Task & Purpose report: Alaska Air National Guard may fall short in manpower under new plan

By
SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR
-
12
Pararescuemen from the 212th Rescue Squadron prepare to free fall parachute from a 211th RQS HC-130J Combat King II aircraft over the Lower Susitna Valley near Anchorage, Alaska, Feb. 7, 2023. The Alaska Air National Guard is facing an overhaul of 80 of its active full-time positions that officials say will reduce its ability to perform rescues. Alaska National Guard photo by Dana Rosso.

Under a new manpower plan that will cover the state Guards in all 50 states and 4 territories, Brig. Gen. Brian Kile has explained to Task & Purpose that he may be the commander ends up overseeing the Alaska Air National Guard failing to live up to its commitments. 

Though best known for backcountry civilian rescues, the Alaska ANG’s 2,400 members maintain four separate 24/7 air defense missions under U.S. Northern Command.

An Alaska ANG analysis reviewed by Task & Purpose projects that the reductions — even if replacements are found — would cause the Alaska ANG to fall short as much as 50% across four key 24/7 alert missions that Guardsman currently fill: two alerts of specially trained radar operators that scan the air and space of Alaska’s borders for NORAD; and two flying missing — search and rescue and air-to-air refueling.

The hardest hit would be the Alaska ANG’s KC-135 tanker fleet, Kile said. “You’re talking about a 40 to 45 percent reduction in our ability to fly missions.” For the NORAD radar monitoring missions, he said, ”you look at how many people it takes to go on the floor and what we can provide is about, five days a week, 16 hours a day in coverage.” And the rescue teams, he said, might only have alert crews available during working days, Task & Purpose reports.

Read the entire report at Task & Purpose.

12 COMMENTS

  1. “Manpower”?!

    For shame, Suzanne, for shame!

    Don’t you know that the politically correct term is now “trans and gender-fluid power”?

  2. Not to worry. Before the staffing shortfall develops, the USA will be taken over by the millions flooding over the southern border and elsewhere. There will no actual country to defend. Nobody (on the Left) cares about the territorial integrity of the United States.

    • Thats the whole intended purpose of importing illegal aliens.
      So at a later date they can be used to fill
      all the empty positions in the guard to bring it back up to Biden’s snuff.

      There is a plan in place but we are not privy to the full details yet.(We arent worthy of details)

  3. I didn’t have time to give the article a deep read, just skimmed it. So I may have missed something, but…

    The plan is to cut people, task the remaining with extra responsibilities, and cut services to the people of Alaska?

    • You are right!! The dumb, simple minded governor we have has worked a big problem for this very issue and dumb Dunleavy is the creator of the new commission that will undercut the Department of Military Affairs of Alaska. The new commission only answers to the governor will kill all of the guard management programs necessary to function at a higher level of response. Wake up Alaskans! Your protection is not secure with the governor in the office today. The Guard here is Alaska needs the support and encouragement to maintain its emergency status in peace and war. Wakeup Alaska! Dunleavy has taken this state down a pin rose path and it will be totally difficult to recuperate from if the Alaskans in every community say nothing and do nothing.

      • DK,

        You need to work on your reading comprehension.

        “ Under a new manpower plan that will cover the state Guards in all 50 states and 4 territories”

        This is coming from the federal level, not Dunkeavy. It’s currently happening on the active duty side of the house as well.

        Services are not filling numbers, so they’re “restructuring” and getting rid of job positions they can’t fill.

  4. I’m really curious the why behind this “intriguing” decision. I forwarded the article to a vet I know with good Pentagon connections to get a military perspective.

    • Someone needed another star, so they decided to “restructure” everything. Who cares what the impacts are a cross the country, as long as a general gets their star.

  7. Wasn’t there a bill to grant citizenship to the invaders if they join the service? I’m sure the magic dirt theory will make them loyal patriots to the Anglo Saxon ideals of justice and patriotism. Or maybe our nation will become like wherever they left.

Comments are closed.