Guam Update: Support From Yokota and HQ Helps Exchange Recover Quickly After Typhoon Mawar
On May 24, Typhoon Mawar struck Guam. Within a day after the storm passed, Guam General Manager George McNamara and his team had reopened retail stores to serve the Andersen Air Force Base community.
A little more than a month later, McNamara said, “It’s actually remarkably better than we expected it to be at this point.”
“The last storm similar to this was in 2002. The storm was strong enough that it knocked power and water out on the island for almost five months.” McNamara said. “Right now, a month after the storm, 80% of the island has power and water restored.”
Although some Exchange concession businesses remained closed for a few days after the storm, McNamara said that all retail, food and concession operations were up and running within a week.
“We were right back in the mix,” McNamara said. “All the directorates at headquarters were great partners and gave us the support to get us filled up quickly in certain categories, including HBC, cleaning supplies, hardware and products that customers rushed in to buy not just before the storm, but right after the storm.”
Hiroshi Tokuyama, a Japan Distribution Center associate, loads frozen products onto a truck at Yokota Air Base, Japan. The Yokota Exchange and the DC worked with the 374th Airlift Wing and the 730th Air Mobility Squadron to airlift food supplies to Guam as part of relief efforts following Typhoon Mawar, the strongest typhoon to hit the territory since 2002, according to the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Samantha White)
Guam also received major Pacific Region support from the Yokota Air Base Exchange, nearly 1,600 miles away on mainland Japan.
“In the aftermath of the typhoon, Guam didn’t have any frozen food or chill product, so we wanted to rush them some supplies,” said Yokota General Manager Andrew Defelice. “I called the 374th Airlift Wing and asked for their support in getting a plane to go down to Guam. We were able to get supplies to them quickly.”
After coordinating with the 374th, Defelice and Pacific Region leadership contacted the Japan Distribution Center, which is at Yokota. Working with the 374th Wing and the 730th Air Mobility Squadron, an Air Mobility Command unit at Yokota, the DC put together two inventory shipments for Andersen. These were substantial shipments: more than 36,000 pounds of frozen foods and refrigerated items, which were delivered to Andersen on June 3.
“As soon as we got the call, my team immediately got to work,” Russel Bundy, Japan Distribution Center manager, told Yokota AB’s news service. “We packed and staged 37 pallets worth of merchandise in just under three hours to ensure the service members and families affected by the disaster have what they need to recover.”
McNamara said the delivery was key to the Guam Exchange’s recovery from the storm.
“It helped restock our depleted retail and direct food operations that had spoiled during the storm,” McNamara said. “It was huge. They provided a tremendous degree of support.”
The Exchange’s commitment to keeping military communities prepared for severe weather, especially during hurricane season, helped Guam prepare for a typhoon that quickly developed into a storm that was worse than was initially expected.
“It came in with such intensity and built up so quickly,” McNamara said. “We didn’t expect it to hit us nearly as hard as it did. It was just a tropical storm about four days out, and within 24 to 36 hours, it jumped up to a category 4 typhoon aimed right at the island. Having the partnership and support from Yokota and all the different directorates really made getting back to normal much easier.”
This story includes material from the Yokota Air Base Public Affairs Office.
