Gov. Mike Dunleavy hasn’t been to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta since he visited communities impacted by Typhoon Merbok. On Friday, he flew back into town for much happier reasons.
“It’s a big celebration here, right this week in Cama-i, and I just love coming to Bethel. Love the region, great people. And right now we’re actually reacquainting ourselves with some folks that we met last time we were in the fall, so it’s terrific to be here,” Dunleavy said.
Dunleavy didn’t attend the Cama-i festival. He was in town to promote his senior military advisor, Torrance Saxe. Saxe is the commander of the Alaska National Guard and also heads the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
Dunleavy gave Saxe his official promotion to lieutenant general at the Bethel armory in front of a packed house. Saxe’s family helped pin on his third star alongside honored guest and retired Maj. Robert Hoffman. Hoffman spent 23 years in the Alaska National Guard.
“It’s an honor to be out here. It’s an honor to be in Bethel with all these folks that serve our great state. And it’s a pleasure for me to be able to help move General Saxe to the next level,” Dunleavy said.
After the ceremony, both men emphasized Alaska’s strategic role in national defense.
“Out of all the states in the country, we are the real fort, we’re on the front edge. Yet, our Russians, Chinese, North Koreans, in the Pacific going up the Bering Sea. And so we have to have a strong defense. And both our U.S. military as well as our National Guard and our state defense force are vital to protect Alaska,” Dunleavy said.
That could require a significant increase in troops presently in the region.
“If we had more troops here, they would be here for two reasons,” Saxe said. “Number one, if there was a threat coming to western Alaska, you’d have a force here, then the federal forces could roll in on them should that ever be necessary. But day-to-day, the reason I like to have more troops here is simply for natural disasters.”
Dunleavy also addressed recruiting levels and the goals he has for the Alaska National Guard. as well as for the region.
“We always are looking for great folks in both the Guard and our State Defense Force. We have an appropriation in the Legislature right now to increase our state’s defense force. We saw the great work they’ve done over the years,” Dunleavy said. “It’s a small force right now, a couple of hundred Alaskans, but we hope to get up to a couple thousand here soon so we can help with any type of disaster or emergency along with the Guard. So we’re going to strengthen our Guard, we’re strengthening ourselves, our State Defense Force.”
Dunleavy also addressed regional issues, like the state’s response to the ongoing water crisis in Tuluksak. The village hasn’t had running water in its school or in teacher housing for more than a month.
“We did declare an emergency. We’re gonna, you know, the funding is gonna get out there. This region, as we know, has dealt with a couple emergency years here this fall. We had the remnants of the typhoon, but we will always help our people, whether it’s urban Alaska or rural Alaska, when they’re facing an emergency,” Dunleavy said.
Dunleavy committed to doing what his administration could to get Tuluksak what it needs.
Saxe said that it is challenging to transport materials to remote Alaska.
“We already have the infrastructure. We have these incredible facilities like we have here in Bethel, but there’s nobody here,” Saxe said. “There’s nothing to build. We have an incredible airfield. We have the aircraft. We just need people.”
Recently, the National Guard announced that a UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter will be permanently stationed in Bethel. Saxe listened to community members who recommended that the Black Hawk be fitted with a hoist.
“But it was not my idea. The people here are very knowledgeable about what is needed. It’s not just that you need a helicopter, you need one with a hoist,” Saxe said. “In other words, you have to be able to rescue people. So what we have changed is to make sure that we not only have a helicopter here, but we have one with a hoist.”
Saxe said that the Black Hawk will be ready in time for the thaw and river breakup in case they need to respond to an emergency. He also talked about the return of the commissary flights for the veterans and folks who have these privileges and entitlements to shop at the commissaries instead of traveling to Anchorage. And finally, Saxe talked about the naming of local armories.
“For every big armory in Alaska, we are looking and taking input from the local community,” he said. “If we could name an armory after a given veteran who should be, and we hope to get that input right away.”
