ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam -- When the 11th Air Task Force began its six-month deployment in the Pacific in July, Guam was not one of the locations members planned to visit. Arriving in theater as the first air task force in the U.S. Air Force to start a six-month deployment, the 11th ATF began by supporting exercise Resolute Force Pacific in Saipan and then exercise Ulchi Freedom Shield in the Republic of Korea. After that, mission needs dictated a last-minute change of location, and the roughly 350-person team arrived at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, to begin working alongside the 36th Wing.
“We’ve been really fortunate to get out to Guam and tie in with the 36th Wing,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Brett Cassidy, 11th ATF commander. “As we had a change in mission, the entire team at Andersen pivoted really quickly to accept us and find a space for us. The common ties we’ve built in coordination across the theater allowed us to come up with a plan that allowed all our Airmen to come together as a cohesive team to get after the local mission.”
While the 11th ATF was designed to support mission generation force elements through command and control and base operating support-integration, the unit did not have any assigned aircraft during its stay in Guam. Because of this, the task force’s focus was different for the second half of its deployment: helping forces at Andersen and across the region with projects that strenghten the theater posture.
“PACAF is doing a lot of what we’d call ‘set the theater’-sort of activities,” Cassidy said. “These are about posturing for success down the line, both for agile combat employment (ACE) and also for our regional partnerships. We’ve had a lot of opportunities to tie into those specific efforts and build out the capabilities here on Guam, as well as with some of our partners in the first island chain, to get after building relationships, sharing information and exchanging experiences so that we can all be better set up to work together down the line.”
Within days of arriving at Andersen in mid-September, members of the 11th ATF and its subordinate units—the 11th Combat Air Base Squadron, 51st Combat Communications Squadron and 824th Base Defense Squadron—were able to integrate into local projects across the base and beyond while also supporting the 11th ATF as it planned theater security cooperation missions with regional allies and partners. Airmen from the 11th ATF also worked with local partners in Guam and other military branches, such as the Navy and Marine Corps. These efforts included exercise support, area development plan support, construction, vehicle maintenance, logistics and other daily operations such as firefighting and even repairing wells while alleviating local unit manning shortfalls.
One of the most notable projects was the 11th CABS’ work with the 36th Contingency Response Group to shape the future operational construct for Northwest Field, one of PACAF’s highest-priority contingency airfields. Their work included construction, installation security, and operational planning as they aligned the whole project with PACAF’s vision for a resilient, multi-capable airfield, providing blueprints for future landing zone certification and safe airfield operations in support of ACE concepts.
“The work at Northwest Field is shaping the future fight in the Indo-Pacific, and the 11th ATF played a key role in moving that vision forward,” said Brig. Gen. Dan Cooley, 36th Wing Commander. "Their ability to integrate quickly, collaborate across services, and build meaningful partnerships reflects exactly the kind of teamwork the Indo-Pacific demands. We're grateful for their expertise and the way they strengthened Team Andersen’s ability to respond at a moment’s notice.”
Beyond Andersen, 11th ATF members also helped prepare for a multilateral exercise in India and supported other Air Force installations such as Kadena Air Base and Misawa Air Base in Japan. Additionally, task force members traveled to the Philippines twice for subject matter expert exchanges ranging from medical response to airfield damage repair.
“Success in the Pacific really hinges on our relationships with Allies and partners, a cornerstone of PACAF’s approach in the theater,” Cassidy said. “The 11th ATF has had some awesome opportunities to integrate with partners and Allies throughout the theater, both from an operational standpoint but also with the relationships that were built at the localized and tactical level. That’s where we’re really making winning gains, because those local relationships, individual-to-individual, are what build the long-term trust and opportunities to get after future missions between different countries.”