Growing tensions in the Asia-Pacific region are forcing the US to show strength to its adversary - China. To this end, the landing of American troops on the island of Guam.
As is known, it is on Guam that the most important American bases in this part of the Pacific Ocean are located. Largest of the Mariana Islands, Guam has the status of an unincorporated organized territory of the United States.. The real combat landing of American troops on Guam took place in the distant 1944 year as part of the Guam operation: then the American marines had to liberate the island, captured by the Japanese in 1941 year. after 76 years, a large-scale landing was repeated already in the form of military exercises.
Division for Operations in the Pacific
To participate in the training amphibious operation, units of the 25th division of the US Armed Forces were involved, stationed in Alaska. The paratroopers were to land on the island from C-17 Globemaster III aircraft. Planes with paratroopers on board took off from Elmendorf-Richardson base, what's in Alaska, near Anchorage. It is here that the 4th brigade group of the 25th division is based., who participated in the exercises.
by the way, 25-I am an infantry division of the American army has the unofficial name "Tropical Lightning". Her combat path is inextricably linked with the Pacific Ocean: formed a division in October 1941 years in Hawaii, she first took part in battles during the operation for Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands in January 1943 of the year, and then the division fought in the Philippines, carried out occupation service in Japan, participated in US military operations on the Korean Peninsula, in Vietnam and Cambodia. Separate divisions of the division fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. Currently, the division includes the 1st Mechanized Brigade "Arctic Wolves", 2-th light infantry brigade "Warriors", 3-1st Light Infantry Brigade "Broncos" and 4th Airborne Brigade "Spartan", as well as the Army Aviation Brigade and the 25th Logistics Brigade.
Landing of paratroopers from aircraft
For a training operation in Guam, the division used five C-17 aircraft. Early in the morning 30 June 2020 of the year, the paratroopers disembarked from the aircraft and began to practice actions to liberate the airfield at Andersen Air Force Base. The paratrooper commander, Colonel Christopher Landers of the 4th Airborne Brigade, described the exercise as follows.:
This scenario tested our ability to carry out real-world missions and demonstrated, that we can deploy in the Pacific at any moment.
Military exercises as a show of strength to China
Defense analyst Joseph Trevithick of The Drive highlights the importance of such exercises in countering China's military buildup in the Asia-Pacific region. As is known, China creates artificial islands in the South China Sea, using them as military bases. These actions are causing great concern in other states in the region and the United States..
Worried about the American leadership and China's unchanging stance on Taiwan. Therefore, it was so important for Washington to show its potential enemy, that, if necessary, he can easily transfer not only ships or aircraft, but also airborne military units to the Pacific Ocean, thousands of kilometers from their bases in North America.
American paratroopers are practicing actions to capture an object
Expeditionary warfare is one of the components of the Pentagon's strategy in the Asia-Pacific region. The US military must have the skills to capture strategically important objects at lightning speed, including small aerodromes, military bases and enemy fortifications, as well as build your own fortified structures in the shortest possible time, to gain a foothold on the captured bridgeheads.
Considering, that the deployment of airborne units does not even require the use of US Navy ships, such operations look even more attractive for the US military. Therefore, Joseph Trevithick concludes that, that similar exercises in the Pacific Ocean will be conducted more and more often in the foreseeable future.
This is how the landing of American paratroopers looks like:
