Anchorage Daily News

Fort Rich soldier killed in Afghanistan

A 25-year-old Fort Richardson soldier from West Virginia, Spc. Julian Berisford, was killed in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday when his platoon came under fire while on patrol.

Fallen Soldier profile: Spc. Julian Berisford

"It's like our heart has been torn out" (Wheeling, W. Va., News-Register)

Details emerge about Fort Hood suspect's background

WASHINGTON - He was by turns caring and contentious, a man quick to say "I am blessed" in casual greeting yet one who seemed to stew in discontent that he could not always keep to himself.

Obama to stop in Anchorage next week on his way to Asia

President Obama will make his first-ever visit to Alaska next week, on Veterans Day, at the start of a 10-day journey to Japan, China, South Korea and Singapore.

Fatal Fort Hood shooting last year involved Eagle River man

The deadly shooting at Fort Hood on Thursday that left 12 dead and 31 injured was the second burst of violence in just over a year involving soldiers at the post. The first one involved a gunman from Alaska.

Investigators seek motive for base massacre

Photos: Tragedy at Fort Hood

Alaska Army posts remain open after Texas shootings

An Army official says forts Richardson and Wainwright remain open following the mass shootings at Fort Hood in Texas.

Airmen from Eielson use a stun gun on driver, 81

Airmen from Eielson Air Force Base security forces used a Taser on an 81-year-old driver they say became belligerent after they gave him a ticket for going 11 mph over the speed limit on the Richardson Highway.

Veterans caught in dispute over medicines

Military veterans living in the state-run Alaska Pioneer Homes are losing out on free or low-cost prescription benefits they are entitled to for serving their country because two medical bureaucracies can't seem to figure out how to get VA drugs to them.

Former Coast Guard commander charged with indecent acts

A Coast Guard captain removed from his Alaska position this year was charged Tuesday with a string of sexual and other offenses, including adultery, downloading sexually explicit material on his computer and sending lewd photographs of himself to a woman.

Anchorage Coast Guard commander removed

PHOTOS: RECENT MILITARY MEMORIALS

Anchorage Marine receives military honors

The U.S. Marine Corps performs plane-side military honors Monday for Cpl. Gregory M.W. Fleury, 23, as his body arrives at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. Cpl. Fleury, a Service High graduate, was one of four Marines who died in a helicopter collision in Afghanistan Oct. 26.

Photos: Fort Rich soldiers in Afghanistan

Fallen soldiers gallery

More military news

March may see decision on Wainwright helicopter brigade

The Army is expected to decide in March whether to permanently base a helicopter brigade at Fort Wainwright.

NMFS looks into Navy's Guam sonar training

Federal regulators are evaluating rules allowing the Navy to practice using sonar in waters around Guam and nearby Pacific islands so long as sailors take steps to protect whales and other marine mammals.

Anchorage Marine dies in Afghan helicopter crash

A Marine from Anchorage and three others, all in the final weeks of their deployment, died Monday in the Afghanistan province of Helmand when two helicopters collided before sunrise.

Fallen soldiers gallery

Military reduces caretaker staff at facility

The U.S. Air Force is cutting back its contract staff at its King Salmon facility, officials announced on Tuesday.

Air Force to downsize staff at closed King Salmon base

The Air Force is planning to save several million dollars a year by cutting the contract staff at its small King Salmon facility, now used only for training, officials announced today.

Fairbanks may be permanent home for Army chopper brigade

The Army is expected to decide in March whether to permanently base the 16th Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Wainwright. The 1,400 soldiers and more than 60 helicopters have been temporarily based at the fort since 2005.

Interior soldiers learning to adjust after Iraq

This is the new face of the Army after a deployment, a reintegration process that focuses on the family, the mind and the soul just as much as the toll combat can take on the body.

Alaska lawmakers pitch Eielson as F-35 base

Alaska's congressional delegation has asked the Air Force to station the new F-35 fighter at Eielson Air Force Base.

Alaska-based troops make a difference in Afghanistan

Alaska-based paratroopers are making considerable progress in counter-insurgency efforts aimed at protecting civilians in Afghanistan and developing the local economy, their commander says.

Fort Richardson and Elmendorf to merge into 1 base next year

Anchorage's Fort Richardson and Elmendorf Air Force Base will become a single installation next year as part of an effort by the U.S. military to cut costs and become more efficient.

Palins welcome troops, and son, back from Iraq

Former Gov. Sarah Palin, in a rare public appearance since she left office, attended a ceremony Thursday in Fairbanks to welcome home the 1st Stryker Brigade after a yearlong deployment in Iraq. Palin's son Track is in the brigade.

Fort Wainwright fire displaces eight families

A fire at a Fort Wainwright housing unit damaged four apartments and displaced eight families.