Project team standing on completed gravel pad with the SIDCO Board Chair. Front row, from left: Sgt. David Arenas, Spc. Jacob Seippel, Sgt. Robert Hooker. Spc. Antonio Crosby, Sgt. Hugo Juarez, 2nd Lt. Zachary Hunter, Robert Boskofsky Sr., Capt. Sarah Plantamura, Sgt. Isaac Alexander, Sgt. Walter Duncan. Second row, from left: Pfc. Jason Ignacio, Spc. Zachery Whitely. (Courtesy photo)
The DOD released its 2024 Arctic Strategy in June of this year, setting out three lines of effort to improve its ability to monitor and respond to new challenges in the Arctic Region: 1) enhance the Joint Force’s Arctic capabilities, 2) engage with our Allies and partners, and 3) exercise presence in the Arctic by training both independently and alongside Allies and partners. The efforts of the 70th BEB, 1/11th Airborne Division Soldiers aligned directly with this second line of effort, where the DOD calls on the military to “engage with…Alaska Native Tribes and communities…in order to strengthen integrated deterrence and increase our shared security.” The Arctic Strategy also calls on the military to “consult and coordinate with Alaska Native Tribes, communities, and Alaska Native Corporations. Further, the DOD will work to incorporate Indigenous Knowledge about the Arctic to inform and improve our ability to effectively operate in the region and to increase our understanding about potential DOD impacts on subsistence culture and ways of life.” Participating in IRT projects in Alaska’s remote Arctic environment is a way for military units to train in the Arctic and build connections with, and learn from, Native communities across the state of Alaska.
The eleven Soldiers that took on the project traveled from Fort Wainwright, AK to the Village of Ouzinkie. The team included heavy equipment operators, project managers, a surveyor, and a mechanic. Over the course of the thirteen days, the team surveyed and cleared the site, hauled 290 dump truck loads of gravel, installed geotextile, and graded and leveled the pad. The internet café that will eventually be built on the site will provide a space for the local Alutiiq dance team to practice, and an area for economic opportunities and wellness classes.
Sgt. David Arenas directing gravel delivery on project site. (Courtesy photo)
Sgt. Isaac Alexander and Spc. Jacob Seippel grading the project site. (Courtesy photo)
Sgt. Robert Hooker repairing the roller. (Courtesy photo)
Sgt. Isaac Alexander installing geotextile. (Courtesy photo)
Pfc. Jason Ignacio discussing survey results with 2nd Lt. Zachary Hunter. (Courtesy photo)
Project team members with the Ouzinkie Alutiiq dance team. (Courtesy photo)
Soldiers learning how to filet halibut, caught fresh off the pier. (Courtesy photo)