The reduction of 2,600 soldiers from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson isn’t expected to begin for more than a year; Alaska officials hope that will be enough time to stop it, or at least mitigate the loss.
Southcentral
On a mission in Australia, JBER soldiers receive news of cuts from family, social media
The Army will be cutting thousands of positions from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, with the majority expected to come from the 4/25th Airborne Brigade. This week hundreds of troops from that unit are in Australia on a training mission. Many of the soldiers heard about the cuts for the first time from family or on social media.
Army to cut 2,600 troops from Anchorage base
Alaska’s U.S. senators got the news Wednesday morning from the Army’s vice chief of staff. Sen. Lisa Murkowski vowed to fight it.
Study: Ocean acidification threatens future of Alaskan shellfish hatcheries
New research paints an unsettling picture of the future of shellfish in coastal Alaska. The effects of ocean acidification are worsening and could mean the end of hatcheries in the next 25 years if costly mitigation efforts aren’t put in place.
Inspector General finds service to veterans lacking at Mat-Su VA clinic
Forty patients assigned to the Mat-Su clinic died in the year ending in mid-2014. The inspector general found eight of those patients did not receive adequate access to care.
Alutiiq Museum named state’s first natural and cultural history repository
The recognition is especially significant because they’re the second nationally accredited tribal museum in the United States.