Condition active, as of 2014 Phone +63 62 993 4067 Airport type Military air base | ||
 | ||
In use December 6, 1956-present Garrison Tactical Operations Group 93rd Air Division206th Tactical Helicopter Squadron25th Composite Attack Squadron4223rd Supply Distribution Squadron1306th Dental Dispensary | ||
Edwin andrews air base
Edwin Andrews Air Base (IATA: ZAM, ICAO: RPMZ) is located in Zamboanga, Philippines. The base operates through Runway 09/27, which has a length of 2,611 m (8,566 ft), along with the Zamboanga International Airport and conducts air operations against insurgents like the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
Contents
Boot jack edwin andrews air base
History
Edwin Andrews Air Base was built by the Spanish Alegre C. Ledesma as San Roque Airfield. The base was later renamed as Moret Field after Paul Moret, a US Marine 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 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 and became an airport for public use known today as Zamboanga International Airport. On December 6, 1956, a military airbase 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 transport plane carrying him and 16 others crashed in Mt. Makaturing, Lanao province in Mindanao on May 18, 1947.
In January 2002, US soldiers arrived in the southern Philippines 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, and 250 U.S. troops will be stationed in Zamboanga.
In September 9, 2013, a faction of the Moro National Liberation Front led by Nur Misuari attempted to raise its flag at the Zamboanga City Hall leading to a 20-day siege called the Zamboanga City crisis in the city of Zamboanga.