More cuts at Andersen Base

AN era in the post-war history of Guam will fly away when the last of 16 aging B-52G Stratofortress bombers leaves Andersen Air Force Base, headed for their last muster.

The United States Congress, in a flurry of mid-November budget cutting, axed the 60th Bomb Squadron at Andersen, which must be deactivated before September 30, 1990. Many of the aircraft have been in service since the late 1950 s and early 19605. Several participated in the bombing of North Vietnam.

The House-Senate Conference Committee action, which amounts to about a US$47 million annual savings, signals a continuing change in the US defence posture in the western Pacific.

But the deactivation of the virtually obsolete aircraft (most are older than the men who fly them) could also usher in a new era for the island.

Many Guam leaders feel the US territory has been known only as an American military base, “The Rock” to many US military personnel, far

too long.

They hope the civilian side, led by burgeoning tourism industry and an indigenous Chamorro self-determination movement, which have been overlooked or ignored, will now assume a more prominent place in the

island’s public image.

Last year the base, located on the tip of the northern plateau of the island, was stripped of its nuclear capability. Andersen B-52 G’s had been armed with SCRAM nuclear tipped air to surface missiles as well as nuclear bombs. □