Andersen Air Force Base is a large military installation on Guam with substantial airfield, storage, housing, and support infrastructure. The Andersen AFB Base Fact Sheet 2021 describes about 15,500 acres, while the 36th Wing Economic Impact Statement 2022 records 4,240 people working on base and a $502,032,755 annual economic impact. The 2024 Drinking Water Quality Report provides a separate, more recent snapshot of the installation’s water system and test results.
Contents
- Installation size and airfield infrastructure
- Aircraft, exercises, and support capacity
- Joint basing, housing, and civil engineering
- Workforce and payroll
- Economic impact and local spending
- Historical operations and airlift
- 2024 drinking water measurements
Installation size and airfield infrastructure
Andersen Air Force Base spans about 15,500 acres, according to the Andersen AFB Base Fact Sheet 2021. Its two main runways are both 200 feet wide, but they differ in length. Runway 6L/24R is 10,558 feet long, while Runway 6R/24L is 11,185 feet long. Both are paved with asphalt/concrete.
The airfield’s supporting surfaces add considerable capacity. Total apron space is 1.9 million square yards. Runways cover 1,046 thousand square yards, and taxiways cover another 326 thousand square yards. Building square footage totals 6.1 million square feet. Jet fuel capacity is 66 million gallons, and the munitions storage area covers 4,400 acres. These measurements describe physical capacity in the 2021 fact sheet; they do not represent annual usage.
| Installation measure | Reported amount | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Installation area | About 15,500 acres | 2021 |
| Runway 6L/24R | 10,558 feet long; 200 feet wide | 2021 |
| Runway 6R/24L | 11,185 feet long; 200 feet wide | 2021 |
| Total apron space | 1.9 million square yards | 2021 |
| Building area | 6.1 million square feet | 2021 |
| Jet fuel capacity | 66 million gallons | 2021 |
Aircraft, exercises, and support capacity
The Andersen AFB Base Fact Sheet 2021 gives several examples of the base’s exercise scale. COPE NORTH 2021 featured 94 aircraft and 2,173 personnel from the United States, Japan, and Australia. VALIANT SHIELD 2020 featured 39 aircraft, one Carrier Strike Group, and 1,100 personnel.
The same fact sheet says that Airfield Training and Readiness, or ATR, events can feature up to 20 aircraft and 1,000 personnel. It describes current ATR support as 20 aircraft and 500 personnel. The two ATR figures are different measures: one is the stated potential event scale, while the other describes current support.
These exercises also show why aircraft counts should be read alongside personnel counts. COPE NORTH’s 94 aircraft were associated with 2,173 participating personnel, while VALIANT SHIELD’s 39 aircraft were associated with 1,100 personnel. The figures are event descriptions, not a permanent inventory of aircraft or a year-round staffing level.
Joint basing, housing, and civil engineering
BRAC 2005 made Andersen a Navy-led joint base under Joint Region Marianas, or JRM, according to the Andersen AFB Base Fact Sheet 2021. The JRM installation support memorandum of agreement was signed on October 1, 2009. JRM consists of several Navy commands supporting three installations on Guam.
The later JRM realignment divided responsibilities and resources. Eighteen of 44 installation support functions moved back to the Air Force, while 26 functions remained the Navy’s responsibility. The realignment transferred 335 full-time equivalent positions and $677 million over FY22–FY26. The Air Force added 389 FTEs and $224 million over the future years defense program. These are organizational and planned funding figures, not a count of all Andersen employees or a measure of annual local spending.
Housing and civil engineering figures add detail about day-to-day support. Existing base housing had an average age of 55 years, and Capehart housing included about 1,000 units constructed over about an 18-month period. The 36th Civil Engineer Squadron had approximately 450 people. Its Operations flight had more than 250 military and civilian personnel assigned and managed more than $5 million in service contracts every year. Fire Protection was a three-station flight.
The Readiness Flight supported more than 6,000 active duty personnel and their dependents. The Housing Flight managed 572 family housing units and 614 dormitory bed spaces. Those housing figures are managed units and beds, not a complete count of residents.
Workforce and payroll
The 36th Wing Economic Impact Statement 2022 reported 4,240 total personnel working on base in FY22. The total included 3,318 military personnel and 922 civilians. Within the listed workforce categories, Air Force active duty numbered 2,291; Air National Guard personnel numbered 442; Air Force Reserve personnel numbered 234; and average rotational members numbered 351.
The civilian and support categories included 415 Air Force appropriated fund civilians, 34 Navy appropriated fund civilians, 195 Navy non-appropriated fund civilians, 200 AAFES personnel, 73 DECA personnel, and five contractors. These categories are reported as workforce groups in the economic impact statement and should not be added to other totals unless the source’s classification rules are known.
The statement reported total payroll of $174,958,241. Listed components included $112,044,583 in active-duty payroll, $14,845,847 in ANG/Reserve payroll, and $33,604,085 in Air Force appropriated fund civilian payroll. Navy non-appropriated fund civilian payroll was $2,743,870. AAFES payroll was $7,000,000, DECA payroll was $4,600,000, and contractor payroll was $119,856.
Economic impact and local spending
The FY22 economic impact statement reported $65,039,364 in construction contracts and $48,872,000 in service contracts. Other contracts with local Guam businesses totaled $4,400,000. Off-base spending totaled $426,678, while utilities allowances for members off base totaled $15,718,752. Off-base lodging totaled $39,731,517, and Overseas Housing Allowance, or OHA, totaled $37,764,300.
Total local expenditures were reported as $211,952,612. Base Exchange sales were $75,000,000, and commissary sales were $38,915,461. Tuition assistance was $1,206,442. Total other expenditures were $115,121,902. The statement’s total annual economic impact was $502,032,755.
These amounts come from different expenditure categories in the FY22 statement. They are best read as reported economic-impact measures rather than as a single household-income statistic. The statement also separates payroll, contracts, sales, allowances, and other expenditures, so each number retains its original category and period.
Historical operations and airlift
Andersen’s historical record provides event-specific counts. North Field’s first runway became operational on February 3, 1945, and the first combat mission occurred on February 25, 1945. The installation was renamed Andersen AFB on October 7, 1949.
On June 18, 1965, Andersen launched 27 B-52 bombers. During the early 1972 Bullet Shot buildup, 153 B-52s were lined along the airfield, requiring five miles of ramp space. On December 18, 1972, Andersen launched 87 B-52s; the launch took one hour and 43 minutes. Andersen-based B-52s flew 379 of 729 sorties during Operation Linebacker II.
Operation New Life moved 109,553 refugees to the United States using 518 aircraft, according to Andersen AFB history. During the Gulf War, Andersen supported 200 aircraft, 2,200 troops, and 2,212 tons of cargo. Andersen munitions specialists shipped more than 75 million pounds of bombs to the Gulf. These historical figures describe named operations and dates; they are not current operating levels.
2024 drinking water measurements
The 2024 Drinking Water Quality Report says Andersen’s drinking water is supplied by 13 wells. Chlorine and fluoride are monitored daily. The base reported no exceedance of any maximum contaminant levels, or MCLs, in 2024. Nitrate monitoring is required each year, and samples collected on December 12, 2024 showed no MCL exceedance.
Nitrate was detected at 0.94 to 2.0 parts per million, compared with a 10 ppm MCL. Fluoride was detected at 0.65 ppm, compared with a 4 ppm MCL. Alpha emitters measured 2.4 pCi/L against a 15 pCi/L MCL; beta emitters measured 0.71 pCi/L against 50 pCi/L. Radium-226 measured 1.4 pCi/L and radium-228 measured 0.38 pCi/L, each against a 5 pCi/L MCL. Uranium measured 1.3 ppb against a 30 ppb MCL.
Sodium was detected at 14 to 25 ppm. HAA5 measured 0.15 to 3.3 ppb against a 60 ppb MCL, while TTHM measured 5.9 to 12 ppb against an 80 ppb MCL. Free chlorine measured 0.06 to 2.2 ppm; its MRDLG and MRDL were both 4 ppm. Lead measured 1.0 ppb against a 15 ppb action level, and copper measured 0.33 ppm against a 1.3 ppm action level.
The report lists a total coliform MCLG of zero and an MCL of one positive sample per month. The base recorded one positive total coliform sample. PFAS testing detected nine of the 25 compounds in EPA Method 533. The listed MCLs were 4.0 ppt for PFOS and PFOA, 10 ppt for HFPO-DA, PFNA, and PFHxS, and 1 for the PFAS hazard index.
Across four 2024 samples, PFOA measured 0.38 to 0.45 ppt, PFOS 0.63 to 1.8 ppt, PFHxS 1.7 to 3.3 ppt, PFBS 0.61 to 0.91 ppt, PFBA 0.46 to 0.99 ppt, PFPeA 0.88 to 2.0 ppt, PFHxA 0.72 to 3.8 ppt, PFHpA 0.30 to 0.38 ppt, and PFPeS 0.30 to 4.7 ppt. The PFAS sampling dates were June 7, 2024, and August 19, 2024. The Sanitary Survey cited March 2022 as the recent Guam EPA inspection, and the base was granted until January 4, 2026, to address outstanding deficiencies.