Photo By Airman 1st Class Xavier Romero | A U.S. Airman assigned to the 513th Expeditionary Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy...... read more read more
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ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam– The 356th Expeditionary Theater Support Group resumed normal operations for the rehabilitation project of the historic Tinian North Field after damages brought about by Typhoon Sinlaku in Tinian, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, April 28, 2026.
In mid-April 2026, the CNMI and Guam were struck by Sinlaku, a devastating Category 5 typhoon with peak winds reaching 150 miles per hour. It quickly became the second-strongest Pacific typhoon after Super Typhoon Hester in 1953, and the strongest storm on Earth to date for 2026.
“The typhoon displaced several of our members and made two of our potential living options uninhabitable,” said Maj. Alejandro Varela, 356th ETSG Tinian site officer in charge. “We had to adjust our lodging plan to fit our main body in a limited quantity of rooms, and many vehicles sustained damages from the winds, including broken windows, dents and scrapes.”
Across Tinian, the island suffered a total loss of power, water and communication systems. The storm caused heavy damage to housing and other structures, blocked roads, and severed essential services, leaving only one operational gas station on the roughly 39-square-mile island.
During the aftermath of Typhoon Sinlaku, the group began to clear routes, including the primary lifelines in Tinian leading to North Field. These actions ensured the safe passage of relief to civilians and the rapid restoration of mission-essential operations at the airfield.
The group coordinated these recovery efforts with the Tinian Mayor’s Office, the Commonwealth Bureau of Military Affairs and U.S. Navy Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 1 to restore essential services across the island.
“While our mission is to set the theater, we're also part of this community," said Col. Tyrone Manegdeg, 356th ETSG commander. "Strong partnerships in the Indo-Pacific start locally. The people of Tinian and CNMI have been so welcoming to us, and whatever we can do to help them rebuild, our team is all over it.”
Beyond disaster response, the ETSG supports ongoing operations and exercises throughout the Indo-Pacific, including significant airfield renovation and rehabilitation, and infrastructure development in Tinian, Guam, Palau, Japan, Australia, Thailand and the Philippines.
“As Citizen-Airmen, typhoon response and disaster recovery are core to our mission in the Indo-Pacific,” Varela said. “Whether supporting Guam or the CNMI, or neighboring partners across the region, our team trains year-round on specialized equipment to respond quickly when communities need it most. This training allows us to begin route clearance operations through flooded and debris-strewn environments immediately after the storm passes, bringing military precision to seamlessly integrate with local authorities to get our neighbors to safety.”
While operations have resumed at North Field, recovery continues at the unit level. The storm disabled all island utilities, leaving the 356th ETSG without power or running water for about a week with the unit relying on generators for electricity and bottled water for drinking while awaiting the restoration of permanent services.
Despite the austere conditions, the Airmen remain focused on helping the island recover.
“Team Tinian has been volunteering within the community on our days off to help where we can,” Varela said. “We’ve cleaned up beaches, helped local businesses clean up debris so they can re-open, and assisted other agencies, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Red Cross, with setup of their disaster relief capabilities.”
As rebuilding efforts continue across Tinian, the group remains prepared to support the mission, strengthen regional partnerships and respond wherever needed throughout the Indo-Pacific.
| Date Taken: | 04.30.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 05.13.2026 18:34 |
| Story ID: | 565083 |
| Location: | TINIAN, MP |
| Web Views: | 12 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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