USAF to Stand Up Permanent Detachment on Guam

Air Force Global Strike Command is planning to set up a detachment of permanent party personnel at Andersen AFB, Guam, to focus solely on supporting the rotational bomb squadron deployed there as part of the Air Force’s continuous bomber presence, AFGSC boss Lt. Gen. Stephen Wilson told Air Force Magazine. The command has proposed a detachment of 30-34 Active Duty personnel, which will come from existing units at Minot AFB, N.D., and Barksdale AFB, La. “Maintainers will make up roughly half of the permanently assigned personnel, including the detachment superintendent, with the other half being ops personnel,” said Wilson. “The ops side would include mission planners, combat crew communications, a flight safety officer, a standardization and evaluation officer, and a [Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape] specialist.” The maintenance side will include a lot of “aircrew ground equipment-type personnel,” said Lt. Col. Michael Pritchett, who has been tapped to lead the detachment. Pritchett currently serves as the deputy chief of the combat operations division at the 608th Air Operations Center at Offutt AFB, Neb. He and the Det. 4 superintendent expect to deploy to Andersen in September while the rest of the personnel will start rolling in between November and December, said officials. Pritchett said he expects the detachment to be made up of about eight officers, including himself, and the rest will be enlisted airmen. “Once all of the personnel are in place, we would declare full operational capability three to four months later,” said Wilson.