Air Force announces Aggressors will remain at Eielson

  • Published
  • Alaskan Command Office of Public Affairs
WASHINGTON, D.C. --  Today the Air Force announced the 18th Aggressor Squadron will remain at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, and the size of the remaining base operating support functions will remain unchanged.

The commander of Pacific Air Forces, Gen. Hawk Carlisle, recently submitted the findings of a strategic assessment his staff conducted on the importance of Alaska. This assessment reaffirmed the proven value and contribution to long-range Department of Defense interests supported by Air Force presence in Alaska.

Pacific Air Forces also uncovered additional manpower and cost requirements which were not assessed during the original Site Activation Task Force visits in May of 2012. Acting Secretary of the Air Force Eric Fanning explained that while the Air Force never planned to close Eielson AFB, maintaining the current force structure at the base will make it easier to support the Department's evolving shift to the Pacific strategy.

"Given what we've learned about the strategic rebalance to the Pacific in the last year, the reaffirmation of the importance of Air Force presence in Alaska, and the decrease in expected savings, the Air Force has elected to retain the 18 AGRS at Eielson AFB while we finalize our long-range plans for this region," said Fanning.

The ongoing draft environmental impact statement analysis provided a much clearer picture of the effects this move would have on the installations and surrounding communities.

"During the past year, PACAF determined we would not save as much money as originally expected," said Fanning. "Additionally, looking at the preliminary analysis contained in the environmental impact statement, we were able to get a much better understanding of the potential socio-economic impacts to our bases and the communities."

The Air Force will develop a final version of the environmental impact statement but will not file a final document with the Environmental Protection Agency nor will it issue a final record of decision. Completing the EIS ensures the environmental analysis is available as a baseline for future environmental studies.

The Air Force is also expected to brief its F-35A overseas basing criteria to Congress for the PACAF area of responsibility Oct. 3. Eielson AFB is one of the PACAF bases under consideration as a potential candidate.