The US Air Force maintains a continuous bomber presence on the Paciffic Island of Guam, now manned by B-1 squadrons on rotation from the continental US.
LAST YEAR MARKED a significant moment for the US Air Force’s B-1B Lancer community. On August 6 the 28th Bomb Wing from Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, deployed to operate under the 36th Wing at Andersen AFB, Guam, replacing B-52Hs from the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot AFB, North Dakota.
The arrival of the Lancers marked the first time the bombers had deployed in support of US Paciffic Command’s Continuous Bomber Presence (CBP) mission since April 2006.
Air Force chief of staff Gen David Goldfein announced just four days later that the service would begin a continuous rotation of B-1Bs and B-52Hs to the Central Command (CENTCOM) area of operations (AOO).
B-52Hs were re-deployed to Al Udeid, Qatar, from April 2016, when they replaced B-1Bs. Indeed, the presence there of B-52s has been cited as the reason for the significant increase in the volume of ordnance that has been dropped in Afghanistan. It’s a clear indicator of the value of Air Force Global Strike Command.
For the B-1 force, the Guam commitment signaled a step change in the way it has been conducting co…
