Top Cover And Global Engagement

Top Cover And Global Engagement

The Alaska Railroad has a long history intertwined with the US military dating back from its earliest days when US Army engineers under the leadership of Lt. Fredrick Mears and the Alaska Engineering Commission laid out and built the line. In fact the ARR's mainline wends its way through a dozen miles of US military land immediately north of Anchorage.

This yard job with classic bought new GP40-2 3001 is seen southbound at the Post Road crossing at MP 117.2 just inside Elemendorf Air Force Base and only a few car lengths north of the throat of Anchorage Yard. Elmendorf is the home of the Headquarters, Alaskan Command (ALCOM), Alaskan NORAD Region (ANR), Joint Task Force-Alaska (JTF-AK), Eleventh Air Force (11 AF), the 673d Air Base Wing, the 3rd Wing, the 176th Wing and other Tenant Units. Elmendorf's host unit is the 3d Wing. As the largest and principal unit within Eleventh Air Force, the 3d Wing trains and equips an Air Expeditionary Force lead wing made up of 6,900 personnel and F-15C/D, E-3B, C-17, F-22A and C-12F/J aircraft.

Anchorage, Alaska
Tuesday April 19, 2011

Photo courtesy of Dave Blazejewski