Airmen from the 36th Contingency Response Group at Andersen AFB, Guam, and sailors from the US Naval Base Guam will sail to Wake Island, where they will assess the damage to the island and airfield operations following Super Typhoon Ioke. Two C-17 airlifters from Hickam AFB, Hawaii, had airlifted to Hawaii all 188 people on the island before the storm hit. Wake Island commander, Air Force Capt. Nate Harris, said island personnel had prepared facilities “as best we could.”
Air Force depots are not typically meant for quick repair jobs, but during Operation Epic Fury, the service moved some of its stateside heavy maintenance capability forward to fix battle-damaged aircraft closer to the fight.
