Radio Barrigada, formally Communications Site Barrigada and previously Communications Annex Barrigada, [1] refers to two adjacent U.S. military transmitter facilities located in the villages of Barrigada and Mangilao on the western Pacific territory of Guam. The larger facility is Naval Computer and Telecommunications Site (NCTS) Barrigada, operated by Naval Base Guam, [2] located entirely within Barrigada.
To its south, the Barrigada Transmitter Site, operated by Andersen Air Force Base, lies partially within Mangilao. The installation itself is managed by Joint Region Marianas. Radio Barrigada is the counterpart to the telecommunications receiving site Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station Guam, located to the north in Finegayan, Dededo. Located near the high point of Mount Barrigada, Radio Barrigada comprises 1,800 acres (7.3 km2). [1]
It is assumed that the area was inhabited before Spanish contact, as many latte stone sets have been found in the nearby area of Tiyan. During the Spanish-Chamorro Wars of the late seventeenth century, residents were forced into centralized areas as part of the Spanish policy of Reducción. The area was then used for ranching and farming by residents of the centralized villages. Following the U.S. Capture of Guam in 1898, the Naval Government allowed the region to be settled permanently. [3]
During the Japanese occupation of Guam (1941-1945), local residents were forced to labor building the Japanese airfield at Tiyan, which later became Naval Air Station Agana and Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport. After U.S. forces secured the southern island in the Battle of Guam in July 1944, remaining Japanese forces decided to make a stand at Mount Barrigada to delay the U.S. victory as much as possible. The resulting Battle of Barrigada on August 2 and 3 was the fiercest fighting of the latter part of the battle. [3]
After the U.S. victory, the military decided that the location would be used for military facilities, and a military golf course. The Barrigada village center was relocated farther west, where the Navy laid out new streets and plots. [3] The new facilities included Naval Radio Station (Transmitter) (NAVRADSTA (T)) Barrigada. [4] From 1945 to 1946, the Navy operated a shortwave radio communications station NU5Q at Barrigada. More than 200 correspondents accredited to the headquarters of Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet/Pacific Ocean Areas in Nimitz Hill Annex were allowed to file stories through NU5Q. [5]
During the first six weeks of the Battle of Okinawa, over 300 radio programs were relayed from transmitters aboard USS Eldorado through KU5Q to the mainland U.S. Recordings of the surrender of Japan aboard USS Missouri on September 2, 1945 were sent to a Japanese radio station and flown to Guam for broadcast by NU5Q. The Barrigada broadcast, received by an RCA shortwave communications center near San Francisco, was chosen by U.S. networks as clearer and rebroadcast to the public. [6]
As of 2012, 15 acres (0.061 km2) of Radio Barrigada is leased to the Guam Army National Guard for training. [1] The two facilities share boundaries through the Navy's Admiral Nimitz Golf Course. There is no direct road directly connecting the two. NCTS Barrigada is accessed via Guam Highway 16 in Barrigada. The Air Force's Barrigada Transmitter Site is accessed to the south via Guam Highway 15 in Mangilao.
Radio Barrigada is under construction through at least the year 2025, including the installation of new antennas at Building 51 [7] and new ground radio equipment for military command and control. [8]
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, and the most populous village is Dededo. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States, reckoned from the geographic center of the U.S. In Oceania, Guam is the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands and the largest island in Micronesia.
Apra Harbor, also called Port Apra, is a deep-water port on the western side of the United States territory of Guam. It is considered one of the best natural ports in the Pacific Ocean. The harbor is bounded by Cabras Island and the Glass Breakwater to the north and the Orote Peninsula in the south. Naval Base Guam and the Port of Guam are the two major users of the harbor. It is also a popular recreation area for boaters, surfers, scuba divers, and other recreationalists.
The Battle of Guam was the American recapture of the Japanese-held island of Guam, a U.S. territory in the Mariana Islands captured by the Japanese from the United States in the First Battle of Guam in 1941 during the Pacific campaign of World War II. The battle was a critical component of Operation Forager. The recapture of Guam and the broader Mariana and Palau Islands campaign resulted in the destruction of much of Japan's naval air power and allowed the United States to establish large airbases from which it could bomb the Japanese home islands with its new strategic bomber, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress.
KGTF, virtual and VHF digital channel 12, is a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member television station serving the U.S. territory of Guam that is licensed to Hagåtña. The station is owned by the Guam Educational Telecommunications Corporation, an agency of the territorial government. KGTF's studios are located in Mangilao, adjacent to Guam Community College, and its transmitter is located on Mount Barrigada in Barrigada. KGTF currently operates from 6 a.m. to midnight seven days a week.
The Guam Police Department is the law enforcement agency in the United States territory of Guam. The department has jurisdiction across the entire territory, except for areas covered by the port, airport and military bases; the Guam Police Department has authority over military dependents on base, since civilians cannot be charged under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
KSTO, branded as K-Stereo 95.5, is an adult contemporary radio station serving the island of Guam, licensed to Hagåtña. KSTO is owned by Inter-Island Communications.
Nimitz Hill Annex is a community and census-designated place (CDP) in Asan-Maina, Guam. It contains the geographic feature of Nimitz Hill, and is located immediately northeast of the Nimitz Hill CDP in Piti. In normal conversation, the Nimitz Hill CDP and Nimitz Hill Annex CDP are often collectively referred to as "Nimitz Hill."
The Battle of Guam was an engagement during the Pacific War in World War II, and took place from 8 December to 10 December 1941 on Guam in the Mariana Islands between Japan and the United States. The American garrison was defeated by Japanese forces on 10 December, which resulted in an occupation until the Second Battle of Guam in 1944.
Naval Base Guam is a strategic U.S. naval base located on Apra Harbor and occupying the Orote Peninsula. In 2009, it was combined with Andersen Air Force Base to form Joint Region Marianas, which is a Navy-controlled joint base.
The Commander Naval Forces Marianas, also known as COMNAVMARIANAS, is the Navy force shore commander responsible for United States Navy activities in Guam, Saipan, Tinian and the surrounding islands, and is an Rear Admiral. COMNAVMARIANAS is currently a shared position of Commander, Joint Region Marianas.
The Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station (NCTS) Far East is a Navy military unit headquartered in Yokosuka, Japan. The unit consists of nine geographically-dispersed sites in Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Diego Garcia. NCTS Far East's mission is to "operate and defend mission critical, Navy warfighting networks and communications systems necessary for U.S. Naval, Joint, and Coalition Commanders to conduct secure command and control in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) theater of operations."
Guam Highway 8 (GH-8) is one of the primary automobile highways in the United States territory of Guam.
Joint Region Marianas' mission is to provide installation management support to all Department of Defense components and tenants through assigned regional installations on Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands in support of training in the Marianas; to act as the interface between the Department of Defense and the civilian community; to ensure compliance with all environmental laws and regulations, safety procedures, and equal opportunity policy; and perform other functions and tasks as may be assigned.
Barrigada is a village in the United States territory of Guam. A largely residential municipality, its main village is located south of the Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport near the intersections of Routes 8, 10, and 16. The community east of the airport known as Barrigada Heights is considered an affluent neighborhood on the island, where homes have excellent views overlooking much of Guam including the island's airport and hotels along Tumon Bay. Another significant location is Mount Barrigada, nearly 200 meters above sea level. Its location in the center of the island means it houses most of the island's radio masts and towers; the position and height make it easier for radio signals to reach the entire island.
Marine Corps Base (MCB) Camp Blaz is a U.S. Marine Corps facility located in the village of Dededo in northwest Guam.
Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station Guam is a United States Navy communications facility on the U.S. territory of Guam. It is located on the Naval Base Guam North Finegayan Telecommunications Site along Guam Highway 3 in Dededo, on the northwest coast of the island.
US Naval Base Marianas was number of United States Navy bases in the Mariana Islands in the Pacific Ocean's Micronesia. Most were built by the US Navy Seabees, Naval Construction Battalions, during World War II. Naval Base Guam was lost to the Empire of Japan during the Battle of Guam in December 1941. Guam was retaken by United States Armed Forces on July 21, 1944, now also known as Liberation Day. Naval Station Guam was founded on August 7, 1899, after Spain lost the Spanish–American War.