Andersen Air Force Base (Andersen AFB, AAFB) (IATA: UAM, ICAO: PGUA, FAA LID: UAM) is a United States Air Force base located primarily within the village of Yigo in the United States territory of Guam.

[4] Andersen AFB was placed under the installation management authority of Joint Region Marianas in October 2009, along with Naval Base Guam.

[4] Established in 1944 after the Liberation of Guam as North Field, it is named for Brigadier General James Roy Andersen (1904–1945).

Due to Guam's almost unrestricted airspace and the close proximity of the Farallon de Medinilla Island, a naval bombing range 184 miles (296 km) north, the base is in an ideal training location.

Andersen graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1926, served at various army installations, and obtained his wings at Kelly Field, Texas, in 1936.

Guam was considered ideal to establish air bases to launch B-29 Superfortress operations against the Japanese Home Islands.

The first host unit at North Field was the 314th Bombardment Wing, XXI Bomber Command, Twentieth Air Force.

B-29 Superfortress missions from North Field were attacks against strategic targets in Japan, operating in daylight and at a high altitude to bomb factories, refineries, and other objectives.

In March 1945, the XXI Bomber Command changed tactics and started carrying out low-level night incendiary raids on area targets.

During the Allied assault on Okinawa, groups of the 314th Bomb Wing attacked airfields from which the Japanese were sending out suicide planes against the invasion force.

Flying out of Guam aboard a B-29, S/Sgt Henry E Erwin of the 29th Bombardment Group was awarded the Medal of Honor for actions during a mission over Koriyama, Japan, on 12 April 1945.

After the war, B-29s from North Field dropped food and supplies to Allied prisoners and participated in several show-of-force missions over Japan.

The 19th remained in Guam to become the station's host unit after the 314th Bombardment Wing moved to Johnson Air Base, Japan for occupation duty.

From 17 October 1949 until 28 June 1950, the wing continued B-29 training, operation of Andersen Air Force Base, and rescue and reconnaissance missions.

The rest of the wing remained at Andersen, providing maintenance for transient aircraft and operating ammunition dumps until 1953.

The 43rd Bomb Wing from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, operated from July to October 1957, which eventually became Andersen's host unit.

[11] The first B-52, the "City of El Paso," arrived from the 95th Bomb Wing at Biggs Air Force Base, Texas in March 1964.

With the start of Operation Arc Light in June 1965, B-52Fs and KC-135As began regular bombing missions over Vietnam and continued until 1973, with a break between August 1970 and early 1972.

Air crews flying WC-130s tracked and penetrated typhoons, providing advanced warnings to military and civilian populations throughout the western Pacific.

During the Vietnam War, the 54th also provided cloud seeding capability along the Ho Chi Minh Trail and synoptic reconnaissance, deploying from Udorn RTAFB when not in Guam.

[16] With the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in June 1991, Andersen was instrumental in caring for American evacuees and their pets as a part of Operation Fiery Vigil.

In October 1994, the U.S. Navy's Helicopter Combat Support Squadron Five (HC-5) relocated to Andersen from the now-closed Naval Air Station Agana, Guam.

It was replaced via a 50 million-dollar Design-Build project from the Air Force Civil Engineer Support Agency to the Tutor-Perini Corporation and its local subsidiary, Black Construction Company.

On 23 February 2008, a USAF B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, one of the most expensive military aircraft in the world (valued at $1.4 billion), crashed on the base moments after takeoff, due to a mechanical failure.

[18] On 21 July 2008, a B-52 crashed into the sea while on a training mission that was to fly over a parade in Guam commemorating the U.S. liberation of the island from Japanese occupation in 1944.

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) said, "The Air Force program for protecting Guam's natural resources has utterly broken down.

"[20] The Department of Defense Inspector General (DOD IG) determined that the Air Force responses to the PEER allegations adequately addressed the issues raised.

The strategic importance of Andersen AFB was brought to the forefront on Tuesday, 12 February 2013 when the base was circled by two Russian Tupolev Tu-95 Bear-H bombers hours prior to President Obama's State of the Union Address.

[22] A total of 816,393 munitions assets valued at over $95 million were delivered to Andersen Air Force Base between 21 August and 30 September 2017.

The required core classes are physical education, mathematics, science, social studies, reading, and language arts.