National Guard delays Alaska staffing changes that threatened national security, civilian rescues

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The Air National Guard has delayed its program to downgrade the presumption of astir 80 members of its Alaska unit, a determination that would person threatened nationalist information and civilian rescues successful the nation’s astir distant state.

The Alaska Air National Guard confirmed the hold successful an email to The Associated Press connected Friday.

Efforts by the state’s politicians and Alaskans “have been instrumental successful getting this hold which volition let everyone progressive the clip to behaviour much thorough probe and analysis,” wrote Alan Brown, an Alaska defender spokesperson.

The Air National Guard office successful Virginia did not respond to emails from the AP seeking comment.

The changes to equilibrium top-earning positions among the different 53 authorities and territorial units volition inactive beryllium completed by Oct. 1.

Alaska was slated to person 80 of the highly paid Active Guard and Reserve members — who are fundamentally the equivalent of full-time active-duty subject — to dual presumption tech positions, a classification with little wages, little appealing benefits and antithetic duties.

Many accidental they volition discontinue alternatively than judge the changes, which could see seeing their wage chopped by much than 50%.

Local defender leaders argued Alaska needed the unit successful the higher classification to fulfill its requirements to behaviour nationalist information missions that different units don’t have, specified arsenic monitoring for ballistic rocket launches from nations specified arsenic Russia, North Korea and China.

The Alaska defender besides said its quality to alert refueling tankers to travel U.S. and Canadian combatant jets erstwhile they intercept Russian bombers that travel adjacent to Alaska oregon Canada would beryllium greatly curtailed.

The defender besides plays a captious relation successful conducting civilian search-and-rescue missions successful Alaska, sending subject helicopters and cargo planes done convulsive storms to rescue radical from tiny Alaska Native villages erstwhile upwind prevents aerial ambulances from flying.

Last year, the defender conducted 159 specified missions, including flying to an Alaska land conscionable 2 miles from a Russian land to prime up a large pistillate with abdominal pains. In 1 caller rescue, 2 paramedics parachuted into an Alaska Native colony due to the fact that that was the fastest mode to scope a critically sick pistillate with interior bleeding. Another progressive flying to a occidental Alaska colony to prime up a large pistillate who began bleeding erstwhile her h2o broke and delivering her to a infirmary successful Anchorage, much than 400 miles (644 kilometers) away.

If the unit conversions went through, the defender estimated the fig of rescues would driblet to astir 50 a year.

The downgrades successful Alaska person been delayed until Sept. 30, 2025, giving the work much clip to survey however the changes would impact its Alaska operations and if the changes should beryllium made astatine all, according to a associated connection from the state's legislature delegation.

“The strain this uncertainty enactment connected Alaska Air National Guard members –- who Alaskans beryllium connected successful the astir dire of emergencies –- for them to interest astir their jobs, their benefits, their quality to supply for their families, is unacceptable,” U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican, said successful the statement.

“Delaying the implementation of the misguided directives is simply a triumph -– but it should ne'er person travel to this,” she said.