Eielson Air Force Base in Fairbanks would lose all but about 100 of the nearly 3,000 military personnel stationed there under a base realignment and closure plan announced today by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
The plans include major shifts and cuts at other Alaska bases as well, with a net loss of another 1,800 military and civilian jobs.
The recommendations include the closure of Kulis Air National Guard Base in Anchorage, although the guard’s rescue functions and aircraft would move across town to Elmendorf Air Force Base.
Elmendorf would lose 1,499 military and 65 civilian jobs under the realignment, but would pick up almost 400 military personnel and 233 civilian positions. Elmendorf is the state's largest military installation, with 6,775 personnel on base in October, according to the Department of Defense. The base would lose 24 of the 42 F-15C and F-15D fighters stationed there, as well as 21 F-15E jets.
Elmendorf has been chosen as home base for the new F/A22 Raptor, and two Raptor squadrons, about 50 jets, are expected to arrive here by the end of the decade, which would largely offset the loss of F-15s.
The effect on Fort Richardson would be comparatively minor. The Army base, next door to Elmendorf, would lose 86 military personnel and 199 civilian jobs, according to the list released this morning by the Defense Department. Those modest losses should be overwhelmed by the expected arrival of about 2,700 soldiers being transferred here this year.
The Army's Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks, which has about 4,500 troops, wouldn't be affected by the plan.
Eielson, outside Fairbanks, would suffer enormous losses, and revert to “warm base” status. That means it would remain open, with a meager Air Force contingent, and be available for training exercises.
As of October, Eielson had 2,950 military personnel on base, according to statistics available on an Air Force Web site. Under Rumsfeld’s proposed closure recommendations, Eielson would lose 2,821 military personnel and 319 civilians positions.
Eielson, 30 miles south of Fairbanks on the Richardson Highway, is home to the 354th Fighter Wing. Pilots from the 18th Fighter Squadron fly F-16 Fighting Falcons, while those in the 355th Fighter Squadron fly the A/OA-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft, a tank-killing, slow-flying jets often referred to as warthogs.
The fighters would be moved off Eielson under realignment, leaving the base with just one flying wing, the 168th air refueling wing, a National Guard unit, Campbell said. The Air National Guard flies KC-135s.
In Washington D.C., Sen. Ted Stevens said he plans to protest the reductions at Eielson to the Base Realignment and Closure commission, which will review Rumsfeld’s recommendations and submit a final closure list to the President in September.
“Alaska has half the coastline in the United States and we have the perimeter that faces Asia and there will be fewer aircraft in Korea,” Stevens said in a written statement. “It doesn’t make sense to me and I intend to go to the Commission and present that case.
“ I think it is wrong to leave our area without fighter protection and it is wrong from a national security point of view because the access to our nation from that part of the world is across Alaska, so it is just not a good decision.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski said the proposed cuts to Eielson “would be a huge blow to that community’s economic and social well being - not just from tax revenue or a local business standpoint, but also the number of families that would be leaving, impacting schools, churches and community services.”
Murkowski noted that the decision is not final.
“The Base Realignment and Closure Commission must still conduct hearings and visit each facility before it submits its recommendations to the President. I am confident that the commission will recognize the strategic importance of Alaska’s bases to our national security,” Murkowski said in a written statement.
Maj. Gen. Craig Campbell, adjutant general of the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, said the closure of Kulis, on the south end of Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, is offset by the movement of its air rescue squadrons and aircraft to Elmendorf, where those important functions will continue.
Campbell also noted that four additional C-130s, probably from a guard base in the Lower 48, will be joining the Kulis aircraft moving to Elmendorf.
“We’re concerned about the move, because Kulis is a very good location and has served us well for 50 years,” he said. “But moving to Elmendorf and getting additional aircraft is also good.”
The huge reductions proposed for Eielson are a different matter, he said.
“That is the one the governor is more concerned about,” Campbell said. “The loss of jobs is going to be very significant to the Fairbanks North Star Borough.”
Gov. Frank Murkowski was flying to Fairbanks for a series of previously planned events, and expected to discuss the Eielson reductions with community leaders there later today.
Rumsfeld has said the latest round of closures -- the fifth since 1988 -- would save the nation almost $50 billion over the next 20 years. The closure list will be reviewed by the independent realignment and closure commission, which will forward its own recommendations to President Bush by Sept. 8.
According to information on the Defense Department’s Web site, the commission must find Rumseld “deviated substantially” from previously announced criteria to reject or change the recommendations.
President Bush will review the recommendations and send them on to Congress, which should approve or reject them before the end of the year.
A spokesman for the Alaskan Command said Lt. Gen. Carrol “Howie” Chandler will discuss the proposed changes this afternoon. Maj. James Law said the command would have no comment until then.
Reporters Don Hunter and Nicole Tsong can be reached at dhunter@adn.com and ntsong@adn.com.
Some material was provided by the Associated Press.
