The Governor of Guam has created a civilian-military task force to oversee arrival and permanent beddown of some 8,000 US Marines being transferred from facilities on the Japanese island of Okinawa, reports KUAM-TV. Gov. Felix Camacho wants the group to develop a master plan for the island’s military expansion, including the ongoing construction by the Air Force to upgrade Andersen Air Force Base. USAF plans to base Global Hawk UAVs and possibly aerial refueling aircraft at Andersen, in addition to continuing to use it as a rotational base for fighters and bombers.
The Air Force is planning to spend $2.19 billion over the next five years to acquire new C-37 jets for transporting military and civilian leaders. That’s on top of another $1.17 billion in projected funding for the VC-25B “Air Force One” replacement.