Celina R. Babauta
SENATOR Celina R. Babauta is asking the U.S. military to designate the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport as a gateway of the U.S. Air Force’s Air Mobility Command or AMC.
AMC is tasked to execute rapid global mobility with airlift, air refueling, air mobility support, and aeromedical evacuation. It has installations in various states, such as California, South Carolina, and Illinois.
In her letter to the U.S. Indo-Pacific commander, Adm. Samuel N. Paparo, Babauta said the CNMI is respectfully requesting him to designate Saipan’s airport as an official AMC gateway.
This designation, she said, would enable Space-Available and Patriot Express flights and expand access for active-duty personnel, veterans, eligible retirees, and their families across the CNMI and neighboring regions.
As the wife of a 28-year U.S. Army veteran and the mother of three children who have served or are currently serving in the U.S. Army, Babauta told Paparo that she holds a deep commitment to improving support services for the nation’s military community.
Babauta’s husband is Special Assistant for Homeland Security and Emergency Management Franklin Babauta, a retired Army lieutenant colonel.
Sen. Babauta said that despite their strategic position in the Western Pacific, Saipan and the rest of the CNMI currently lack direct access to AMC travel benefits.
Logistically, she said, CNMI residents must travel to Guam, Japan, Korea or Hawaii to access AMC flights, often incurring significant financial and logistical burdens.
Designating Saipan as an AMC gateway, she said, would advance operational readiness “in this critical region, aligned with the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, and improve Indo-Pacific Command’s…strategic mobility and force posture.”
She said it would also provide equitable access to AMC travel benefits and reduce travel burdens for military families and veterans, thereby improving their quality of life.
Sen. Babauta said Saipan’s international airport has proven capable of supporting large AMC aircraft through joint-use operations, including military exercises and disaster relief missions in 2015, 2018, and 2024. Its existing infrastructure makes it well-suited to serve as an AMC hub in the Pacific, she added.
In contrast to the AMC gateways in Baltimore, Seattle/Tacoma, and Dallas/Fort Worth, Sen. Babauta said Saipan is geographically closer to key Indo-Pacific locations, “offering a more efficient and effective launch point for regional operations.”
Establishing this gateway on Saipan will improve logistics and reinforce the nation’s presence in a region of growing strategic importance, she added.
She said doing so would not only fulfill an operational need but also honor the service and sacrifice of military veterans and their families who call the CNMI home.
