KODIAK — Kodiak and military officials are meeting to help assuage community concerns about military exercises in the Gulf of Alaska.
The Kodiak Daily Mirror reports that Northern Command Liaison Officer to Alaska Command Col. Chris Reifel met with the Kodiak City Council on Tuesday to address Northern Edge, a U.S. Pacific Command exercise in the Gulf of Alaska with participation from all military services and other agency partners.
Reifel’s visit marks the second time military officials have come to Kodiak for outreach this year. The presentations come after exercises in May 2015 were met with protests.
Reifel says the 2017 exercises will be less extensive than they were in 2015, though a July environmental impact statement on the upcoming exercises expanded the parameters of exercises allowed beyond previous studies.
