The reduction of thousands of troops from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage could be delayed pending a lengthy new report on how the Army’s cuts would affect the ability of its Alaska-based force to protect the country.
Now awaiting presidential approval, the defense authorization bill passed by the U.S. Senate on Wednesday includes an amendment by Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan that would require what’s called an Operation Plan, or OPLAN. The plan would need to describe the military’s strategy — including the manpower and equipment necessary — to defend national security in the Arctic region, Sullivan said in a written statement.
In a written statement, Sen. Sullivan, a lieutenant colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve, pointed to Russia’s military activity in the Arctic as a reason to maintain troop levels in Alaska.
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