Shoveling snow during arctic survival training at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska.
Concerning the perennial favorite – possible military-base closings – check out this exchange from a May 9 Senate hearing:
Senator Mark Begich, D-Alaska: I can tell you in Fairbanks, Alaska, where Eielson [Air Force Base] is, they hear rumblings all the time. And I want to make sure it’s clear, and this is a great place to do it, to make sure it’s on the record, that it’s very clear how this process works because that’s what was happening last year. So we appreciate that kind of acknowledgement.
John Conger, acting deputy undersecretary of defense for installations: So the question then becomes is what the Air Force proposed a backdoor closure?
Begich: Last year it was.
Conger: The idea that, well, was the base going to be closed or kept as sort of a more empty —
Begich: Yeah, a stripped-down —
Conger: And a stripped-down base is not a closed base.
Begich: Well, I’ll tell you, to a Fairbanks economy it sure to heck is.