Fort Richardson

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.

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.

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.

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.

by Ashton Goodell Tuesday, February 23, 2010 FORT RICHARDSON, Alaska -- Friends and family said goodbye to a fallen soldier Tuesday at Fort Richardson. Sgt. First Class Jason Hickman died last month in Afghanistan from wounds sustained in a crude bomb explosion. The combat engineer trained Afghan police officers along the Afghanistan border.  Hickman was born in Anchorage when his father was stationed at Fort Richardson. He asked to be transferred to Alaska because it felt like coming home.

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.

Six Alaska veterans were finally put to rest at the Fort Richardson National Cemetery Wednesday. An organization called the Missing in America Project has been collecting the unclaimed cremated remains of veterans that have been left in funeral homes -- some for as long as 10 years. Once the deceased are established as veterans, the organization makes sure they are buried with proper honors. Virginia Walker, the director of the Fort Richardson Cemetery, says the project began searching in Anchorage about six months ago and discovered more than 90 unclaimed remains.

by Channel 2 News staff Wednesday, February 24, 2010 FORT RICHARDSON, Alaska -- Another round of 4-25 paratroopers returned home Wednesday. About 300 soldiers were greeted by friends and family at Fort Richardson Wednesday morning. They are the sixth round of paratroopers to return. After a year-long deployment in Afghanistan the soldiers say it feels good to be back at home with family. "It actually feels really good to know that you have someone to come home to, so yeah, I'm pretty excited," said David Martinez.

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.

by Channel 2 News staff Thursday, April 29, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- 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.