Gov. Eddie Baza Calvo spoke to Rear Adm. Paul Bushong, who confirmed that aircraft and personnel assigned to the Carrier Air Wing out of Japan arrived at Andersen Air Force Base Saturday night.
One thousand sailors and aircraft assigned to Carrier Air Wing 5 are on Guam for an indefinite period as part of the Navy’s force posture adjustment for Operation Tomodachi.
The Joint Region Marianas confirmed that aircraft from the unit began arriving at Andersen Air Force Base since Thursday.
“This has to be a traumatic experience for U.S. servicemen and women, who’ve been forward-deployed to help defend our country,” Calvo said. “I want our fellow Americans to know they are welcome here. We will do everything possible to help them and to make their stay here comfortable.
That’s the spirit of our island. We help in whatever way we can.”
The governor told Bushong he is prepared to engage government agencies and the community on ways to help Guam’s new visitors acclimate to the community.
The CVW-5 is forward-deployed to Atsugi, Japan as part of the USS George Washington Carrier Strike Group. The wing components of the strike group are flying out of NAF Atsugi to make room for other aircraft needed to support the current response efforts in Japan.
The air wing’s SH-60 Seahawk helicopters and C-2 Greyhound aircraft will remain in Japan supporting HA/DR missions.
The F/A-18 Super Hornet, EA-6B Prowler and E-2C Hawkeye aircraft will temporarily relocate to Guam, where they will be ready to respond to support operations and contingencies throughout the Western Pacific region.
