JUNE 23, 2026 – A team with the 461st Air Control Wing’s 53rd Combat Airfield Operations Squadron traveled to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, from Robins AFB, Georgia, June 2-9, 2026, to get a runway back in working order before a major exercise in the Indo-Pacific region.
In April 2026, Super Typhoon Sinlaku caused nearly $40 million in damage to facilities and equipment across Andersen AFB, including several flightline structures. During the storm, 53rd CAOS was able to contact Andersen’s Airmen over video call and instruct them on how to take down the Deployable Instrument Landing System’s glide slope, a 50-foot-tall-antenna that helps calculate an aircraft’s approach and rate of descent.
“It’s for inclement weather operations where they can’t see the runway, so they’re using Instrument Flight Rules,” said Tech. Sgt. Christopher McCorquodale, 53rd CAOS HVAC noncommissioned officer in charge. Under IFR, flights are primarily conducted by referencing onboard instruments and navigation systems in coordination with air traffic control.
“The glide slope basically tells the planes where they’re positioned in relation to the runway. Without that, that runway was not going to be operational for the Valiant Shield exercise,” he continued.
Working under a tight schedule, a team of six 53rd CAOS Airmen traveled to Andersen AFB and compressed the typical five-day setup into just two days to ensure airfield readiness for the exercise.
“We got to work the day after we got off the plane,” he said. “Single runway operations is not fun for the exercise out there, so we wanted to get that system up and running as fast as possible for them so they could do their training sorties before the exercise to make sure that everything’s good.”
The recovery effort required setting up the system’s 50-foot-tall glide slope mast and coordinating with a flight check team out of Oklahoma to validate that the device was aligned within its tolerances.
“The big challenge was stressing before flight check if that radar was going to be aligned properly,” McCorquodale said. “We got it within tolerances for all three, so it was a very big celebration all around.”
With the 53rd CAOS’s fix, the runway can again provide precision approaches and landings for aircraft in all weather conditions, increasing air traffic capacity, safety and efficiency of the airfield. The successful setup yielded immediate results.
“Right after we finished, we had four F-35s depart from our runway, and that was our certification for the event,” said McCorquodale.
Although the team was only assigned to set up a singular glide slope antenna, they assisted with flight checks by handling the radios for all Andersen AFB’s localizers and other glide slopes.
“There were two days of flight check planned, and we got it knocked out in 2.5 hours,” added McCorquodale.
The Airmen served a crucial role in operational readiness efforts by having the runway prepared in time for Exercise Valiant Shield, set to start June 22. The biennial joint field training exercise brings together each branch of the U.S. Armed Forces and partner nations across the Indo-Pacific to exercise a wide range of capabilities and demonstrate the strength and flexibility of joint and combined forces.
Story by Lauren Boggs
78th Air Base Wing