By Tech. Sgt. Eric Summers
36th Wing Public Affairs
Typhoon Mawar battered Andersen Air Force Base and the island of Guam with winds reaching 140 mph and up to 28 inches of rain on May 24.
It left a destructive path across the island and was the strongest storm in more than 20 years, the previous being Super Typhoon Pongsona. Andersen AFB was left with damage to facilities and equipment, but this did not stop the mission.
More than 30 days after the typhoon, members of Team Andersen have been working to restore the base and help the local community.
Several flight line structures sustained damage, but members worked hard to return the flight line to fully operational status and completed a foreign object debris walk to remove any items off the airfield that landed there due to the storm.
While the total cost of damage to the base is still being calculated, a project management office will be stood up on the installation to help with the repair and rebuilding for the foreseeable future.
“Typhoon Mawar was a unique storm that is providing unique challenges at Andersen that we did not face at Tyndall or Offutt,” said Col. Dustin Born, Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center Detachment 2 PMO team lead. “Andersen faces a lot of roof, door and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning repairs to bring facilities back to where they were before the storm but due to the amazing response of on-site crews the mission has never faltered.”
The 734th Air Mobility Squadron assigned to Andersen AFB has since received a total of 134 aircraft ranging from passenger planes, commercial airliners, U.S. Navy aircraft and foreign partner aircraft. The unit also received 906 personnel including aid workers and helped 576 people leave the island. They have also received 1,828,505 pounds of cargo including humanitarian aid. While ensuring operations on the base are able to continue, members have also provided assistance to the local community. Since Typhoon Mawar, Team Andersen members have devoted more than 3,520 man-hours to helping the residents of Guam. Members have distributed over 325,600 meals, 590,400 liters of water and 500 blankets. Also along with Task Force RISE UP, the 554th Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers have repaired 36 roofs of homes across the island. “Typhoon Mawar was a devastating storm with impacts felt all across the island,” said Brig. Gen. Paul Fast, 36th Wing commander. “I cannot be more proud of the team here at Andersen in the resilience the Airmen and families have shown. From the preparations when we were first notified about Typhoon Mawar to where we are 30 days after the storm and continuing operations. We are actively projecting airpower and leading the way from the forward edge of the Indo-Pacific.”
Subscribe to
our digital
monthly edition