Coast Guard Sector Anchorage moves to JBER

by David Bedard
JBER Public Affairs

2/6/2014 - JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- Coast Guardsmen of U.S. Coast Guard Sector Anchorage made their presence known at the outset of the Jan. 31 ceremony marking their arrival and inclusion at the Alaska Army National Guard Armory.

Attending Soldiers and Airmen knew they were welcoming a new service to the base when Cmdr. Shane Montoya, deputy sector commander and master of ceremonies, asked them to keep their headgear on during the indoor ceremony in keeping with Coast Guard tradition.

Maritime customs continued in the language of the ceremony with phrases like "call to quarters" and "man the rails" denoting the sequence of events.

Though the ceremony signified the sector's move into the armory's G-wing, the speakers said it marked more than a simple address change for the nearly 650 Coast Guardsmen and civilians. The ceremony was the culmination of an idea, years of work, and a drive to further increase cooperation between the Coast Guard and the Alaska National Guard.
Coast Guard Capt. Paul Mehler, sector commander, said the co-location allows closer coordination of search and rescue (SAR) operations across the state with quick deconfliction of marine-based SAR provided by the Coast Guard and terrestrial-based SAR provided by the National Guard.

"With an [area of operations] as vast and logistically challenging as we face, we cannot be successful without strong partnerships," Mehler said. "This addition to the Alaska National Guard building is fitting ... Through hard work and commitment, this building will bring to life an opportunity of unprecedented professional relationships with the best-trained staff to respond whenever the people of Alaska require us."

Lt. Cmdr. Greg Madalena, 17th Coast Guard District real property and planning for facilities, said the need for a new building to replace their 12,000 square-foot downtown Anchorage facility arose from a doubling of the sector's personnel. The sector required 28,000 square feet, which would contain a 4,000 square-foot command center, a small-arms armory and a medical detachment.

Realizing their current lease no longer met their needs, Madalena said the sector started looking for other options. Seeing the need could be met by a wing of the armory, Army National Guard Maj. Gen. Thomas Katkus, Alaska Adjutant General, approached Rear Adm. Thomas Ostebo, 17th Coast Guard District commander, with an offer of space at the National Guard facility.

Madalena said he surveyed the armory and found the standard wing was nearly identical to Coast Guard requirements for the sector.

He said finding the space was the easy part, the difficult part being the navigation of Air Force, National Guard and Coast Guard policies necessary to complete the relocation. The move meant the sector would have to secure a use agreement with the state of Alaska for the office space on Camp Denali, the camp being licensed to the state by the Air Force, custodian of the base.

After receiving approval from the Air Force Real Property Agency and the Pentagon, Madalena said the use agreement was approved by Congress in late 2011.

Ostebo said, despite the long process required to secure the agreement, the effort was worth it.

"The right thing to do is still the right thing to do," the admiral said. "That's what we did in this case here and as a result we have a wonderful new sector.

"We have a sector that can grow with the mission sets of the Coast Guard in Alaska. We have a sector that is inviting for all of our federal partners to work closer together ... We have a sector that will drive down the cost of ownership of the Coast Guard here by millions of dollars in perpetuity."

Katkus echoed Ostebo's sentiments, citing the need for innovative solutions in a fiscally-constrained budget environment.

"You can't do more with less," the general said. "You have to do more with something different, and that's what we did here."

Madalena said, beyond the benefits of interagency cooperation, the relocation is a great benefit to Coast Guardsmen who live on and now work at the base.

"The base infrastructure on JBER is second to none - wonderful housing, great child-development center, dining facilities and a state-of-the-art commissary," he said.

Mehler likened the move to the commissioning of a Coast Guard cutter. Consisting of glass, stone, cement and steel, he said it is the Coast Guardsmen who bring the building and the unit to life.

"Over the coming weeks, our crew will start to man the rails, energize the systems, and hoist the Coast Guard flag," the captain said. "We're honored to have the opportunity to come aboard and turn this amazing new building into a living, breathing sector."