EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska – From within Alaska’s vast Interior, Alaska National Guardsmen defend the homeland from long-range missile attacks and enable global power projection.
Air Force Gen. Steve Nordhaus, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, visited Fort Greely and Eielson Air Force Base this week to meet with the Soldiers and Airmen charged with these missions and to receive in-depth operations updates.
While at Fort Greely—situated about 90 miles southeast of Fairbanks—Nordhaus visited the 49th Missile Defense Battalion, the only military unit that executes ICBM defense using ground-based interceptor, or GBI, missiles. 49th Battalion Soldiers operate and secure the ground-based midcourse defense system as part of America’s ballistic missile defense enterprise under the authority of U.S. Northern Command. Most of the nation’s operational GBIs are emplaced there.
“I highlight your unit and mission with every group I talk to to outline the critical and unique mission sets in the National Guard,” Nordhaus said to a group of 49th Missile Defense Battalion Soldiers. “Defense of the homeland starts right here at Fort Greely. What you do here to protect our nation, and our fellow citizens is commendable.”
The 49th is a subordinate battalion of the 100th Missile Defense Brigade, a multi-component Colorado Army National Guard unit in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The 49th Battalion is manned exclusively by National Guardsmen, earning the unit the unofficial moniker: “the 300 defending 300 million”—an ode to Sparta’s citizen-warriors who fearlessly held off the much larger Persian Army in the Battle at Thermopylae.
Though those numbers no longer fit because the unit has grown, as has the U.S. population, Army Lt. Col. Jorge Lorenzana, the 49th Missile Defense Battalion commander, said the sentiment remains.
“This mission is a cornerstone of everything the National Guard is about,” he said. “These Soldiers up here fully grasp the significance of this mission, and many embrace the Alaska lifestyle and make long-term homes here.”
Because the Missile Defense Complex has expanded to accommodate future capabilities, in 2020, National Guard military police units from the Lower 48 began to rotate through Greely to augment the organic Alaska Guard MP company.
Nordhaus met with many military police who work around the clock to secure the complex in some of the most unique and austere conditions on any Army post. Winter temperatures routinely drop well into the negative degrees.
Because of Alaska’s unique geographic location and the post’s remoteness, the MPs must be prepared to leverage capabilities against complex next-generation threats, including rapid advancements in low-cost enemy air and missile technologies.
Lorenzana said as the mission continues to grow and evolve as threats change, so too, must the unit.
He also emphasized to the CNGB the high state of unit readiness, both in missile defense and site security.
“This is a presidentially directed mission,” he said, “we can’t fail because America is counting on us.”
On Eielson, Nordhaus received updates on the strategic viewpoint from the Air Force’s 354th Fighter Wing leadership. The 354th Wing is the northernmost U.S. fighter wing and is the host wing on Eielson, which also supports the Alaska Air National Guard’s 168th Wing.
The 354th Wing performs battlefield air interdiction and close air support. The base is also equipped with F-35A squadrons for combat readiness in the Northern Hemisphere. Specifically, Eielson is equipped with the 355th Fighter Squadron and the 18th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, which play a key role in air defense and offensive operations.
Airmen of the 168th work closely with Air Force units here to provide prompt and sustained combat and homeland defense capabilities across multiple domains through the combined operations of air refueling, missile warning and space surveillance, which Nordhaus called an impressive display of Total Force Integration.
Nordhaus said Alaska is “the most strategic place on the planet." It straddles the two Department of Defense priority theaters: the homeland and the Indo-Pacific.
“These Guardsmen here are enabling global air power, by fueling fighters and bombers, to help our nation achieve peace through strength,” Nordhaus said.
Tech. Sgt. Tyler Winterton, the 168th Operations Support Squadron KC-135 weapons and tactics NCOIC, said he joined the National Guard because he wanted to serve close to home.
“I’ve learned what the KC-135 mission set is,” he said. “It’s a true weapons system platform that enables global air power anytime, anywhere.”