Evening star., 1951-08-12

fensive construction in the terri
tory within the next four years,
most of it appropriated or ear
marked since the war in Korea
began in mid-1950.
This writer, reviewing Alaskan
defenses at the outbreak OF the
Korean war, reported many loop
holes in our northern defense
frontier. Today it is apparent
that the largest gaps are being
filled, but that military planners
have not conceived the defense
problem in it's overall scope. or,
if they have seen it, have not yet
been able to win the appropria-
tions that would make Alaska a
genuine Gibraltar against trans
polar, transferring or trans-Pa-
cific attack, the latter by subma-
rineS.
Fixed Defense Line.
Still foremost in the minds OF
the military planners is the con-
cept of a fixed defense line run
ming from Fairbanks in interior
Alaska down the Alaska Railroad
through the Elmendorf Field-Fort
Richardson area to the 18th Naval
Districts headquarters at Kodiak.
to the southwest. This 550-mlle
ring of air bases and garrisonS is
calculated to fight off an enemy
attack by land or sea. but it is not
expected to prevent hostile force
from Asia from making costly at
tacks on the vulnerable portions
of Alaska.
After talking with construction
men and military officers, this
writer believes that the Arctic
shore still is nearly wide open to
enemy airborne attack, and will be
for some time; and that all south
eastern Alaska, the soft under
belly" Of the territory, is vulner-
able. There is no plan at present
for defending the string of air.
fields in southeastern Alaska
which in enemy hands could easily
be used for damaging bomber
blows against the Boeing airplane
plant in Seattle, the Hanford
atomic plant in eastern Washing
ton and the heavy industry of
America in California and as far
east as the Great Lakes.
Bomber Aid Expected.
A brigadier general on the staff
of the Alaska Command at Fort
Richardson, answering this report
er's query about how an enemy
submarine or paratroop landing
on 1900 foot Annette Island air.
port, TAO miles north of Seattle,
would be repulsed, had only one
ANSWER:
Certain strategic hemisphere
bombers would be released to cope
with the situation" In other
words, for lack of any base in
southeastern Alaska from which
Icounterattacks could be launched
to oust an enemy from any one of
half dozen undefended airfelds,
America and Canada plan at pres
ent to blow up these costly bases
with their own bombs, thus wiping
out a valuable secondary defense
lime in the Alaska war zone and
destroying a perhaps $100 million
investment.
The Alaska Command haste be
realistic in its use of dollars and
men, however, and so it is first of
all fastening down the major bases
in interior Alaska, and ringing
them with lesser airfields along
the Aleutian Island chain and
along the Alaska highway 1nto
Canada. Without revealing too
much of the military strategy, an
Alaskan observer sees the program
unfolding in this pattern:
| /. The 1,000-mile-long Arctic
Bering seacoaSt. still without a
major air base, is being ringed at
it's vulnerable points with radar
and antiaircraft installations.
These installations are being
placed this year at key geographic
points to forewarm of attacks from
all directions. The gaps between
them will be filled up later as
manpower, money and materials
permit. It is long, slow haul to
bring in $25 million worth of
materials to the Kuskokwim OF
Yukon River, build an airfield,
housing, a road up mountain,
| steel tramways and electronics in
stallations in the short working
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