February 7, 2025: If there were another Pearl Harbor type surprise attack in the Pacific, it would not hit Hawaii, but Guam. There, Anderson Air Force Base and the surrounding logistical and naval base complex are the most important American military bases in the Pacific. Anderson’s several 10,000 foot air strips can handle any aircraft in the American inventory, and lots of them at the same time. Air power, not warships, would dominate in another major Pacific war, and Guam is the big Pacific base for the United States.

Anderson’s ammo bunkers hold over 900,000 tons of bombs and missiles. Fuel storage holds over a quarter million tons of jet fuel. Each B-52 flying off from Guam carries over 140 tons of jet fuel, and each F-15 is over five tons. KC-135 tankers fly off with nearly a hundred tons of fuel on board. Guam’s workshops can repair aircraft as well as ships. The island, which is American territory, also contains a naval base and facilities for naval aviation.

Guam also has some downsides. It's small with only 549 square kilometers and dry. While the natives are great, there are not many of them, and there’s not much else. So everything has to be imported because there’s not much there there. Troops don’t like to be stationed on Guam. But it isn’t in the middle of nowhere, it’s in the middle of everywhere. Guam is 2,500 kilometers from Tokyo, 2,700 kilometers from Taiwan, 2,500 kilometers from the Philippines, 1,800 kilometers from Indonesia, 2,900 kilometers from South Korea, 2,300 kilometers from American bases in Okinawa, and 3,000 kilometers from China. The Air Force is surveying US bases in the Pacific looking for places it could station bombers during a future war in Asia. Wake Island and Guam were the top choices.

Fifteen years ago, the air defenses on Guam were improved. A key element is the Integrated Battle Command System or IBCS. This is an integrated air and missile defense battle command system

There will now be three different air defense systems. There will be a THAAD battery with 24 missiles, three launchers and a fire control communications system. This will include an X-Band radar. The gear for each battery costs over $350 million. The 5.5 meter long THAAD missiles weigh 636 kg. This is about the same size as the Patriot anti-aircraft missile, but twice the weight of the anti-missile version of the Patriot. The range of THAAD is 200 kilometers, max altitude is 150 kilometers, and it is intended for short or medium range of up to 2,000 kilometer range ballistic missiles. China is about 3,000 kilometers from Guam. THAAD has been in development for two decades. THAAD is a step up from the Patriot PAC-3 anti-missile which is an anti-aircraft missile adapted to take out incoming missiles. The PAC-3 works, but it has a limited 20 kilometers range. Patriot also fires anti-aircraft missiles, with a range of 70 kilometers.

Finally, there will be several batteries of SLAMRAAM. This system mounts four U.S. Air Force AMRAAM radar guided air-to-air missiles on a hummer vehicle. A firing battery consists of one fire-control center, a radar with a 75 kilometer range and four to eight hummers carrying missiles. The missiles have an effective range of 25 kilometers and can knock down cruise missiles as well as helicopters. The need to knock down cruise missiles gives SLAMRAAM a similar mission to THAAD and Patriot; to knock down Chinese missiles. China is seen as the most likely threat to the many military facilities on the island.

Guam is about 7,000 kilometers west of Hawaii. The civilian population is 173,000 and military facilities include a major U.S. Air Force base, a port for U.S. naval forces in the central Pacific, and a base for SOCOM/Special Operations Command. The air force bases B-52 and B-2 heavy bombers, fighters and tankers, plus long range surveillance drones. The navy has maritime patrol aircraft. The U.S. Coast Guard also has a base, as Guam is an American territory, and all residents are U.S. citizens. The army has several support facilities there. Aside from the military, the main economic activity is tourism, especially for visitors from East Asia.

Military facilities are being refurbished and expanded at a cost of over $8 billion. Guam also received bomb proof shelters for aircraft, fuel and ammo supplies and vital equipment. Apparently believing that China and North Korea could, and under the right conditions, fire ballistic missiles using conventional non-nuclear warheads, concrete protection was installed on military bases. This hardening also provides protection against typhoons and less frequent earthquakes. This is all part of a larger construction effort. This is because the United States is in the process of moving some troops and bases from Okinawa to Guam, which means new facilities to house these troops and their equipment.

For the last fifteen years the U.S. has spent up to $10 million a year to remove World War II era bombs and shells on Guam, as existing bases were expanded. The bomb disposal teams on Guam are still called out regularly, 80 years after World War II ended. Guam was heavily fought over during World War II, and the entire island is considered a battleground for historical purposes. Aside from the military, the main economic activity is tourism, especially for visitors from East Asia.