Arctic Eagle will be sweeping in soon

Arctic Eagle will be sweeping in soon

 

By Peter Loewi

The Alaska National Guard will be hosting a large exercise in Nome from February 24, 2022 to March 6. As previously reported in the Nugget, the mission is to conduct full-spectrum operations and special operations within an Arctic environment to synchronize a unified civil and military capability to respond to threat/attacks from a peer adversary.”

All the details still havent been finalized, but heres what we know as of February 22:

Major Chelsea Aspelund, a public affairs officer in the Alaska National Guard, said that participants will start arriving in Nome on February 24. They will be arriving on C-17 and C-130 aircraft from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage. Residents can expect one or two C-130s. traveling in and out of Nome each day.”

The majority of personnel will arrive between February 24 and 26 with others coming and going through the duration of the exercise. All participants will depart Nome on or before March 6.

From February 25 until March 7, the gym at the Nome Rec Center will be closed to the public as the facility will house exercise participants. The weight room will still be open, but the sauna remains closed due to COVID safety. Participants will also be housed at NACTEC.

Not all participants are with the military, Major Aspelund explained. Exercise Arctic Eagle-Patriot is a multi-agency exercise that includes civilian and military personnel working together to share best practices and to increase their ability to work together in the event of a natural or other major disaster to the region.”

The exercise itself will take place around the Army Aviation Operations Facility, the National Guard Armory, Norton Sound Regional Hospital, Nome Public Safety Building and the Nome Port.

Movement of military vehicles has been timed to avoid causing road congestion or delaying routine traffic. Military personnel will be moving around town in rental vehicles, on snowshoes, snow machines and in Small Unit Support Vehicles (SUSVs.)

There is a burger burn” recruiting event planned for February 27 and 28 at the National Guard Armory.

During the Strait Science presentation on January 13, the National Guard said that there would be TedTalks” for community members to engage with participants. These will be held on the Recreation Center basketball court at 6 p.m.: on Feb. 27, Public Affairs and Media Relations, given by Maj. Chelsea Aspelund; on March 1, Aeromedical Evacuation Liaison Team and Air Force Communications, given by Maj. Clark and on March 3, Engineering and Test of Critical Equipment, given by Mr. Mike Sedillo.

The Nugget asked repeatedly for vaccination rates, as President Joe Biden and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin have ordered all military personnel to be vaccinated but was told: We do not have an official percentage.” Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy joined Texas Governor Greg Abbott in suing the President and Pentagon officials over the mandate. The State of Alaska lags behind the national average in vaccination rates and the National Guard lags behind Department of Defense averages, too. Major Aspelund said that all participants will be tested before traveling to Nome, and anyone who tests positive will not travel.

A Town Hall meeting is scheduled for exercise leadership to talk with community members for Thursday, Feb. 24.

 

 

The Nome Nugget

PO Box 610
Nome, Alaska 99762
USA

Phone: (907) 443-5235
Fax: (907) 443-5112

www.nomenugget.net

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