Press Release Says, McGuire Salutes Alaskans Aboard Aircraft Carrier in Gulf of Alaska

ANCHORAGE – Senator Lesil McGuire, R-Anchorage, today will review military preparedness and missile defense with Senate and House colleagues serving on the Legislature Joint Armed Services Committee, or JASC.

Earlier this week, McGuire, lawmakers and administration officials were aboard the USS John C. Stennis in the Gulf of Alaska as the Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier took part in the Pentagon’s Northern Edge joint military training exercise.

“It was a proud and exciting opportunity to see our U.S. military women and men in action,” McGuire said. “The Alaskans serving in Northern Edge are doing a great job and they are an outstanding credit to Alaska and their families.”

Nearly 30 Alaskans are included in the Stennis crew, including active duty sailors, airmen and marines and National Guard and Reserve personnel.

McGuire said today’s JASC meeting, at the Anchorage Legislative Information Office will include a focus on missile defense from both a state and global perspective. The meeting will include a briefing by the Institute of the North and by officials from the Missile Defense Agency and the Alaska National Guard.

The committee session will include a missile defense video, “30 Minutes,” produced by the Heritage Foundation, scheduled as a prelude to a committee field trip scheduled in Fort Greely on or about July 8.