Guam - Andersen Air Force Base commander Colonel Randy Kaufman has taken steps to minimize the Air Force's impact on the local community. He's responding to concerns from the community to mitigate noise from base operations.

He states he analyzed the flight operations and instituted several measures including working with the local Federal Aviation Administration to develop procedures to recover aircraft to the base northern runway and avoid flying over off base areas to the maximum extent possible. He also instructed their aircraft not to fly over populated areas during 10 in the evening to 6 in the morning, and told pilots to avoid use of afterburn while over the island unless required for a safe recovery.

The commander also states he is working with the FAA to design a tactical fighter recovery option that will bring aircraft to the base at higher altitudes. Andersen plays host to several exercises annually such as cope north and valiant shield bringing in hundreds of troops at a time.