MILITARY

At a U.S. Senate committee hearing about the Chinese spy balloon that was shot down off South Carolina, Sen. Lisa Murkowski lashed out at the Biden administration. “As an Alaskan, I am so angry, I want to use other words, but I’m not going to,” said Murkowski, who asked representatives from the Defense Department why the administration waited so long to respond to the threat – and why it did not take action, when the surveillance balloon first entered U.S. waters north of the Aleutian Islands on Jan. 28.

The state of Alaska is preparing to file lawsuits against the federal government over hundreds of contaminated sites that the feds conveyed to Alaska Native corporations. Much of the contamination is on former military installations and dates back to the Cold War or World War II. Sites include a chemical weapons dump in Adak as well as old tank farms all over Alaska and abandoned buildings that contain lead and asbestos. Much of the contamination is on former military installations and dates back to the Cold War or World War II. Sites include a chemical weapons dump in Adak as well as old tank farms all over Alaska and abandoned buildings that contain lead and asbestos. There are 548 sites, and the state filed 548 notices of intent to sue in mid-December.

Unalaska may be one step closer to cleaning up some of the contaminated military sites left over from World War II.Formerly Used Defense Sites — or FUDS — are properties the military used for things like defense or weapons testing. And as anyone who has spent any time in Unalaska surely knows, there are World War II sites all over the island.Rena Flint is the project coordinator for the Amaknak FUDS, which covers 190 thousand acres across Unalaska and Amaknak Islands. And while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has taken strides to clean up some of those places, it’s been a long road, with lots of red tape.

The community of Adak has electricity again after issues at its power plant shut down local operations for nearly a week, according to City Manager Layton Lockett.Two failures in the system forced the nation’s westernmost city to close city offices, the school and the local clinic for six days, and community members were forced to rely on small generators for power, Lockett said.

A decades-long effort to bring geothermal power to Unalaska is finally moving forward. On Thursday, the city signed a 30-year power purchase agreement…

For the first time in two years, the U.S. Army is conducting helicopter training exercises in the Aleutian Islands. The mission is designed to test…

A U.S. Coast Guardsman charged with murdering his shipmate in Unalaska has put off entering a plea. Seaman Ethan Tucker, 21, is facing court-martial for…

Coast Guard Seaman Ethan Tucker's arraignment has been scheduled for Jan. 24, and will be held at Coast Island in Alameda, CA. 21-year-old Tucker is…

The U.S. Coast Guard says a seaman will face a court martial on murder and other charges in the death of a fellow seaman during a night of drinking in…

A U.S. Coast Guardsman accused of murdering his shipmate in Unalaska is set to find out whether he will face court-martial for murder within weeks.A…