National Guard still committed to rural Alaska despite armory closures

A recent story in the ADN, reported by Nome public radio station KNOM, addressed the Alaska National Guard's divestiture of unused armories in Alaska. One of the online commenters raised a follow-up question, along the lines of "If the Alaska National Guard is recruiting in rural Alaska, why are they getting rid of their armories there?"

It's a good question. I'd like to respond by discussing the reasons unused armories need to be divested, and outlining the ways in which we, the Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs, are actively recruiting in rural communities for both the Alaska National Guard (AKNG) and the Alaska State Defense Force (ASDF).

To start with, why do we have so many armories? The modern Alaska National Guard grew out of the Alaska Territorial Guard, a militia that ably served Alaska and the nation during World War II. Following the conclusion of the war, many Alaskans continued their service as soldiers in the AKNG Scout Infantry Group, an organization with members in remote locations who acted as sensors, reporting on what they saw or heard during the Cold War. With this federally recognized "domain awareness" mission, the AKNG established more than 60 "scout armories" across rural Alaska.

But since WWII and the Cold War, the global security environment has changed, and federal funding, organization, training and equipping have been prioritized to defeat emerging threats. As the Air Force and Army restructured forces to meet federal requirements, so did the National Guard. This led to what we see today; as currently comprised, your AKNG (both Army and Air) has approximately 4,000 personnel and is an integral part of the modern joint and multi-component force, serving as an operational force and reserve for our nation.

We, as the AKNG, must station our forces in ways that support our federal and state missions. We want to hold on to facilities where we can afford long-term, meaningful engagement and support a trained corps that provides services, such as emergency management in times of crisis, while simultaneously benefiting the collective training needed to achieve organizational readiness for federal missions. We aim to build robust, self-sustaining detachments in rural hub communities and reach out from there into surrounding areas.

Rather than leave armories vacant, we want to see facilities put to better use. The cost-savings may be nominal (we've already turned off utilities, etc.), but we see great value in both removing potential risks from the state and also putting the facilities into the hands of organizations and communities that can make use of them.

While we're working to best match infrastructure with current mission requirements, we are also working diligently to grow our presence in rural communities. This includes re-energizing recruitment and setting conditions so that we can enlist and retain Guard members in rural Alaska. Additionally, we are striving to expand the Alaska State Defense Force, which is wholly under state control, direction, and funding and has the flexibility to conduct any mission needed by the state. The AKNG and ASDF operate in concert. In fact, a principal mission of the ASDF is to augment the AKNG during emergencies in our state.

Recruiting in remote areas presents challenges, and we are working to meet these challenges. For example, since January 2015 the Alaska Army National Guard (AKARNG) has conducted training and exercises and participated in community events in more than 30 rural Alaska communities. The AKARNG maintains full-time personnel in Bethel, Kodiak, Juneau, Ketchikan, and Nome and has helicopters stationed in Bethel, Nome, and Juneau. From these locations, we extend our recruitment into outlying areas, sending recruiters to schools, career days, and community events. Where possible, we offset costs incurred by our members for training. For example, through the efforts of Rep. Don Young, we secured authority to cover drill pay and travel in 2016-17, resulting in significant improvements in unit and individual readiness.

The ASDF provides a tremendous program to enhance resilience in communities across the state. The ASDF has established Scout detachments in Bethel, Quinahagak, Kwethluk, Kipnuk, Scammon Bay, Utqiagvik and Kodiak. It has conducted community engagement to establish Scout detachments in Nome, Kotzebue, and Kodiak. The ASDF is also poised to help the National Guard recruiting efforts by providing a mentor network to young people potentially interested in the Guard or other branches of military service. All this is occurring even as the ASDF has integrated with the AKNG by sending a hurricane relief communications team to Puerto Rico and partnering with the Canadian Rangers to perform joint exercises.

The Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs is committed to increasing opportunities for military participation for all Alaskans, including in both the AKNG and the ASDF. With integrated and reinforcing efforts, we will grow our presence across Alaska. At the same time, we owe it to Alaskans to get unused armories no longer fitting the federal model in the hands of communities and organizations that can make good use of them.

Maj. Gen. Laurie Hummel is the adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard and the commissioner of the Alaska Department of Military & Veterans' Affairs. She wrote her doctorate on the impact of huge military investment made throughout Alaska during the Cold War era.