During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing last month, Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) questioned Assistant Air Force Sec. Michael Saunders about moving military aircraft to Alaska.
00:00Let me continue on with you, Mr. Saunders. I have been working for years now to get the four KC-135s to IELTSON to support our aerial refueling mission.
00:15As you know, we have over 100 fifth-generation fighters in Alaska, in addition to an F-16 intercept squadron up there that does a lot of these Russian intercepts.
00:29And the tankers are absolutely fundamental to doing this real-world mission on a very regular basis, not to mention all the great training that we conduct at Red Flag at least three or four times a year.
00:44The former Secretary of the Air Force Kendall ordered the active association on the four KC-135s to happen.
00:53We've had one of these KC-135s move to IELTSON.
00:59Our new Secretary of the Air Force has committed to me in public hearing that we're going to continue with doing that.
01:07We have this issue of the housing market in Alaska.
01:12We want these to be accompanied tours with the 400 plus new airmen that will be coming with these KC-135s.
01:20Do you have an update on what we can be doing collectively with regard to housing in the IELTSON, Fairbanks, North Pole, Interior, Alaska area?
01:31There's some questions that the data on the housing is a little stale.
01:37Some questions that we need more housing.
01:39Some questions that we might need base housing.
01:41But we want to make this happen.
01:43We want to make these deployments really great experiences for our airmen.
01:50But we also want to get these KC-135s there soon.
01:53It's mission critical for the Air Force for that intercept mission.
01:57As you know, as all of you know, any contingency in the Indo-Pacific, everybody's going to be flying over Alaska because of how strategic we are on the Great Circle Route.
02:08Do you have an update on that, Mr. Saunders?
02:10Yeah, thank you, Senator.
02:12You know, let me start by reiterating Secretary Minx's commitment to relocate the four KC-135s to IELTSON.
02:19As you noted, AMC has already transferred one.
02:23Yeah.
02:24And then the additional three aircraft will be reassigned from the Pacific Air Force's Command, PAC-F, by the end of FY26.
02:31So what's the time?
02:34Is that within a year from now?
02:36Roughly a year and a quarter, yes, sir.
02:39Okay.
02:40We want to shorten that timeline.
02:41I've only been waiting on this for 10 years.
02:44Yes, sir.
02:45So right now the current estimate is the end of FY26.
02:49You alluded to the housing.
02:51And as you know, my office worked with your staff during a recent site activation visit to enable this four aircraft plus up.
03:01We appreciated that very much.
03:02And during that time, we acknowledged that the local community is addressing the housing issue and requirement, and we made sure that the data is refreshed.
03:13Now that, you know, there still is a concurrent travel restriction.
03:17However, we do allow families to relocate to IELTSON.
03:20What the current restriction does is it, in essence, requires the member to either secure housing before they depart, and then their family would depart with them at the same time when they arrive in Alaska.
03:31Or it would wait until they arrive in Alaska and secure the housing before the family relocates to minimize disruptions to the families.
03:37What's the best way to get that concurrent restriction lifted?
03:41Because what we want is the airmen to come, accompany tours, bring their spouse, bring their kids.
03:47It helps the community.
03:48It makes for a better deployment.
03:50Three years as opposed to one year.
03:52Do you have any recommendations for us?
03:55We want to work with you on this.
03:57I agree with you wholeheartedly as a former military member and a military dependent.
04:02I grew up in a military family.
04:03You know, traveling with your family is obviously what we want to do.
04:06In this case, the PACAF commander has the travel restriction and they keep pulse on the requirement.
04:11And so I need to defer to the PACAF commander as to when that requirement would change.
04:16But they are certainly keeping pulse to ensure that the housing is there to support the families.
04:21And that restriction is based on what the PACAF commander sees as the limited housing stock?
04:27It sees in the need to find housing and secure housing before the family relocates.
04:33Now, I should reiterate, that doesn't mean that we don't allow families to eilson.
04:36They certainly do.
04:37It is an accompanied tour.
04:39So, you know, members do get to bring their family.
04:42They just need to show that they have secured housing before the family actually relocates.
