More than 450 military officials, industry leaders, researchers and local, federal, and tribal officials gathered in Fairbanks this week for the sixth Alaska Defense Forum, a three-day program of installation tours, panels and keynote addresses hosted by the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the Fairbanks Economic Development Corporation and the Association of Defense Communities.
Michael J. Borders, the Air Force’s Assistant Secretary for Energy, Installations and Environment, framed the stakes directly.
“The foundation of our infrastructure in the Pacific is built on what happens in Alaska,” he said. “We don’t have a plan B. It’s Alaska.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who delivered the forum’s keynote, told attendees the state needs to move past discussion and start building housing one project at a time.
Murkowski brings direct influence to that conversation as a longtime member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, where she has helped direct federal funding toward military construction in Alaska for years.
Borders also tied infrastructure directly to readiness, arguing a base cannot be resilient without a resilient community around it.
“Resilience starts with resilient communities. Can’t separate the two,” he said. “Communities are at risk and we can’t ignore it.”
Murkowski’s keynote balanced recent progress against work still ahead. She pointed to continued investment across Alaska’s installations and growing defense capabilities in the state, but said “Alaska is not ready yet,” citing gaps in roads, sewers, housing and, especially, power generation. She said every energy option needs to be part of the solution — from natural gas and hydroelectric to advanced nuclear microreactors, including the project planned for Eielson Air Force Base, which was also the subject of a public town hall held during the forum.
The forum’s full agenda reflected how broadly that challenge stretches: sessions on Arctic strategy and homeland defense, science and technology priorities from the Department of War, intergovernmental support agreements between installations and local governments, missile defense opportunities, and the environmental and food-security systems that underpin community resilience across Interior Alaska.
Other featured speakers included the Honorable Joseph Jewell, Assistant Secretary of War for Science and Technology, and the Honorable Tim Dill, Assistant Secretary of War for Manpower and Reserve Affairs.
ADC photo
