Coast Guard Base Kodiak is a major shore installation of the
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...
, located in
Kodiak, Alaska
Kodiak ( Alutiiq: , russian: Кадьяк), formerly Paul's Harbor, is the main city and one of seven communities on Kodiak Island in Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska. All commercial transportation between the island's communities and the outside ...
. The largest tenant unit on the base is
Air Station Kodiak. It is also the home port for several cutters. Historic elements that it includes are the Kodiak Naval Operating Base, Fort Greely, and
Fort Abercrombie
Fort Abercrombie, in North Dakota, was an American fort established by authority of an act of Congress, March 3, 1857. The act allocated twenty-five square miles of land on the Red River of the North in Dakota Territory to be used for a military ...
.
The station is the subject of the series ''Coast Guard Alaska'' on
The Weather Channel
The Weather Channel (TWC) is an American pay television channel owned by Weather Group, LLC, a subsidiary of Allen Media Group. The channel's headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia. Launched on May 2, 1982, the channel broadcasts weather foreca ...
and is prominently featured in the 2006 film ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide ...
'' and is frequently referenced in the
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Chan ...
series ''
Deadliest Catch
''Deadliest Catch'' is a reality television series that premiered on the Discovery Channel on April 12, 2005. The show follows crab fishermen aboard fishing vessels in the Bering Sea during the Alaskan king crab and snow crab fishing seasons. Th ...
''.
History
The base began as the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
's Naval Air Station Kodiak on 15 June 1941. Artillery emplacements survive on Buskin Hill, Artillery Hill, and at
Fort Abercrombie
Fort Abercrombie, in North Dakota, was an American fort established by authority of an act of Congress, March 3, 1857. The act allocated twenty-five square miles of land on the Red River of the North in Dakota Territory to be used for a military ...
(now a state park), but little remains of Fort Greely's barracks.
On 17 April 1947 the Coast Guard Air Station was commissioned as an Air Detachment at the navy base with one
PBY Catalina
The Consolidated PBY Catalina is a flying boat and amphibious aircraft that was produced in the 1930s and 1940s. In Canadian service it was known as the Canso. It was one of the most widely used seaplanes of World War II. Catalinas served w ...
aircraft, seven pilots, and thirty crewmen. On 25 April 1972 the order establishing Coast Guard Base Kodiak and CG RADSTA Kodiak was issued by the Commandant of the CG. CG Air Station Kodiak was already operating with three
HC-130
The Lockheed HC-130 is an extended-range, search and rescue (SAR)/combat search and rescue (CSAR) version of the C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft, with two different versions operated by two separate services in the U.S. armed forc ...
H airplanes and two
HH-52A
helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribut ...
s. Today, CG Air Station Kodiak operates five
HC-130
The Lockheed HC-130 is an extended-range, search and rescue (SAR)/combat search and rescue (CSAR) version of the C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft, with two different versions operated by two separate services in the U.S. armed forc ...
J aircraft, five
MH-60T Jayhawk helicopters, and five
MH-65
The Eurocopter MH-65 Dolphin is a twin-engined helicopter operated by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) for medevac-capable search and rescue (SAR) and armed Airborne Use of Force missions. It is a variant of the French-built Eurocopter AS3 ...
C Dolphin helicopters.
Kodiak Naval Operating Base, Fort Greely, and Fort Abercrombie were together listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...
and also declared to be a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
in 1985 for the role the facilities played in World War II.
[ and ]
2012 shooting
On April 12, 2012, two Coast Guard members were found fatally shot at their work stations in one of the communications buildings on-base. After an investigation conducted by the
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
,
Coast Guard Investigative Service
The Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS) is a division of the United States Coast Guard that investigates crimes where the U.S. Coast Guard has an interest. It is composed of civilian ( GS-1811), active duty, reserve enlisted, and warrant offi ...
, and
Alaska State Troopers
The Alaska State Troopers, officially the Division of Alaska State Troopers (AST), is the state police agency of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is a division of the Alaska Department of Public Safety (DPS). The Alaska State Troopers is a full-ser ...
, the prime suspect (James Michael "Jim" Wells) was arrested.
Homeported cutters
*
USCGC ''Douglas Munro'' (WHEC-724)
*
USCGC ''Alex Haley'' (WMEC-39)
*
USCGC ''Spar'' (WLB-206)
See also
*
Fort Abercrombie State Historical Park
Fort Abercrombie State Historical Park, also known as the Fort Abercrombie State Historic Site, is an Alaska state park on Kodiak Island, Alaska. It includes of land at the end of Miller Point, located on the eastern shore of Kodiak Island nor ...
*
Naval Special Warfare Cold Weather Detachment Kodiak
The Special Operations Forces Cold Weather Maritime Training Facility, Naval Special Warfare Cold Weather Detachment Kodiak is a United States Navy base near Kodiak, Alaska
Kodiak ( Alutiiq: , russian: Кадьяк), formerly Paul's Harbor, i ...
*
List of National Historic Landmarks in Alaska
The National Historic Landmarks in Alaska represent Alaska's history from its Russian heritage to its statehood. There are 50 National Historic Landmarks (NHLs) in the state. The United States National Historic Landmark program is operated under ...
*
Notes
References
External links
Coast Guard Base KodiakCoast Guard Air Station Kodiak17th District Alaska - USCGBase Kodiak MWR Nemetz RV Park
{{National Register of Historic Places
Kodiak
Buildings and structures in Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska
Kodiak
United States Coast Guard Aviation
Military installations in Alaska
World War II on the National Register of Historic Places in Alaska
1941 establishments in Alaska
Military installations established in 1941
United States Naval Air Stations