When it comes to airport density, if Guam considers itself second, there is probably no place in the world that dares to claim to be first.
Guam, an island with an area of less than 550 square kilometers and a population of less than 180,000, has three airports.
You know, even New York, which is known as the busiest city in the world in terms of aviation, has only three airports. And how big is New York? 789 square kilometers; how many people are there in New York? More than 20 million!
But there is no way, because Guam's strategic position is too important. Therefore, of the three airports on Guam, except for the commercial Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport, the other two airports are military airports belonging to the US military.
The airport at Anderson Strategic Air Force Base on Yigo Heights at the northeastern end of the island has a total of four runways, two main runways and two backup runways. The length of the two main runways is more than 3,800 meters, enough for any aircraft in the world to take off and land on these two runways.
The airport at Anderson Strategic Air Force Base is one of the top military airports in the world.
However, the airport that Yang Jing and his group were going to today was not this top-level military airport. After all, Anderson Strategic Air Force Base was a top priority for the US military, and the management there was extremely strict. Not to mention Yang Jing and his group, even ordinary active-duty soldiers at the base could not enter the airport without a special pass.
Even though George's father was a major general at the base, he didn't have the ability to bring such a large group of non-active soldiers into the airport. That would cost him his job, and in serious cases he could even be brought to a military court.
Therefore, Yang Jing and his team can only go to the airport located in the northwest corner of Guam today.
This airport can be said to be the oldest airport on Guam. Before the Pacific War, this airport was built by Americans, but after the Japanese occupied Guam, they expanded the airport on a large scale and turned it into the most important military airport of the Japanese in Guam.
Later, the Americans recaptured Guam and built the Anderson Strategic Air Force Base in the northeast corner of the airport, so the airport gradually became a backup airport. Although the U.S. Air Force was affiliated with the U.S. Army during World War II, it became independent in 1947 and became an independent military branch. Therefore, the U.S. military simply transferred the airport to the Army, making it a backup airport under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army.
However, although the jurisdiction of this airport belongs to the United States Army, most of the usage rights still belong to the United States Air Force, because the United States Air Force often uses this airport to train new pilots.
"BOSS, when I was serving in Guam, I trained at this airport." Sitting in the Hummer, George pointed at the slightly dilapidated airport and showed a look of nostalgia.
From a distance, the airport was indeed in a state of disrepair. Normally, there should be no tall plants such as trees near the runways of an airport, but in this airport, there were lush trees growing between the four runways, and the crowns of some trees even covered the spare runway on the far west side.
"Why is this airport in such a dilapidated state? Can it still accommodate planes taking off and landing in this state?" Yang Jing didn't understand the situation. After all, this was a military airport and was very valuable. The two main runways were 2,800 meters long, enough for most American military aircraft to take off and land smoothly. But it was left abandoned like this, which was really unacceptable.
Paul Adriano answered this question. Perhaps it was because Aaron had told him, or perhaps he realized that Yang Jing was a real billionaire and not someone an officer like him could afford to offend, so Paul Adriano's attitude became very good.
"The jurisdiction of this base now belongs to the Army. Although our Air Force uses this airport to train new pilots every year, the training fees we pay to the Army every year are not enough to maintain this airport. The bulk of the airport maintenance costs still have to be paid by the Army. If it were a base on the mainland or in the Middle East, North Africa or even Europe, the Army's funding would still be sufficient. But this is Guam, where the Army has almost no role. It is subordinate to the Navy and the Air Force. So..."
Paul turned his head and made an expression that said "you understand", and Yang Jing immediately knew why the airport was in such a dilapidated state.
In a word, no money!
Although the United States is so arrogant and aggressive, the U.S. military is not having an easy time. Due to the political system, even the military expenditure of the U.S. military needs the approval of Congress. According to U.S. law, even the cost of buying a screw by the U.S. military should be approved by Congress.
It would be fine if the U.S. Congress was united, but unfortunately, the Republicans and the Democrats alone are fighting each other. In peacetime without war, who the hell would care about the maintenance costs of an army airport stationed in Guam?
The U.S. Congress has complaints against the Department of Defense for this. Is the Department of Defense crazy? Why does the Army need an airport? The Army has aviation units, but they are mostly helicopters, and they can take off and land anywhere. Why use such a large airport for helicopters? Are you planning to use this airport as a landing pad for your Army Aviation Unit?
Since you, the U.S. military, are making such a fuss, why do you blame our Congress for not approving maintenance funds for you?
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