Military

Gen. Glen VanHerck, the commander of U.S. Northern Command, said there’s a need for more icebreakers and bolstered radar capabilities in Alaska.

In a yearlong study of almost 900,000 service members who flew on or worked on military aircraft between 1992 and 2017, the Pentagon found that air crew members had an 87% higher rate of melanoma and a 39% higher rate of thyroid cancer.

President Biden awarded the Medal of Honor to retired Col. Paris Davis, one of the first Black Green Berets, almost six decades after the Army lost his original 1965 nomination.

The Japanese weapons, called fu-gos, were mostly benign and had no real impact on the outcome of the war.

U.S. fighter jets were scrambled Tuesday to intercept Russian warplanes flying near Alaska’s coast for the second consecutive day, military officials said Thursday.

NORAD officials described the intercept as routine and professional.

In the hours after an unidentified object was shot down off Alaska’s Arctic coast, some Alaskans saw flights canceled while state leaders said the incident underlined the state’s strategic position.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski and her colleagues asked why the balloon was able to fly over Alaska without the military shooting it down. Defense officials said its flight path didn’t bring it near sensitive infrastructure in the state.

Air Force Gen. Glen VanHerck told reporters Monday that he could not take immediate action because the balloon was “not demonstrating hostile act or hostile intent.”

One Fort Wainwright soldier was flown to a hospital and another was taken by ambulance after the crash, which remains under investigation by military officials.

The balloon, shot down Saturday off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday, entered U.S. Air Defense Zone off the Aleutians on Jan. 28 and moved over Canada two days later, according to the Defense Department.

The facility will house an indoor track and AstroTurf field where soldiers can train and build community during winter months.

The compromise bill, which awaits a vote in the House of Representatives and Senate, includes a cost share arrangement to cover more expenses for the Port of Nome and pay boosts for military personnel in Alaska.

Proposals to purchase the Aiviq icebreaker from Edison Chouest Offshore have been made since 2015. But the Coast Guard has repeatedly rejected the idea, stating the vessel was “not suitable for military service without substantial refit.”

The B-21 Raider is the first new American bomber aircraft in more than 30 years. Almost every aspect of the program is classified.

After a pandemic hiatus, the annual tradition spreading festive cheer around the state traveled up to the North Slope with presents, ice cream and trombones.

Starlink was successfully tested on a moving ground vehicle in Alaska, and an equally difficult demonstration on an airborne U.S. aircraft will occur in the spring, a military spokesman said.

Native veterans from around the U.S. gathered to commemorate a new memorial at the National Museum of the American Indian.

“What they have done allows me, allows you, allows us to do what we do today,” said Major Gen. Torrence Saxe.

There are number of major events in the area, including a ceremony at JBER.

According to Defense Department data, suicides among active-duty service members increased by more than 40% between 2015 and 2020. In longtime suicide hotspot postings such as Alaska, the rate has doubled.

An Alaska-based aviation technician who was expelled from the academy for becoming a father will get his degree as part of a legal settlement, his attorneys said Thursday.

Three Chinese ships and four Russian vessels, including a destroyer, were spotted in a single formation last week, the Coast Guard said.