Naval Base Guam, centered at Apra Harbor on the western coast of Guam in the Mariana Islands, served as the US Navy’s primary mid-Pacific operating base throughout the Cold War. The base was the home port for Submarine Group 7 (Commander Submarines Western Pacific), housed Naval Station Guam for surface vessel support, and was the location of the Ship Repair Facility Guam. The base’s strategic location — approximately 1,500 miles east of the Philippines and 1,500 miles south of Japan — made it the Navy’s primary support hub for western Pacific operations throughout the Vietnam War and Cold War.

Ship Repair Facility Guam

The Ship Repair Facility (SRF) Guam performed voyage repairs and availability work on Pacific Fleet vessels at the Apra Harbor complex:

  • Insulation and pipe work at SRF Guam on Pacific Fleet surface ships and submarines undergoing repair involved asbestos insulation removal and replacement on steam plant components in the same pattern as stateside naval ship repair facilities
  • Submarine tender operations — Submarine Squadron 15 at Apra Harbor used submarine tenders (AS class) to perform at-sea and pier-side maintenance on Pacific Fleet submarines. Tender crews performing submarine engineering plant maintenance worked with asbestos-containing components aboard the submarines being serviced

Submarine Tender Operations

Submarine tenders homeported at Guam — including USS Proteus (AS-19) and USS Holland (AS-32) — provided depot-level maintenance support to the Pacific submarine force. AS class tenders were themselves large steam-powered auxiliaries with extensive asbestos insulation in their own engineering plants, and tender crew who performed submarine maintenance work encountered asbestos aboard the submarines being serviced.

WWII-Era Shore Infrastructure

Naval Base Guam’s shore facilities were substantially constructed during and immediately after World War II — during and following the August 1944 Battle of Guam that liberated the island from Japanese occupation. WWII-era construction at the Guam naval complex used building materials of the era:

  • Barracks and administrative buildings built during WWII and the immediate postwar period used asbestos-containing materials throughout their interior construction
  • Base steam heating and mechanical systems used asbestos-insulated pipe in base utility distribution
  • Industrial facilities in the SRF complex and base industrial areas used asbestos-containing materials in building construction and mechanical systems

NAS Agana (now Guam International Airport) and Andersen Air Force Base at the northern tip of Guam also hosted Navy aviation activities and personnel throughout the Cold War. NAS Agana hangar facilities used asbestos in older building construction in the same pattern as other Pacific military aviation facilities.

VA Claims for Guam Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure at Navy installations. Veterans who served at Naval Base Guam — aboard vessels undergoing SRF repair, on submarine tenders, or in shore commands — and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.