The Growing Importance of Guam

摘要

A lways strategic, the island of Guam in the western Pacific Ocean in Micronesia is playing a growing role in the contested, troublesome, near-peer competition environment. The Defense Department is investing more into the military facilities of this U.S. territory, including adding networking and bandwidth solutions; joint all-domain command and control; and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance solutions as well as additional U.S. forces. The measures will add key communications and advanced capabilities to the island as well as increase the military's power projection abilities. "One of the things that I talk about with respect to Guam is its strategic location on the globe," says Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, USAF, commander, Pacific Air Forces and the Air Component commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. "Add the fact that it is U.S. sovereign territory. It's the farthest western location that we have, that we can project from." Gen. Wilsbach also is the executive director, Pacific Air Combat Operations Staff, Joint Base Pearl Har-bor-Hickam, Hawaii.