The 38th Air Defense Artillery (ADA) Brigade held a ceremony at Andersen Air Force Base to transfer authorities securing Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) units on Tuesday.
These units are anti-ballistic missile defense systems designed to protect Guam from incoming ballistic missile threats. Members from the Guam National Guard take turns securing these units every nine to 12 months.
This security operation supports Task Force Talon, the army unit that provides missile defense for the island. U.S. air defense cooperates with the Guam National Guard in protecting these missile defense systems.
Responsibilities for the new Team Binadu taking over security operations include defending the vicinity of their area of responsibility and securing key assets that are essential for the defense of Guam. “We manage the physical security, electronic surveillance systems and routine physical assessments as well,” said Binadu Captain Thomas Borgonia.
Binadu underwent training for about two months in California to prepare for this mission. Weapons qualification and simulated exercises were some of the activities Borgonia went through to become mission-ready.
“On the island, we’re limited to the training resources we have, including the ranges that are on Guam,” he said. “So that requires us to go ahead and do our training [somewhere] else,” where the team can have proper facilities and equipment to meet training standards.
Task Force Talon Commander Jonathan Stafford believes this is significant as air defenders can’t fulfill their mission without the Guam National Guard. “They provide important site security for site Excalibur here on Guam,” he said.
The THAAD units used to be at Northwest Field at Andersen Air Force Base. Now, it’s located at the old South Finegayan housing complex that’s called Site Excalibur.
“Over at Northwest Field, we had a much smaller footprint to deploy our system,” Stafford said. “Now, we have a much larger place to deploy our capability over at South Finegayan.”
The biggest challenge for Talon right now is the very austere site of Excalibur. Stafford elaborated that soldiers are operating out of small containers and tents. “We’re in the process of trying to get permanent infrastructure established over at site Excalibur,” he said.
In the meantime, Borgonia hopes to pick up from where their previous predecessors, Team Sindalu, left off.
Sindalu took over THAAD security operations back in February of 2023. They were in charge of restoring site Excalibur’s security after Typhoon Mawar, responded to various drone incursions, and deployed a package of soldiers to defend a THAAD remote launch site in Rota.
“This is considered mobilization for us,” said Borgonia. “But what makes this mission so unique to us is that this is a personal buy-in with us. This is where our families are.”
