USAF engineers used the recent Alaska Shield/Northern Edge to practice their airfield set-up capabilities by constructing lighting on a rural airstrip in Red Devil, Alaska, 250 air miles west of Anchorage. Going by air is the only way to reach Red Devil. Last week, airmen from the 611th Civil Engineer Squadron at Elmendorf Air Force Base installed a portable runway lighting system, making it possible to use the airstrip at night. Why portable? An in-ground system would be destroyed by sheet ice in the harsh Alaskan winter.
U.S. Northern Command plans to sign an agreement with its European and Pacific counterparts to enhance coordination and close security seams in the Arctic, a strategically vital region that spans all three commands. The agreement comes at an important moment in NORTHCOM's evolution, as its mission grows more complex.
