Vice President J.D. Vance visits Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska- Along the mountainous landscape of Alaska, 84,000 acres of rugged mountain terrain and extreme environment mold some of the Department of War’s most resilient arctic warriors.
This strategic readiness across the joint force was on display when Vice President JD Vance visited Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on Oct. 5 and 6. During his visit, he interacted with JBER’s Alaska-tough warriors and reviewed joint capabilities for the base, which sits at a strategic intersection of the U.S. Northern Command and U.S. Pacific Command areas of operation.
Lt Col Diana Wolczek-Huerta, Director of Operations for the 673d Surgical Operations Squadron, organized the vice president’s reception at JBER. She worked with partners from across the base in every career field, including security forces, airfield management, logistics, hospitality and many more.
“We are always excited to highlight JBER’s unique mission set and arctic capabilities, and it was especially gratifying to showcase our ready force to the vice president,” said Wolczek-Huerta. “Pulling the visit together required a massive, seamless effort from our joint partners, demonstrating the exact synergy that makes this base so effective. The absolute highlight was watching our junior enlisted Airmen, Soldiers and civilian teammates directly brief leadership at the highest level, proving our success starts from the ground up.”
During his troop engagement, Vance met with Airmen and Soldiers assigned to the 673d Air Base Wing, 3rd and 176th Wings, and the 11th Airborne Division. As a joint installation, JBER is unique in how it employs the Total Force Integration construct. While the 3rd Wing has pilots and Airmen who fly and maintain the C-17 Globemaster III, the 176th Wing owns the aircraft. Meanwhile, the 673d serves as the host wing, providing the critical infrastructure, medical care and base defense that supports all of its host nation and tenant warfighting missions. Finally, the 11th Airborne is the Army’s only Arctic airborne division, specialized in rapid deployment, extreme cold-weather operations and high-altitude combat.
As part of the engagement with troops, Vance had a chance to see an F-22 Raptor and a C-12 Huron from the 3rd Wing, and a C-17 Globemaster III and an HH-60 Pavehawk helicopter from the 176th Wing. Airmen and Soldiers also had the opportunity to share about their missions, which range from search and rescue to strategic air defense.
“It was a great experience," said Alaska Air National Guard Maj. Ryan Elliott, a combat rescue officer assigned to the 212th Rescue Squadron. "It was super personal to explain what the pararescuemen and combat rescuemen do, not only in a combat role, but also in a civilian search and rescue role here in Alaska and overseas."
U.S. Army 1st Sgt. Ervan Myumyun, an infantryman assigned to C Company, 1st Battalion, 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 2nd Mobile Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 11th Airborne Division, shared his experience being a part of the Arctic Angels.
“Our primary mission is to deter the enemies of the United States of America, and as being infantrymen, we close with and destroy the enemy by any means necessary," Myumyun said. "That's direct fire and indirect fire, while specializing in Arctic and airborne operations. We jump out of planes, snowshoe, ski and finish the mission.”
The event only scratched the surface of the many crucial joint missions that can be found throughout the installation, which stands at the forefront of projecting power across the Pacific. Together, JBER’s joint force creates a lethal combination, ready to deter aggression in any theater, any climate, at home or abroad.
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