Lancers are headed to Guam for the first time in 10 years, as US Pacific Command replaces the nuclear-capable B-52s with conventional B-1s as part of the continuous bomber presence mission. B-1Bs from Ellsworth AFB, S.D., will touch down later this month at Andersen AFB, replacing B-52s from Minot AFB, N.D. The deployment includes 300 airmen. The B-1 fleet has recently undergone a large-scale upgrade program, which forced the Air Force to return the aircraft from its continuous presence in the Middle East. “With a large weapon capacity and exceptional standoff strike capability, the B-1 will provide US Pacific Command and its regional allies and partners with a credible, strategic power projection platform,” Pacific Air Forces said in a news release. The deployment marks the first time B-1s have deployed to Guam since April 2006, and the first time they have deployed to Andersen while aligned under Air Force Global Strike Command.
The top Air Force commander on on the Japanese island of Okinawa has clamped down alcohol and issued a curfew for junior enlisted Airmen and Guardians at Kadena Air Base for the next month. The order came roughly two weeks after a U.S. Marine was arrested for allegedly robbing and…