DOD lends weight to typhoon recovery in Guam, Northern Marianas

Eleven days after Super Typhoon Bavi screamed through the Northern Marianas and Guam, uprooting trees, smashing roofs and cutting off power and water, the scattered U.S. island territories are still putting themselves back together.

Hundreds of Defense Department personnel are supporting recovery efforts across Guam and the Marianas in Bavi’s wake, according to Joint Task Force-Micronesia.

At the “peak of engagement” for DOD personnel on Tuesday, approximately 1,500 people affiliated with the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy have joined the response, joint task force spokeswoman Army Capt. Christy Hanson told Stars and Stripes by email Thursday.

“The U.S. Military is dedicated to supporting civil and local authorities of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands as we continue recovery efforts in the wake of Super Typhoon Bavi,” she wrote.

Bavi brought 180 mph winds and heavy rain to the region July 6, a second blow to the islands that were still recovering from the effects of Super Typhoon Sinlaku in mid-April.

Rota, a 33-square-mile island north of Guam that took the storm’s brunt, is still without power, according to an update Wednesday from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands’ Joint Information Center. But 98% of its approximately 2,000 residents now have access to water.

Crews continue working to fully restore power, which may take weeks, according to the center.

A representative of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers surveys debris pickup on Guam, July 14, 2026. (Jevan Alves/FEMA)

Guam, home to three major U.S. military bases, fared significantly better than its neighbors, though residents were also without power in the storm’s immediate aftermath. About 99% of the island’s water and power services were restored as of Friday, according to the island’s Joint Information Center.

The Coast Guard cutter Myrtle Hazard assisted with port assessments that reopened Tinian and Rota after the typhoon, according to an email Friday from Lt. Sara Muir, spokeswoman for Coast Guard Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam.

Red Cross personnel are assisting with food, emergency supplies, health services and financial assistance, the organization said in a Thursday update.

DOD service members and civilians, at the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s request, spent the last two weeks helping remove debris, providing sea and air transportation and establishing intermediate staging bases to support further recovery, according to Hanson.

U.S. Navy ships operating in the Pacific are “ready to provide assistance at all times,” she said. 

The aircraft carrier USS George Washington was positioned in the region to provide support. The carrier provided “helicopter assets for operational purposes,” Hanson said. She declined to provide further details.

The task force also has people on the ground to “assist with assessments and coordinate for military personnel and equipment to support the recovery efforts,” she said.

Further DOD personnel and equipment will be mobilized to support additional projects as FEMA identifies them, Hanson added.

The DOD’s role is to “provide rapid, heavy-lift assistance to bridge the gap until civil authorities can take over,” according to Hanson.

“As roads are cleared and essential services come back online, we will slowly transition those responsibilities back to FEMA and local agencies,” she wrote. “Ultimately, the military presence in Guam and the CNMI are here to defend our Pacific Homeland.”