ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Air National Guard has postponed plans to demote the status of about 80 members of an Alaska unit that threatens national security and civilian rescue in the nation’s most remote state. This is a dangerous measure.
The Alaska Air National Guard acknowledged the delay in an email to The Associated Press on Friday.
Changes in the Alaska Air National Guard could impact national security and civilian rescue, officials say.
The efforts of state politicians and Alaskans “are helping to eliminate this delay, allowing time for all involved to conduct a more thorough investigation and analysis,” said Alaska National Guard spokesman Alan. Brown writes.
Virginia Air National Guard Headquarters did not respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking comment.
The Air National Guard has delayed personnel changes in Alaska that could threaten national security and civilian rescue missions. (Fox News)
Changes to balance the most lucrative positions among 53 other state and territory units are expected to be completed by October 1.
Alaska has replaced 80 of its highly paid active duty Guard and Reserve officers, who are essentially equivalent to full-time active duty military personnel, to dual-status officers with lower pay, less attractive benefits, and different duties. I was planning on switching to a technical career.
Many said they would quit without accepting the changes, which could result in pay cuts of more than 50%.
Local Guard leaders say they are based in Alaska to meet requirements to perform national security missions not available to other units, such as monitoring ballistic missile launches from countries such as Russia, North Korea and China. argued that a higher classification of personnel was needed.
The Alaska National Guard also said its ability to fly refueling tankers to accompany U.S. and Canadian fighter jets as they intercept Russian bombers approaching Alaska or Canada will be significantly reduced.
The Guard also plays a critical role in conducting civilian search and rescue missions in Alaska, dispatching military helicopters and cargo planes through severe storms when weather prevents air ambulance flights. They are rescuing people from a small Alaska Native village.
Last year, the Guard carried out 159 such missions, including flying from a Russian island to an Alaskan island just two miles away to pick up a pregnant woman with abdominal pain. In one recent rescue, two emergency workers parachuted into an Alaska Native village. It was the quickest way to reach a critically ill woman who was suffering from internal bleeding. The other option involved flying to a village in western Alaska to pick up a pregnant woman whose water had broken and started bleeding, then transporting her to a hospital in Anchorage, more than 400 miles (644 kilometers) away.
Once the staff changes are implemented, guards estimate that the number of rescues will drop to about 50 a year.
Alaska’s downgrade will be delayed until September 30, 2025, according to a joint statement from the state’s congressional delegation, which will consider how the change will affect Alaska businesses and whether it should be made at all. He said he was given more time to do so.
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“It is unacceptable that this uncertainty would burden Alaska Air National Guard members, whom Alaskans rely on in the most dire emergencies, to worry about their jobs, benefits, and ability to provide for their families.” said. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski said in a statement.
“It’s a victory for us to have delayed implementation of the wrong directive, but it shouldn’t have happened like this,” she said.
