JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska –
Two years after the remnants of Typhoon Merbok flooded communities across thousands of miles of western Alaska in September 2022, the community of Toksook Bay made a big step toward replenishing what they lost from the storm – thousands of pounds of meat.
On Friday Nov. 15, 2024, the Alaska National Guard began the process of delivering nearly 14,000 pounds of frozen beef, chicken and pork to Toksook Bay as part of the Department of Defense Innovative Readiness Training Program.
The IRT program pairs U.S. communities that have an unsourced requirement, usually medical services, construction, cybersecurity or transportation, with military units that can provide the services while simultaneously gaining real-world readiness training.
After the storm, representatives from a Federal Emergency Management Agency Interagency Recovery Coordination team, the Rural Alaska Community Action Program worked closely with the Nunakauyarmiut Tribe in Toksook Bay to secure funding to aid in the long recovery process.
That collaborative effort led to the community receiving Bureau of Indian Affairs emergency supplemental funding in December 2023 which could be used, in part, to replenish the town’s lost meat stores.
According to Robert Pitka, a Nunakauyarmiut Tribal administrator in Toksook Bay, the storm did more than spoil the community’s freezers full of fish, moose and other subsistence reserves. It prevented community members from doing what they do every fall to prepare for the coming winter – fish and hunt.
“It was unpredictable after that big storm, and we were not able to get our fall-time fishing,” he said. “Most everybody was unable to go moose hunting because of the long-time storm.”
He credits FEMA and other organizations who worked with the community after the storm for not only helping the Tribe secure the funding, but also for making them aware of the DoD’s IRT program which could be used to ship the newly purchased meat to the village.
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“The IRT application would make it possible to deliver the meat products from Anchorage to Bethel, Bethel to Toksook,” said Pitka. “We were surprised, like, ‘Wow, it’s possible. Let’s go for it.’”
Pitka said the Tribe’s participation in the IRT program saved the community $35,000 in freight to cover the 525 miles from the Eagle River butcher shop to Toksook Bay, greatly increasing the amount of meat they could purchase.
The AKNG saw the opportunity to continue supporting their fellow Alaskans still recovering from Typhoon Merbok. Training wise, the Toksook Bay mission provided aviators, load masters, crew chiefs and logistics specialists valuable reps in rapidly moving a large quantity of palletized provisions.
The Alaska Air National Guard transported the frozen meat from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson to Bethel via an HC-130J Combat King II, the same aircraft that routinely conducts civil search and rescue missions across the state.
Once in Bethel, the meat was generously offloaded by Northern Air Cargo and safely stored in their airport freezer facility while awaiting airlift to Toksook Bay via two Alaska Army National Guard UH-60L Black Hawks.
The AKARNG aircrews assigned to the 207th Aviation Troop Command delivered 234 of the 280 50-pound boxes during multiple flights on Nov. 18 before poor weather postponed the final flight. Bethel area Guardsmen from Bison Company, 1st Battalion, 297th Infantry Regiment, assisted the effort by loading each helicopter for the roughly 75-minute flight to Toksook Bay. The remaining boxes will be delivered as soon as the weather clears, and the helicopters can safely continue the mission.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Colton Bell was one of the Black Hawk pilots who delivered the meat to Toksook Bay. Coincidentally, he was also one of a handful of aircrew members who flew rotary wing missions after Typhoon Merbok, transporting Guardsmen and supplies to more than 30 communities across western Alaska.
“It's personally rewarding to see the impact that we have on the local community and being able to bring them the meat and give back in a time of need," said Bell.
Recent examples of successful or ongoing Alaska IRT projects include the delivery of construction materials to Nuiqsut by the Kentucky Air National Guard, Arctic [medical] Care in Kodiak supported by the Army Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Air Force, Navy and Air Force Reserve, and the early stages of the Shepard Point Marine Tribal Transportation Oil Spill and Marine Casualty Response Facility, supported by multiple Guard units from Alaska and the lower 48, as well as the Marine Corps Reserve.
Pitka encouraged other Alaskan tribes to pursue the IRT program, saying he was surprised at how quickly the entire process took.
“So we took that offer applying for IRT [in the spring of 2024], knowing we may wait two years. But then again thanks to the [military], they approved it no time,” he said. “I think other villages have the opportunity to learn about IRT. In case there’s an emergency, they can apply.”