Edwin Andrews Air Base is located in Zamboanga, Philippines. The base operates through Runway 09/27, which has a length of , along with the Zamboanga International Airport and conducts air operations against insurgents like the

Moro Islamic Liberation Front The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF; ) is an Islamist group based in Mindanao, Philippines, which sought an autonomous region of the Moro people from the central government. The group has a presence in the Bangsamoro region of Mindanao, t ...

History

Edwin Andrews Air Base was built by the Spanish George L. Saludo Jr. as San Roque Airfield. The base was later renamed as Moret Field after Paul Moret, a

US Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...

Colonel who died in 1943 because of a plane crash. On March 15, 1945, American forces re-established their units and consecutively improved the base with the help of the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

airfield construction unit together with Filipino forces. The single runway was completed to be used to fight against the remaining Japanese forces in the Philippines and was about 4,500 feet long aligned with the prevalent winds in the area. The base was transferred to the control of the

Philippine Government The government of the Philippines () has three interdependent branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The Philippines is governed as a unitary state under a presidential representative and democratic constitutional repub ...

and became an airport for public use known today as Zamboanga International Airport. On December 6, 1956, a

military airbase An airbase (stylised air base in American English), sometimes referred to as a military airbase, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base, is an aerodrome or airport used as a mi ...

was established in the airport and was renamed Edwin Andrews Air Base in honor of Gen. Edwin Andrews, the first Filipino post-war PAF Commander who lost his life when the 'Lili Marlene', a

C-47 The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II. During the war the C-47 was used for troo ...

transport plane carrying him and 16 others crashed in Mt. Makaturing, Lanao province in

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

on May 18, 1947. In January 2002, US soldiers arrived in the southern

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

on a C-17 transport plane to help prepare for a joint military exercise aimed to fight a Muslim extremist group. US special forces moved from Edwin Andrews Airbase to Camp Basilio Navarro. 160 U.S. troops were sent to

Basilan Basilan, officially the Province of Basilan (; ; ; ), is an island province of the Philippines located primarily in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region. Basilan Island is the largest and northernmost of the major islands of the Sulu Archipelago ...

, and 250 U.S. troops will be stationed in Zamboanga.

Accidents and incidents

* On November 9, 2011, An

OV-10 Bronco The North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco is an American twin-turboprop attack aircraft, light attack and surveillance aircraft, observation aircraft. It was developed in the 1960s as a special aircraft for Counter-insurgency aircraft, counter-ins ...

plane of the Philippine Air Force crash landed at the Edwin Andrews Air Base in Zamboanga City due to a malfunction in one of its engines. * On May 29, 2008, A bomb was detonated near the Gate 1 of the Edwin Andrews Air Base wounded 18 people in the blast, one person was seriously injured, while two were pronounced dead on arrival at a Zamboanga hospital.

References

External links

Official Philippine Air Force Website
{{Zamboanga City Air force installations of the Philippines Military installations established in 1956 Buildings and structures in Zamboanga City

History

Accidents and incidents

See also

References

External links