

'In case the United States … dares to take an insane step, all the US military bases in the Pacific Operations region, including the island of Guam, will not escape destruction by our army's comprehensive and real attack.' 

Seoul conducts massive military drill as North Korea condemns U.S. bombers

SEOUL, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- South Korea conducted a massive artillery drill near the demilitarized zone in a bid to warn the North against any future provocations as Pyongyang slammed the United States for deploying stealth bombers to Guam.

The South Korean exercises were held Thursday, a day prior to the one-year anniversary of North Korean shelling that took place after Kim Jong Un declared a "quasi-state of war" last August, Yonhap reported.

South Korea deployed 300 pieces of artillery from 49 artillery battalions. K-9, K-55 self-propelled howitzers participated in the exercises, according to Seoul's defense ministry.

N. Korea threatens attacks on US military bases in Pacific over bombers deployment

The Korea Herald > National > North Korea

North Korea denounced the United States' forward deployment of additional nuclear bombers to Guam on Wednesday, threatening that American military bases in the Pacific region will face "ruin" in the event of reckless acts.

"The introduction of the nuclear strategic bombers to Guam by the US... proves that the US plan for a preemptive nuclear strike at the DPRK has entered a reckless phase of implementation," the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency reported in a statement issued by the foreign ministry. 

Earlier this month, the US moved B-1B and B-2 nuclear bombers from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri to Guam as tension is running high on the Korean Peninsula.

DPRK denounces U.S. for nuclear arms buildup in Asia Pacific

Source: Xinhua   2016-08-17 23:39:33

PYONGYANG, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Wednesday slammed the United States for causing a nuclear arms buildup in the Asia Pacific.

A spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry denounced the United States in a statement for dispatching strategic bombers like the B-1B and B-2A in early August to the Anderson Air Force Base in Guam for the first time in ten years, according to the state news agency KCNA.

Sending more strategic nuclear bombers to Guam right after the joint decision by Washington and Seoul to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) in South Korea proves that the "U.S. plan for a preemptive nuclear strike at the DPRK has entered a reckless phase of implementation," the statement said.

A New War in the Pacific Could be ‘Trench Warfare’ at Sea

Recent studies suggest A2/AD and AirSea Battle lead to costly stalemate, not victory.

By Steven Stashwick

August 18, 2016

Two recent studies from academia and think tanks take deep looks into the potential ‘shape’ of a future conflict between the United States and China. The studies ignore the causes, likelihood, or utility of that theoretical Pacific war. They are instead interested in the course of conflict within the context of the advanced Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) capabilities that China is developing and deploying, and the mirrored capabilities the U.S. is developing to counter it under the banner of the “Third Offset” and the chimeric AirSea Battle concept. The Chinese military is preparing for information technology-heavy wars it assumes will be “sudden, cruel and short” and the U.S. military envisions leveraging “cross-domain synergies” to ensure “all domain access” in the face of the A2/AD threat. Contrary to some of those assumptions, these studies conclude that both militaries are likely to take significant losses in a future war, and the mature strategies and technologies each intends to decisively defeat the other would instead largely cancel each other out, resulting in a costly, inconclusive, stalemate.

Japan’s first lady Akie Abe says she is “ready to face criticism” after attending an anti-government rally, protesting the construction of new helipads at the US-operated military in Okinawa.

“This is my first step to create a world of love and harmony,” Akie Abe wrote in a Facebook status update.

Abe said she did not inform her husband in advance about what is bound to be seen as a controversial endorsement of the protests, which have been ignored by Tokyo.

Police remove protesters blockading US military base in Okinawa

Published on Aug 19, 2016

Demonstrators gathered outside Camp Gonsalves, a US air base in Area near the village of Higashi, Okinawa Prefecture, Friday. The protesters blocked entrance of the base, in protest against the US building of helipads in Higashi village, as well as the recent spate of violent acts committed by serving and former US military personnel. The building work is set to begin after the Japanese government approved a total of six helipads to be built in Higashi.

Japan to repair U.S. military base in Okinawa at heart of dispute

Japan Today:

NATIONAL AUG. 19, 2016 - 05:30PM JST 

TOKYO —

The Japanese government plans to start major repair work, possibly within the year, at a U.S. military base in Okinawa Prefecture at the center of a disagreement between the central and local governments, a government source said Friday.

The planned repair work at the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, covering its aging barracks and hangar among others, could spark local opposition as the southern island prefecture is seeking the swift closure of the base and return of its land to Japanese control.

Air Force beefs up Guam fleet with nuke-ready bombers

Published August 19, 2016 

 FoxNews.com

In a strong and unmistakable signal to North Korea and China, the U.S. Air Force has deployed three types of strategic bombers capable of carrying nukes to its base on Guam.

A senior defense officials told Fox News the B-1, B-2 and B-52 bombers are together for the first time in the Pacific. The muscling up comes after China's recent rejection of an international tribunal saying its claims to the South China Sea, where it has constructed artifical islands, are not valid.

Guam may become more crucial to U.S. military now

"A tiny island in the middle of the Pacific just became even more crucial to US military might

• Amanda Macias
 

• Aug. 19, 2016, 10:29 AM
• 
  

A tiny island roughly five times smaller than Rhode Island in the middle of the Pacific is hosting all three types of America's strategic bombers and the most advanced missile-defense system on the planet.

The B-52 Stratofortress, B-1 Lancer, and B-2 Spirit bombers coupled with the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile-defense system make Guam the epitome of the US's ability to project power.

And while the military installations on Guam have always been some of the most strategically important bases in US Pacific Command's portfolio, the US Army's decision to permanently deploy a THAAD battery to the island ups the ante.

"Stars and Stripes": TPP opposition could affect view of US commitment to Pacific

 Seth Robson

Stars and Stripes

Published: August 19, 2016

TOKYO — Domestic politics could torpedo half a decade of diplomatic, military and trade engagement in the Pacific with both presidential candidates pushing policies opposed by America’s friends and allies.

Pledges by Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump to ditch the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, free-trade deal with 11 other Pacific Rim nations are a top concern for many in the region.

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Three U.S. Air Force bombers -- a B-52 Stratofortress, B-1 Lancer and B-2 Spirit -- fly over Guam on Aug. 17. It was the first time all three bombers flew in formation over the island. (US Air Force/Joshua Smoot)

Stars and Stripes | Aug 20, 2016 | by Aaron Kidd

The Air Force said history was made on Aug. 17 when all three "power projection bombers" -- the B-52 Stratofortress, B-1 Lancer and B-2 Spirit -- took off from Guam for their first operation together in the Asia-Pacific.

Although the aircraft have deployed independently to the region in the past, "this was the first time all three bombers flew a formation pass overAndersen Air Force Base, dispersed and then simultaneously conducted operations in the South China Sea and Northeast Asia," a 36th Wing statement said.

PDN: Palacios - Chemical found in water wells is toxic

Maria Hernandez, mohernande@guampdn.com 12:19 a.m. ChST August 18, 2016
A chemical found in three island water wells is toxic, despite what the Guam Waterworks Authority said, according to Eric Palacios, the special assistant to the governor for education and environment and natural resources.

“Without raising false claims, I do agree with U.S. EPA that (the chemical) is toxic and there are certain health effects, especially at the level it was detected,” Palacios said.

Three of the island’s water wells, which provide residents with drinking water, tested above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s health advisory level for a contaminant that is used to make items waterproof and to extinguish fires that involve flammable liquids.