Dan Sullivan Presses Pentagon Officials On Reopening Of Adak Military Base In Aleutian Islands

Forbes Breaking News

During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing last week, Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) spoke to Pentagon officials about the strategic importance of Adak in the Aleutian Islands.

Transcript

00:00Thank you, Mr. Chairman, gentlemen. Admiral General, I want to first begin by thanking you for your decades of service, both of you.

00:07You both do a great job, and I think sometimes we don't always say that. Same with your staffs.

00:15I have shown this chart to many, many, many folks here in the last few months.

00:22This is the action that's happening in the North Pacific, Admiral, as you know, up in the Arctic.

00:27Very, very aggressive Russian-Chinese actions into our ADES, into our EEZ, and the unprecedented element of this is the Joint Task Force nature.

00:39Russian-Chinese Joint Strategic Bomber Task Forces last summer in our ADES.

00:46Every summer now, last three years, we have Joint Russian-Chinese Naval Task Forces in our EEZ.

00:52Very aggressive, pushing out, you know, Alaska fishermen from their grounds.

00:56So we need more. Everybody's testified. We need more infrastructure up there.

01:03Admiral, you, in a classified hearing, said we need to reopen this very strategic port, Navy base, ADAC.

01:10By the way, I did a little geography test. It's over 1,000 miles west of Hawaii.

01:17Most people have no clue about that. It's also the gateway to the Arctic.

01:21The NORTHCOM commander has testified we need to reopen ADAC.

01:24The CNO has testified. Why do you think ADAC is so important, Admiral?

01:31Senator, it is a further western point which would enable, and along with Ericsson,

01:40in order to gain time and distance on any force capability that's looking to penetrate.

01:46Russia's Pacific Fleet in Russia frequently takes that great circle route through Alaska.

01:54And it would enable up to 10x the maritime patrol reconnaissance aircraft coverage

02:02of that key and increasingly effective, or increasingly contested space.

02:09So you testified in a classified hearing. You think that we should reopen that,

02:13just now that we're in an unclass hearing. You want to say that in an unclass setting, too?

02:18We should reopen ADAC, and we should enhance the ability to operate out of Ericsson.

02:24So, thank you on that. It has three piers, two 8,000-foot runways, a big hangar,

02:3122 million gallons of fuel storage, one of the biggest fuel storage depots anywhere on the planet Earth.

02:37The CNO just sent a team up there, Navy, State of Alaska, the Aleut Corporation,

02:45and the NORTHCOM commander just reached out to me two days ago saying they're going to have a final report

02:51completed in the next two weeks on a low, medium, to high reopening scenario.

02:58Can you work, commit to this committee to work with the NORTHCOM commander

03:01to get that report out in the next two weeks?

03:05I commit.

03:06And then you also have plans with regard to Northern Edge,

03:10in terms of that really important exercise, using ADAC.

03:14Can you talk a little bit about that to the extent you can in an unclassified setting?

03:18United States Air Force's concept of agile combat employment

03:21is the means by which we achieve more dynamism among the force.

03:26And so, the 11th Air Force is based in Alaska.

03:30That is an assigned force to United States Indo-PACOM.

03:3311th Air Force with over 100 fifth-generation fighters up there.

03:36The preponderance of Indo-PACOM's fifth-generation fighters is in Alaska.

03:42And so, we will be exercising the agile combat employment concept in this summer's Northern Edge exercise.

03:52And ADAC's going to be part of that?

03:54They shall, they will operate out of ADAC.

03:57Great.

03:58Let me mention one thing, you know, when the president, after his election,

04:03he actually put a statement out saying,

04:04we will ensure Alaska gets increased defense investments as we fully rebuild our military,

04:12especially as Russia and China are making menacing moves in the North Pacific.

04:19So, that's a quote from the Commander-in-Chief.

04:22I know I've raised this with you, but it's a little bit of an issue,

04:24and just in terms of the urgency.

04:27As I mentioned, the state of Alaska, the Aleut Corporation,

04:30that is the great Alaska native corporation that owns the land there,

04:33in the U.S. Navy, we're in ADAC.

04:35A couple weeks ago, doing a site assessment.

04:38They're going to get that to us soon.

04:39The Aleut Corporation, I've talked to them.

04:41These are great patriotic Americans.

04:43Alaska natives serve at higher rates in the military than any other ethnic group in the country.

04:48They would love to do a deal with the Navy,

04:5199-year lease or something like that.

04:53But you know who checks in with them once a year, Admiral,

04:58on ADAC, about leasing ADAC?

05:00I would guess it's not a friendly power.

05:04It's not.

05:05It's a Chinese shipping company that is certainly, in my view, a front company for the PLA.

05:10So, how embarrassing would it be to the Pentagon or the Navy?

05:15These guys would never do it.

05:16The Aleut Corporation is all patriotic.

05:18But if some, let's assume they weren't,

05:20and somehow they signed a 100-year lease with a, quote,

05:24Chinese shipping company that always is out there looking at ADAC,

05:27you think that would be embarrassing for the U.S. Navy and Pentagon?

05:31On substance, I think it would be bad,

05:33because this is the modus operandi in the Belt and Road Initiative.

05:37Imagine having the Belt and Road Initiative include Alaska.

05:41One of the most strategic ports in the world.

05:43Amen.

05:43So, we have a sense of urgency on this,

05:45and I look forward to working with you and the committee, Mr. Chairman,

05:49on this important issue.

05:52I sense a sense of urgency.

05:56Yes.

Category

Transcript

Recommended