U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Kevin E. Lunday will be in Cordova today to discuss the buildup of the Coast Guard in Alaska and meet with residents.
The reception in honor of Lunday, hosted by Chugach Alaska Corp., will be held at the Cordova Center from 10:30-11:30 a.m. Remarks by Lunday and Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, who is accompanying the admiral, will be followed by the reception.
The Coast Guard and its predecessor, the Revenue Cutter Service, have had a continuous presence in Alaska for 158 years. It began with the land being purchased from Russia in 1867.
Revenue cutters began patrolling Alaskan waters immediately following that purchase. Today Alaska falls under the 17th Coast Guard District, encompassing tens of thousands of miles of coastline.
The Coast Guard currently employs nearly 2,500 personnel – including close to 2,000 active-duty members operating from installations like base Kodiak – spanning 23,000 acres and subordinate units, including Cordova, in multiple sectors, air stations and deployed cutter facilities.
Their work ranges from guarding coastal shores and keeping watch of foreign ships near American waters to responding to fishing disasters and medical emergencies.
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