The Changing Climate Of WAR and PEACE - The Emerging Arctic

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Photo Release
Date: August 04, 2010
Contact: D17 Public Affairs
USCG photos by PO3 Walter Shinn.

Operation Arctic Crossroads
serves the people of Point Hope



POINT HOPE, Alaska — Petty Officer 1st Class Caryl Seris above left, a resident of Oakdale, Calif., assists a local resident of Point Hope while he gives medication to his pet dog Tuesday, August 3, 2010. Medical Teams provided free veterinarian and medical exams for the community of 1,000 in support of Arctic Crossroads 2010.

Middle:  POINT HOPE, Alaska - Petty Officer 1st Class Caryl Seris, a resident of Oakdale, Calif., and United States Public Health Service Veterinarian Doctor Mary Anne Duncan, a resident of Mebane, N.C., work together to examine a pet dog Tuesday, August 3, 2010. A team of veterinarians from the United States Public Health Service administered more than 25 rabies and Distemper Hepatitis Leptospirrosis Pavainfluena shots to pets throughout the village of Point Hope.

Right:  Petty Officer 1st Class Caryl Seris, a resident of Oakdale, Calif., assists veterinarians from the United States Public Health Service trim the nails of a pet Parakeet Tuesday, August 3, 2010. Coast Guard and Public Health Service teams are conducting examines throughout several villages along the North Slope of Alaska as part of operations for Arctic Crossroads 2010.

Photo Release with more photos

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Photo Release
Date: August 08, 2010
Contact: D17 Public Affairs
USCG photos by PO3 Walter Shinn.

Operation Arctic Crossroads 2010 small boat
crew navigates Hotham Inlet near Kotzebue



KOTZEBUE, Alaska — Petty Officer 2nd Class Shawn Crabtree, a boatswain’s mate and resident of Ketchikan, Alaska, and Chief Warrant Officer Mark Helmers, a resident of Juneau, Alaska, and Hiram Walker, director for search and rescue Northwest Arctic Borough, point toward a barge that is navigating through Kotzebue Sound Sunday, August 8, 2010. Walker led Crabtree and Helmers to a potential location for a new marker to be placed to help people navigate through the area during winter seasons.

Right:  Coast Guardsmen navigate through a narrow channel prior to mooring the small boat to examine navigational markers in Kotzebue Portage in Kobuk Lake southeast of Kotzebue Sunday, August 8, 2010. The crew is deployed in support for Operation Arctic Crossroads 2010 and examined the area to gather GPS coordinates to potentially place a new Aids to Navigation structure.



Left:  Petty Officer 2nd Class Shawn Crabtree, a boatswain’s mate and resident of Ketchikan, Alaska, and Hiram Walker, a resident and director for search and rescue Northwest Arctic Borough, help the support placement of a navigational marker for snowmobilers and boaters navigating through Kotzebue Sound.

Right:  Petty Officer 2nd Class Shawn Crabtree, a boatswain’s mate and resident of Ketchikan, Alaska, and Chief Warrant Officer Mark Helmers, 17th Coast Guard District boat manager and a resident of Juneau, help the foundation and support placement for a trail marker which aids people who snowmobile and dog sled through the area during the winter season in Kobuk Lake south of Kotzebue.

Photo Release with more photos

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News Release
Date: August 09, 2010
Contact: District 17 Public Affairs
USCG Photos by PO3 Walter Shinn

Coast Guard, USPHS to discuss
Operation Arctic Crossroads 2010


A Coast Guard 25-foot response boat-small crew transits across the bay while testing shallow water capabilities during Operation Arctic Crossroads 2010 Monday, August 9, 2010. The response boat has a draft of three feet and was successfully lowered into the water to test the Coast Guard’s capabilities to launch in shallow water during Operation Arctic Crossroads 2010.
 
KOTZEBUE, Alaska — Members of the media are invited to join an over-the-phone discussion with Coast Guard and United States Public Health Service personnel deployed in support for Operation Arctic Crossroads 2010 from Forward Operating Location Kotzebue Thursday at 9 a.m. Alaska Standard Time.

Media interested in the media event are to contact Petty Officer 3rd Class Walter Shinn at (904) 501 7174.

During operations helicopter crews from Coast Guard, Army National Guard and Air Force National Guard helicopters flew boating safety and medical teams to Point Hope, Shishmaref, Kivalina, Koyuk and Wales.   Personnel will visit Noatak Tuesday and Shaktoolik Wednesday which will conclude Operation Arctic Crossroads 2010 operations for August.


A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk rescue helicopter lands on a tarmac as an Army National Guard UH-60 Blackhawk and an Air Force National Guard HH-60 Pavehawk helicopter prepare to land at Forward Operating Location Kotzebue with personnel deployed in support of Operation Arctic Crossroads 2010 Sunday, August 8, 2010. Helicopter crews transported Personnel to remote northwestern Alaskan villages including Pt. Hope, Koyuk, Wales, Selawik, Shishmaref, Kivalina.  In the photo far right, Petty Officer 2nd Class Jeff Tuttle, a resident of Palmer, Alaska, Petty Officer 3rd Class Megan Archer, a boatswain’s mate and resident of Juneau, Alaska, and Hiram Walker, director for search and rescue Northwest Arctic Borough, prepare to navigate through Kotzebue Sound 

Operation Arctic Crossroads will continue for three days during the month of September with visits to Savoonga and Gambell, Alaska.

The Coast Guard will test the shallow water capabilities with a 28-foot utility boat-medium, which is a boat that is powered by jet propulsion in Kotzebue Sound Tuesday. 

During the visits to the villages medical doctors examined 93 patients, an optometrist examined 61 patients and veterinarians treated 193 animals.

A Coast Guard 25-foot response boat-small, an 18-foot cutter boat-medium and an 18-foot small boat were used to test shallow water capabilities around Kotzebue Sound. 

The increasingly accessible and active Arctic region has significant environmental, scientific, economic and security impacts that have broad implications for all of the agencies participating and the public responsibilities they hold.

Operation Arctic Crossroads is a community outreach across Northern Alaska in an effort to integrate local knowledge with military expertise to meet the many challenges of Arctic operations.

The discussion will last no longer than 30 minutes.

News Release

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News Release
Date: August 10, 2010
Contact: District 17 Public Affairs

Coast Guard Commandant visits
Operation Arctic Crossroad personnel at Kotzebue


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KOTZEBUE, Alaska — Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Robert Papp Jr. and Sen. Mark Begich visit personnel involved with Operation Arctic Crossroads 2010 at Forward Operating Location Kotzebue Tuesday.

During the visit in Kotzebue Papp held a meeting with community leaders where they had the opportunity to ask questions regarding what role the Coast Guard plays in operating in the Arctic Region.

“I understand that when the ice recedes and the water is there these are some of the most treacherous waters in the world,” said Papp.  “Anyone who sails through the Bering Sea, Arctic Ocean and the Gulf of Alaska experience weather that is unlike any other across the world.“



The Coast Guard is testing the capabilities for small response boats operating in shallow waters, testing the reliability of traditional communications and reaching out to remote villages in the Arctic Region with a team of medical doctors as well as veterinarians.  Two Coast Guard Auxiliary members also traveled to the remote villages educating the communities on boating safety.

Operations from Arctic Crossroads 2010 will be evaluated by Papp who will present the results to Congress in Washington D.C.

News Release

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News Release
Date: August 12, 2010
Contact: District 17 Public Affairs
USCG photos by PO3 Walter Shinn 

Operation Arctic Crossroad concludes
testing of Coast Guard assets in Kotzebue


    VIDEO RELEASE


Coast Guardsmen navigate a 28-foot utility boat-medium near the coast of Kotzebue Wednesday, August 11, 2010. The 28-foot boat is powered by jet engines and navigated the shallow waters off the coast of Kotzebue in support of Operation Arctic Crossroads 2010.
 
KOTZEBUE, Alaska — The multi-agency phase of Operation Arctic Crossroads in Kotzebue concluded Wednesday following nine days of testing Coast Guard assets, area familiarization and community outreach.

Operation Arctic Crossroads will continue for four days during the month of September with veterinary and boating safety personnel who are scheduled to visit Savoonga and Gambell, Alaska.

Helicopter crews from the Coast Guard, Air National Guard and Army National Guard transported personnel in support of Operation Arctic Crossroads 2010 to eight villages in Northwest Alaska.  Medical and boating safety teams were transported to Noatak, Point Hope, Shishmaref, Kivalina, Koyuk, Wales, Shaktoolik and Selawik.

Medical and water safety personnel visited Noatak instead of Little Diomede after the Air National Guard helicopter supporting Arctic Crossroads received a call to respond to rescue five people at Knik Glacier Tuesday.

The three helicopter crews flew the medical and boating safety teams more than 6,300 miles to the remote villages in Northwest Alaska.

During the visits to the villages medical doctors examined 154 patients, an optometrist examined 98 patients,  two veterinarians treated 313 animals and a team of Dentist examined 74 patients.

Two Coast Guard Auxiliary members distributed 1,095 whistles and signal mirrors, 48 youth sized Personal Flotation Devices, 20 adult PFD’s, 495 coloring books and gave boating safety classes to each village. 

The Coast Guard tested four types of small boats including a 28-foot utility boat-medium, a 25-foot Response Boat-Small, an 18-foot Sea Wolf Kite boat and an 18-foot cutter boat-medium.   

“Identifying operational capabilities for Coast Guard response boats in the arctic waterways is vital to understand the service’s current limits in the remote region,” said Cmdr. Michelle Webber, operational commander of Operation Arctic Crossroads.  “At the same time, we are learning about the culture of the region while bringing much needed medical care to remote villages and encouraging them to use better boating safety practices.”

A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk Helicopter crew from Air Station Kodiak, an HH-60 Pavehawk helicopter crew from Kulis Air National Guard base and a UH-60 Blackhawk crew from Nome helped transport personnel to the remote villages in support of Operation Arctic Crossroads 2010.

Operations from Arctic Crossroads 2010 will be evaluated by Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Robert Papp Jr. who will present the recommendations to Congress in Washington D.C.

News Release