B-52 Sent To Guam, Uh Oh

Six  B-52H Stratofortresses and nearly 350 Airmen left Minot AFB, N.D. June 1 for Andersen Air Force Base, Guam to start a six-month deployment.

The 5th Bomb Wing’s role in U.S. Pacific Command’s continuous bomber presence mission “is vital to national security,” said Col. Charles Patnaude, the 5th Operations Group commander. Col. Patnaude said Minot’s Airmen will be there to deter and dissuade potential regional aggressors and to assure U.S. allies of the commitment to the Pacific region.

The 5th BW’s two B-52 squadrons, the 23rd and 69th Bomb Squadrons, will share the six-month deployment. The 23rd BS will serve the first half of the deployment.

Col. Patnaude said PACOM’s continuous bomber presence mission has been ongoing since March 2004 when 5th BW officials first established the operation.

“B-52s, B-1 (Lancers) and B-2 (Spirits) have each taken turns as a continuous sentinel for the Pacific theater,” he added. “The 5th BW has been to Guam several times since 2004 and I suspect will continue deploying there until Pacific Command no longer needs us.”

Or until one of the belligerent nations in the area try to pick a fight