Coast Guard Base Kodiak

Coast Guard Base Kodiak is a major shore installation of the United States Coast Guard, located in Kodiak, Alaska. 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.

The station is the subject of the series Coast Guard Alaska on The Weather Channel and is prominently featured in the 2006 film The Guardian and is frequently referenced in the Discovery Channel series Deadliest Catch.

History

The base began as the United States Navy's Naval Air Station Kodiak on June 15, 1941. Artillery emplacements survive on Buskin Hill, Artillery Hill, and at Fort Abercrombie (now a state park), but little remains of Fort Greely's barracks.

Kodiak Naval Operating Base, Fort Greely, and Fort Abercrombie were together listed on the National Register of Historic Places and also declared to be a National Historic Landmark in 1985 for the role the facilities played in World War II.

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. The event caused panic on the island as residents were urged to stay indoors and report suspect activities, and schools were put on lockdown. After an investigation conducted by the FBI, Coast Guard Investigative Service, and Alaska State Troopers, the prime suspect (James Michael "Jim" Wells) was arrested.

thumb|An injured person is transferred to awaiting emergency medical services personnel at Air Station Kodiak

Homeported cutters

USCGC Alex Haley (WMEC-39)
USCGC Cypress (WLB-210)
USCGC John Witherspoon (WPC-1158)
USCGC Earl Cunningham (WPC-1159)
USCGC Frederick Mann (WPC-1160) Until accommodations are made for a permanent homeport in Seward, AK

Notes

References

External links