The Army has activated an air defense artillery battalion on Guam to protect the strategic island against an increasingly sophisticated air and missile threat from China and North Korea.
The Army had been rotating air defense troops to Guam for more than a decade as Task Force Talon. Its troops operated the Terminal High Altitude Defense system, designed to intercept ballistic missiles during the later stages of flight.
Task Force Talon’s THAAD mission included protecting Guam and supporting regional defense operations.
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The newly activated 3rd Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment is taking over the mission. The battalion will be located at Andersen Air Force Base on Guam.
“The transition from a task force to a battalion cements the [Department of Defense’s] commitment toward permanent air defense capabilities in the Indo-Pacific,” Army officials said in a statement last week.
Lt. Col. Joshua Urness, the new unit’s battalion commander, said his soldiers developed new procedures and relationships needed to connect the sensors, command and control elements, and the launchers to create a “unified defensive architecture.”
“This battalion helped transform an ambitious concept toward operational capabilities,” he said in a statement. “It’s only fitting that 3-43 ADA now stands up the Army’s contribution to the strategic Guam Defense System.”
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