TINIAN – The Marines pulled off another feat and made history yesterday when they successfully landed a VMGR-152 “Sumos” KC-130J Hercules on Baker Runway on Tinian's North Field.

Since 1947, when the Army Air Corps and the Construction Battalion vacated the island, no aircraft had landed on Baker Runway until yesterday when the Marines witnessed the successful landing and takeoff of the KC-130J Hercules aircraft.

A KC-130J Hercules is a transport aircraft designed for aerial refueling and moving cargo.

For the Marines of Marine Wing Support Squadron-171, Marine Aircraft Group-12, the landing of the Hercules was a validation of their hard work and their commitment to getting their mission accomplished.

Marine Wing Support Squadron 171 commanding officer Lt. Col. Michael C. Taylor celebrated this accomplishment of the Marines on Tinian.

He told Variety yesterday at Baker Runway, “Tinian is a new location. The Marines are excited about it and it has a lot of historical tie-ins as well, so this is very significant. Compared to most other exercises, we're employing the majority of our capabilities here on Tinian during Geiger Fury.”

For Marine Corps Guam, public affairs officer Lt. Col. Aisha Bakkar said “It's the first aircraft to land on Tinian's North Field Baker runway since 1947!”

Bakkar recognized the “tremendous” efforts of Marine Wing Support Squadron-171, Marine Aircraft Group-12 in clearing the runway “of the jungle that over the past 65 years had taken over what was once the largest single airport in the Pacific, and from which the atomic bombs that brought an unconditional end to World War II were launched in 1945.”

Exceeded expectations

Marine Aircraft Group-12 commanding officer Lt. Col. Thomas Frederick told Variety that so far, Operation Geiger Fury has exceeded their expectations.

“Our evaluation, our assessment is right now this is beyond all our expectations,” Frederick said.

For the MAG-12 commander, every mission they set out to do on Tinian turned out very well.

However, Frederick was hoping they could do more on the North Field.

Limited by the heavy equipment they could use on Tinian due to complications with the “lift,” Frederick said: “If we could have brought all our heavy equipment we would have probably gotten to Able Runway. We didn't get much done there.”

But Frederick, more than just rehabilitating the North Field's runway to complete their mission, would like to preserve the area for posterity due to its historical significance.

He told Variety, “From a historical perspective, we would like to have really done some work on the Able Runway to preserve it. The ‘tangan-tangan’ has done a lot of damage to the asphalt."

For Frederick, if they could come back again, they would continue their work on the runway to prevent the “tangan-tangan” from eroding the runway further.

Thrilled

Meanwhile, Tinian Mayor Ramon M. Dela Cruz was as thrilled as the Marines in this accomplishment and continues to look forward to having more military exercises on Tinian. “Since I assumed office in 2010, I have seen the potential of Tinian as far as military exercises.”

Dela Cruz said several military commanders have touted the advantages of staging military exercises on the island.

“Tinian played a pivotal role in ending the war and saving probably millions of lives, both Japanese and American,” he said, adding it can continue to play a significant role.

Dela Cruz congratulated the Marines for what they have accomplished through Operation Geiger Fury. He said, “I am very happy.”

Bare hands

But the successful landing and takeoff at the Baker Runway would not have been possible if not for the concerted efforts of the Marines behind the clearing of the bushes and obstructions on the runway.

Variety learned that the Marines used their bare hands and some handy tools to accomplish their mission.

For Drafting and Survey Marine and Combat Engineer Platoon Sergeant SSgt. Carlos Rodriguez, they have long prepared for the exercise at the North Field. “Each individual Marine has been tasked to accomplish an actual job rather than coming to Tinian unprepared,” Rodriguez said.

Combat engineer Capt. Patrick Junick told Variety, “We cleared all 8,500 feet of the runway. What we are using to land an airplane is 4,100 feet – that allows safety for 300 feet on each side of the runway for the airplane to land.”

He said it took them 14 12-hour days to rehabilitate Baker Runway, with 10 of the 14 days spent on clearing alone.

He said, “It was a lot of hand labor, a lot of hand tools. The Marines out there digging holes, moving concrete, sweating out there, it was a lot of good work, and covered a lot of skills for them to get proficient in their jobs.”

Moreover, Lance Cpl. Jacob Nolan said to have a C-130 land on the Baker Runway “is truly historic.”

He said they celebrated their accomplishment at the runway on Memorial Day.

Junick also said they used cold-patch asphalt that does not need heat to be prepared.

“It could be poured straight out of the bags. It went straight to the holes – we compacted it; it fills the void in the asphalt.”

He said it wasn't a long-term fix, however, but good enough to land a KC-130.

Not yet over

Visiting Lt. Gen. Kenneth J. Glueck Jr., Commanding General, III Marine Expeditionary Force, and Commander, Marine Corps Bases Japan, expressed his elation over the conduct of the exercise on Tinian.

“The exercise isn't over. We're only about one-third of the way through the exercise. There is still a lot of exercise to go,” Glueck said.

He added, “But I think there are some great lessons learned here, not only for the Expeditionary Force, but also for the Air Combat element.”

With all elements in place for Operation Geiger Fury, Glueck said, part of the expeditionary mindset is, “We take everything with us.”

He went on to say that part of being expeditionary “is not only getting there fast, but also having the way behind you to be able to conduct capabilities and bringing your 'sustainments' – that is what we have been doing out here on Guam and Tinian."

He added, “You got today's crisis, you got today's force. You got to act today.”

Operation Geiger Fury that commenced on May 14 has its surge operations wrapping up today, having exceeded all their expectations for the exercise.