Coast Guard Base Kodiak is a major shore installation of the United States Coast Guard, located in Kodiak, Alaska. The largest tenant unit on the base is Air Station Kodiak. It is also the home port for several cutters. Historic elements that it includes are the Kodiak Naval Operating Base, Fort Greely, and Fort Abercrombie.
Kodiak Naval Operating Base and Forts Greely and Abercrombie | |
Alaska Heritage Resources Survey
| |
 Kodiak Air Station, January 1989 | |
  | |
| Location | Kodiak Station, Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska |
|---|---|
| Nearest city | Kodiak, Alaska |
| Coordinates | 57°44′19″N 152°30′17″W / 57.73861°N 152.50472°W |
| Area | 3,000 acres (1,200 ha) |
| Built | 1941 |
| NRHP reference No. | 85002731 |
| AHRS No. | KOD-124; KOD-137[a] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | February 4, 1985[1] |
| Designated NHL | February 4, 1985[2] |
The station is the subject of the series Coast Guard Alaska on The Weather Channel and is prominently featured in the 2006 film The Guardian and is frequently referenced in the Discovery Channel series Deadliest Catch.
History
editThe base began as the United States Navy's Naval Air Station Kodiak on 15 June 1941. Artillery emplacements survive on Buskin Hill, Artillery Hill, and at Fort Abercrombie (now a state park), but little remains of Fort Greely's barracks.[3]
On 17 April 1947 the Coast Guard Air Station was commissioned as an Air Detachment at the navy base with one PBY Catalina aircraft, seven pilots, and thirty crewmen. On 25 April 1972 the order establishing Coast Guard Base Kodiak and CG RADSTA Kodiak was issued by the Commandant of the CG. CG Air Station Kodiak was already operating with three HC-130H airplanes and two HH-52A helicopters. Today, CG Air Station Kodiak operates five HC-130J aircraft, five MH-60T Jayhawk helicopters, and five MH-65C Dolphin helicopters.[4]
Kodiak Naval Operating Base, Fort Greely, and Fort Abercrombie were together listed on the National Register of Historic Places and also declared to be a National Historic Landmark in 1985 for the role the facilities played in World War II.[2][3]
2012 shooting
editOn April 12, 2012, two Coast Guard members were found fatally shot at their work stations in one of the communications buildings on-base.[5] The event caused panic on the island as residents where urged to stay indoors and report suspect activities, as school where put on lockdown.[6][7] After an investigation conducted by the FBI, Coast Guard Investigative Service, and Alaska State Troopers, the prime suspect (James Michael "Jim" Wells) was arrested.[8]
Homeported cutters
editSee also
editNotes
edit- ^ Kodiak Naval Base and Fort Greely were enlisted as a single entry in Alaska Heritage Resources Survey as KOD-124. Fort Abercombie was enlisted in Alaska Heritage Resources Survey as KOD-137.
References
edit- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- ^ a b "Kodiak Naval Operating Base and Forts Greely and Abercrombie". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on January 17, 2008. Retrieved January 5, 2008.
- ^ a b Erwin N. Thompson (April 9, 1984). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Kodiak Naval Operating Base and Forts Greely and Abercrombie / US Coast Guard Support Center and Fort Abercrombie State Historic Park". National Park Service.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) and Accompanying 7 photos from 1982 and 1983. (708 KB) - ^ "Coast Guard Transfers Fifth HC-130J to Air Station Kodiak". Retrieved April 11, 2020.
- ^ Pemberton, Mary (April 12, 2012). "Coast Guard: 2 dead in shooting at Alaska station". The Associated Press. Archived from the original on April 15, 2012. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
- ^ Homer, Jay Barrett, KBBI (April 12, 2012). "Two Confirmed Dead in Coast Guard Communications Station Shooting". Alaska Public Media. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "2 US Coast Guard members shot dead at Kodiak base in Alaska". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. April 12, 2012. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
- ^ Brianna Gibbs (February 16, 2013). "Suspect arrested in double homicide on Kodiak Coast Guard base". KLOO. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
External links
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