Andersen Air Force Base
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19
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11
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10
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Search complete. 19 mentions across 11 episodes found for "Andersen Air Force Base".
Oct 12, 2026
John F. CalderGUEST
And then we returned back into the Gulf of Tonkin, and we were what was called a watch dog.
John F. CalderGUEST
Ralph, what we would do is they brought the B-52s in from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, and the fighters would support it off the carriers.
John F. CalderGUEST
I never did this.
John F. CalderGUEST
I wasn't at that level.
Aggie TupouHOST
The lawsuit filed by Guam environmentalist group Prutehi Guahan says the disposal of hazardous materials on Tarungere Beach violates environment protection laws.
Aggie TupouHOST
More than 40 years ago, the U.S. Air Force created a range to dispose of hazardous munitions such as ammunition, tear gas and propellants by detonating them at Taragoe Beach adjacent to Anderson Air Force Base in northern Guam.
Aggie TupouHOST
Among those in Washington, D.C. to support Brutehi Kohan was Guam environmentalist Michelle Kurisostomo, founder of Kohan Sustainable Culture.
Michelle Cruz-EstomoSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
the Air Force right now is not doing its due diligence to have the environmental reviews and the community participation and commenting before they decide to conduct open detonation of hazardous materials at Taragi Beach on the Air Force Base in Guam.
JoshiGUEST
If it's what Judge Van Dyke called application plus, which is the internal decision to submit the application, we think that's sort of ephemeral, and Biden against Texas says you can't do that either.
JoshiGUEST
If it's just the decision to conduct these activities writ large, then I think Van Dy- Judge Van Dyke has a point, which is that decision was made in the '80s when the Air Force said, "We need to dispose of these waste munitions on the island, and we're going to do it as long as Air F- Andersen Air Force Base is in operation."
Elena KaganPANELIST
Well, what if that's not true, Mr. Joshi?
JoshiGUEST
But-
Sopan JoshiGUEST
If it's what Judge Van Dyke called application plus, which is the internal decision to submit the application, we think that's sort of ephemeral, and Biden against Texas says you can't do that either.
Sopan JoshiGUEST
If it's just the decision to conduct these activities writ large, then I think Van Dy- Judge Van Dyke has a point, which is that decision was made in the '80s when the Air Force said, "We need to dispose of these waste munitions on the island, and we're going to do it as long as Air F- Andersen Air Force Base is in operation."
Elena KaganGUEST
Well, what if that's not true, Mr. Joshi?
Sopan JoshiGUEST
But-
Sopan JoshiGUEST
If it's what Judge Van Dyke called application plus, which is the internal decision to submit the application, we think that's sort of ephemeral, and Biden against Texas says you can't do that either.
Sopan JoshiGUEST
If it's just the decision to conduct these activities writ large, then I think Judge Van Dyke has a point, which is that decision was made in the 80s when the Air Force said, we need to dispose of these waste munitions on the island, and we're going to do it as long as Anderson Air Force Base is in operation.
Sopan JoshiGUEST
Well, what
Elena KaganPANELIST
if
JoshiSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
If it's what Judge Van Dyke called application plus, which is the internal decision to submit the application, we think that's sort of ephemeral, and Biden against Texas says you can't do that either.
JoshiSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
If it's just the decision to conduct these activities writ large, then I think Van Dy- Judge Van Dyke has a point, which is that decision was made in the '80s when the Air Force said, "We need to dispose of these waste munitions on the island, and we're going to do it as long as Air F- Andersen Air Force Base is in operation." But-
Elena KaganSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
Well, what if that's not true, Mr. Joshi? What if, in fact, the, the Air Force treats this, um, as a kind of dec- y- you know, it, it made the initial decision, but then it's going to keep making decisions, whether it's every three years or every 10 years or whatever it is.
Elena KaganSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
I mean, no decision is just thought, or very few, to, to be eternal.
Kate ShawHOST
[laughs] Exactly.
Kate ShawHOST
So they're doing this on a beach within the Anderson Air Force Base in Guam, and this beach, to be clear, is above a major aquifer that supplies most of the island's drinking water.
Kate ShawHOST
The area borders marine ecosystems.
Kate ShawHOST
There are endangered species habitats nearby, including sea turtles, because of course, if they're gonna open burn and detonate, they wanna do it where there are sea turtles very close by.
TowerHOST
They flew in Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, and other operations not always publicly disclosed.
TowerHOST
One was lost in January two thousand and eight at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam.
TowerHOST
Moisture contamination in air data sensors corrupted the flight control computers at rotation.
TowerHOST
The aircraft pitched up sharply on takeoff and struck the runway.
Murtaza HussainHOST
There's a couple of U.S. military bases.
Murtaza HussainHOST
I mentioned Anderson Air Force Base in Guam is also the Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa.
Murtaza HussainHOST
U.S. naval facilities they have in Japan, several of them and also the Philippines.
Murtaza HussainHOST
These were all come under threat in the course of a war because they're building this huge ballistic missile build out and electronic warfare build out and naval build out.
Aggie TupouHOST
We head to Guam now, where new records reveal decades of toxic contamination in a community near a U.S. military base.
Aggie TupouHOST
Unsafe levels of a pesticide, Dildrin, which was banned in the U.S. in 1987, was somehow detected around the Anderson Air Force Base as early as 2008, yet residents were not advised about the drinking water risk until 2025.
Aggie TupouHOST
Now, our next guest's investigation looked into this water contamination in Guam So joining us on the line from Mexico is Hugo Roge, freelance journalist for The Margin and The War Horse.
Aggie TupouHOST
With that, I say good morning, Hugo.
Aggie TupouHOST
Yeah, absolutely.
Aggie TupouHOST
Hugo, when did the people of Guam, living near the Air Force Base, sort of find out their water supply was contaminated?
Hugo HodgeGUEST
Yeah, so the residents of Jigo, a semi-rural village next to Anderson Air Force Base, found out in September of 2025 that there were unsafe levels of dieldrin in their drinking water.
Hugo HodgeGUEST
Now, they were later told that the Guam Water Works Authority and the Guam EPA had been working on the problem since late 2023, nearly two years before residents were told anything.
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