04.02.2024
Story by Tommie Baker
Alaskan NORAD Region/Alaskan Command/11th Air Force
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- Following a series of inundations from high waves, the U.S. territory of Wake Island is recovering and planning for the future. In the early morning of January 19, following a high surf warning, an inspection of one of the taxiways revealed flooding, causing a partial closure of the airfield. At that time, local personnel had no reason to believe there would be further impacts.
Wake Island is the inhabited island of a three-island atoll which also includes Peale Island and Wilkes Island. Wake Atoll was the site of an early battle during World War II, resulting in an ever-present risk for uncovering unexploded ordinance – made worse during storm events. The island is managed by the Pacific Air Forces Regional Support Center, located at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, and serves three primary mission sets: refueling and en route support along the Pacific air bridge, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) civilian divert airfield, and bed down support to USINDOPACOM, USSPACECOM, the Missile Defense Agency, and other mission partners.
Over the course of the next few days, Wake Island was hit with a series of powerful wave overruns causing extensive flooding and damages. More than 80 of the 125 on-island personnel had to be relocated as dormitories were flooded, alternate means of dining were arranged as the dining hall was flooded, and the work schedules were altered. The contingent of Air Force personnel comprising PRSC Detachment 1, responsible for managing daily operations and aligning efforts, took the lead in disaster response and recovery efforts.
“Ensuring that basic needs were met safely, with care and dignity, was our top priority, along with assessing damages and restoring basic services,” said Maj. Kalyn Howard, PRSC Det 1 commander.
“Recovery and restoration could take months, possibly years, to complete. Many of the dorms are uninhabitable and must be assessed as to whether they can be repaired or may need to be replaced,” said Col. Breanna Fulton, PRSC commander. “The workforce on the island is diligently working to get things back to normal. Considering the limited assets on the island and the logistics of support, I am proud of our team there. The PRSC’s 611th Civil Engineer Squadron is forging ahead with plans to enhance Wake Island’s infrastructure. Our people are resilient, and the island remains strong to carry out the United States national defense mission.”
Also affected by the series of weather-driven waves was Roi-Namur, the second-largest island of the Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. U.S. Army Garrison-Kwajalein Atoll supports the U.S. Space and Missile Defense Command’s Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site. The test site serves as a space and missile defense test range for the Department of Defense.
USAG–KA personnel evacuated 80 of the approximately 120 personnel who call Roi-Namur home. Sixty people remained to assess damage and restore basic services while continuing the water and fuel runs that sustain the island of Enniburr, the island south of Roi-Namur where the Marshallese workforce resides.
Wake Island Atoll provides USINDOPACOM and PACAF the ability to project U.S. power across the Pacific, enabling the trans-Pacific air bridge, joint missile launch operations, and remote basing strategies to deter regional threats and secure the Indo-Pacific theater. Kwajalein Atoll serves as a strategic location in the Pacific providing installation support services and strategic integration enabling joint, multi-national, and multi-domain mission partners.
