THE 820th Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers or RED HORSE have started arriving on Tinian for the restoration of two runways at North Field, Tinian Mayor Edwin P. Aldan said.
Based in Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, RED HORSE is tasked to complete infrastructure projects at Tinian’s airfield as part of the U.S. military’s future operations in the Indo-Pacific theater.
In an interview, Aldan said RED HORSE is the U.S. Air Force’s equivalent to the U.S. Navy’s Seabees. The first batch of the RED HORSE team arrived in late November, and a bigger group is expected to arrive anytime this month for the North Field project, which may take six months to complete, Aldan said.
He said RED HORSE will restore two of the four runways at North Field. This military project will greatly benefit the island community because it will reopen to the public the old roads on the north side of Tinian, the mayor added.
These old roads provide direct access to some of the beautiful sites on Tinian, and will help make the island more attractive to tourists, Aldan said.
NDAA
In related news, the U.S. House and Senate Armed Services committees released on Wednesday a conference report on H.R. 2670 or the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2024. The appropriation measure includes a total of $79 million funding for the divert airfield projects on Tinian, U.S. Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan said in his e-newsletter.
The funding is broken down as follows:
—$26 million for Airfield Development, Phase 1.
—$21 million for fuel tanks with pipeline and hydrant.
—$32 million for parking apron.
