Fort Richardson

A memorial ceremony for two Fort Richardson soldiers is being held Tuesday by the 3rd Maneuver Enhancement Brigade. The ceremony is honoring Private First Class William Dawson and Private First Class Jaysine Petree who died last month when their convoy hit an explosive device in Afghanistan. Twenty-year-old Dawson of Tunica, Miss. joined the army in 2009 and arrived at Fort Richardson in February of 2010. Petree was 19-years-old. She was from Guam and arrived at Fort Richardson in January.

Officials on Fort Richardson and Elmendorf Air Force Base have determined the water on both installations is safe for consumption, according to an Army press release. Early Wednesday morning employees at the Doyon Utilities Water Treatment plant on Fort Richardson, which provides water to Elmendorf and Fort Richardson, discovered elevated levels of fluoride in the water. The equipment responsible for causing the high fluoride levels has been removed from service. Fort Richardson's Preventive Medical Group, Elmendorf's Bioenvironmental Engineering Technicians and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation confirm that the water in the distribution system meets all Environmental Protection Agency standards.

Spc. Coty J. Phelps, 20, was killed on May 17, 2007 by a roadside bomb in Iskandariya, Iraq.                                                   Phelps, a native of Lake Havasu City, Ariz., served with 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division based at Fort Richardson.

The Fort Richardson soldier who died in his Eagle River home early Sunday morning has been identified. According to the Army, Sgt. David Gerhart from Dallas, Texas was found unresponsive by his wife late Saturday night. Anchorage police and firefighters performed CPR until declaring him deceased at 12:15 a.m. Gerhart joined the army in August 2005 and arrived at Fort Richardson in February 2006. His cause of death is under investigation.

Pfc. Shawn Patrick Falter, 25, died Jan. 20 in Karbala. The Homer, N.Y., native, was wounded and abducted by insurgents, then executed, according to U.S. military reports. Falter was a member of the 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, based at Fort Richardson.

Staff Sgt. Jamie D. Wilson, 34, died Jan. 22, 2007, from enemy small-arms fire in Fallujah, Iraq. Wilson, a native of Temple, Texas, was assigned to the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division based at Fort Richardson.

Cpl. Ryan D. Collins, 20, was killed on May 19, 2007 by enemy small-arms fire in Baghdad, Iraq.                                                   Collins, a native of Vernon, Texas, served with the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division based at Fort Richardson.

Staff Sgt. Shane R. Becker, 35, was killed by enemy small-arms fire April 3, 2007, in Baghdad.                       Becker, a native of Helena, Mont., was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, based at Fort Richardson.

by Jackie Bartz Saturday, March 6, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Dozens of friends and family members packed a Fort Richardson gym Saturday to give a warm welcome home to more than 200 soldiers returning from Afghanistan. The paratroopers are part of the 3,500-soldier 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team, and have been deployed for the last year. About 2,900 members of the unit have returned over the last few months. Returning soldiers say there's no better feeling than hearing loved ones say, "Welcome home.

Police found a woman and an infant child dead and an adult male severely injured Monday morning in an apartment off of William Jones Circle, near 100th Avenue and Old Seward Highway, according to the Anchorage Police Department. Police said the injured man, a soldier at Fort Richardson assigned to the 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team, was rushed to a local hospital. Investigators confirmed all three sustained gunshot wounds and identified the dead as 19-year-old Raquell Lynch, 8-month-old Kyirsta Lynch.

Hundreds of people turned out for the Memorial Day ceremony at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. More than 1,500 people went to the Fort Richardson National Cemetery to pay their respects for the fallen service members as well as the men and women who are fighting today. The guest speaker was Anita Hanson, the Director of Memorial Programs/Service at the Department of Veterans Affairs. She told the crowd that the fallen died because some things are worth fighting for and some are even worth dying for, and Memorial Day is a time to remember those sacrifices.

After the U.S. Armyestablished a permanent base at Fort Richardson outside Anchorage in 1940, it didn't take long for nearby Chugiak-Eagle River to adopt the backyard base as its own. In fact, from their very beginnings, the base and nearby small towns have enjoyed a special relationship. “It goes way back to pre-statehood, the roots of this community as far as helping provide for the needs of the military,” said Suisie Gorski, president of the Chugiak-Eagle River Chamber of Commerce.

The military's long and important history in the Great Land began at the very moment Alaska became American soil, Oct. 18, 1867. Elements of the Army's 9th Infantry were on hand as the Russian Golden Eagle was lowered and the Stars and Stripes was raised in Sitka, which became headquarters for the U.S. Military District, Alaska. The military has had a presence, even if very small at times, ever since. Charged with maintaining law and order in the new territory, Soldiers helped quell uprisings and built new forts at Wrangell, St. Paul Canal, Kodiak Island and on the Kenai Peninsula.

A semi-truck pulling two trailers northbound on the Glenn highway exit ramp to Fort Richardson rolled over on Tuesday night, according to the Anchorage Police Department. APD said no other vehicles where involved the roll over which happened at 10:05 p.m. Tuesday night and crews were still on scene Wednesday morning. Anchorage Police said commuters trying to access Fort Richardson should use the Arctic Valley way since emergency crews are trying to clean up all the cargo. APD said the driver was okay, but no information about any injuries has been released, and the exact cause of the rollover is now known.

Although there was steady traffic Tuesday at the Elmendorf post office at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson, it's on the list of locations being studied for possible closure by the U.S. Postal Service. A community meeting on the post office's fate was held Tuesday night at Central Middle School from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. The Postal Service's Alaska district manager, Diane Horbuchuk, made a presentation and took input from the post office's customers. Horbuchuk says traffic at the Elmendorf Post Office has been on the decline -- one of the reasons it was targeted in the study -- but she says a decision hasn't been made to close the location.

A memorial ceremony for two Fort Richardson soldiers is being held Tuesday by the 3rd Maneuver Enhancement Brigade. The ceremony is honoring Private First Class William Dawson and Private First Class Jaysine Petree who died last month when their convoy hit an explosive device in Afghanistan. Twenty-year-old Dawson of Tunica, Miss. joined the army in 2009 and arrived at Fort Richardson in February of 2010. Petree was 19-years-old. She was from Guam and arrived at Fort Richardson in January.

The Fort Richardson soldier who died in his Eagle River home early Sunday morning has been identified. According to the Army, Sgt. David Gerhart from Dallas, Texas was found unresponsive by his wife late Saturday night. Anchorage police and firefighters performed CPR until declaring him deceased at 12:15 a.m. Gerhart joined the army in August 2005 and arrived at Fort Richardson in February 2006. His cause of death is under investigation.

Elmendorf Air Force Base and Fort Richardson officially became Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson Friday. The activation ceremony also saw a unit established to support the joint base -- the 673rd Air Base Wing. The merger has been in the works since 2005, when the Department of Defense's Base Realignment and Closure Commission decided Anchorage's military bases would merge. They're just two of 26 installations across the nation BRAC ordered to integrate into 12 joint bases. In JBER's case, the Air Force was selected as the lead agency.

Officials on Fort Richardson and Elmendorf Air Force Base have determined the water on both installations is safe for consumption, according to an Army press release. Early Wednesday morning employees at the Doyon Utilities Water Treatment plant on Fort Richardson, which provides water to Elmendorf and Fort Richardson, discovered elevated levels of fluoride in the water. The equipment responsible for causing the high fluoride levels has been removed from service. Fort Richardson's Preventive Medical Group, Elmendorf's Bioenvironmental Engineering Technicians and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation confirm that the water in the distribution system meets all Environmental Protection Agency standards.

Police found a woman and an infant child dead and an adult male severely injured Monday morning in an apartment off of William Jones Circle, near 100th Avenue and Old Seward Highway, according to the Anchorage Police Department. Police said the injured man, a soldier at Fort Richardson assigned to the 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team, was rushed to a local hospital. Investigators confirmed all three sustained gunshot wounds and identified the dead as 19-year-old Raquell Lynch, 8-month-old Kyirsta Lynch.