173rd Civil Engineer Squadron Secures Critical Early-warning Radar Site in Remote Alaska

HUGHES, Alaska— A detachment of 10 Airmen from the 173rd Civil Engineer Squadron completed a high-stakes, 13-day deployment to the Alaskan interior, repairing critical utility infrastructure at a remote early-warning radar site while saving the Air Force more than $1.6 million.

Executed as Operation 26-02 Indian Mountain, the mission secured the vital water and fuel systems supporting the installation's Upgraded Early Warning Radar. The radar provides continuous aerospace surveillance data to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) Region Air Operations Center at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, making the site an indispensable homeland defense asset.

Situated approximately 16 miles east of the village of Hughes, the site is completely cut off from road networks, the facility is accessible only via a steep 4,100-foot gravel runway. The site’s extreme sub-arctic isolation required meticulous, front-loaded logistics, including pre-palletizing all materials at Kingsley Field, Oregon, and deploying a specialized advance team to stage equipment.

“If you wanted an opportunity to be self-sufficient and practice executing work in a remote location with no follow-on support, this is it, said 2nd Lt. David Case, 611th Civil Engineering Squadron, Engineer Officer. Although the map says Hughes is 16 miles as the crow fly, the village is not accessible from Indian Mountain. There are no roads and if there was a dog sled trail at one time, it has long been grown over and lost.”

Partnering with the 611th and 354th Civil Engineer Squadrons, U.S. Army Aviation, and the U.S. Marine Corps, the 173rd Civil Engineering Squadron executed three major infrastructure overhauls. The most critical project involved replacing a failing wooden bridge that supported the installation's sole water line, which provides the only means of fire suppression and sanitation for the facility.

To safely bypass the hazardous river crossing below, a U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter from the 52nd Aviation Regiment, rigged by a Marine Corps Helicopter Support Team, executed a precision sling-load operation to fly the new aluminum bridge structure across the river, and placed next to the bride footings to be repaired by the 173CES.

The team repaired a 4,300-foot above-ground fuel pipeline heavily damaged by frost heaves. The pipeline repair restores a gravity-flow fuel delivery system essential for the site’s off-grid diesel generators. Without it, the early-warning radar would suffer a catastrophic power failure.

Additionally, Airmen completed extensive riverbank stabilization which included hand-packing heavy rock-filled gabion baskets to prevent seasonal washouts near the facility's critical wellhouse. Completing the primary projects ahead of schedule allowed the team to conduct a crucial tower survey to site a new atmospheric sampling and communications antenna.

By utilizing military troop labor rather than commercial defense contractors, the multi-capable team completed the projects for approximately $75,000 in total expenses. Initial commercial bids for the three projects totaled $1.74 million, resulting in net savings of $1,665,000 for the Air Force.

“Saving money is always great, but the real victory here was proving that even an ANG lean Prime BEEF (Base Engineer Emergency Force) unit can pull off what is seemingly impossible, said Master Sgt. Michael Snodgrass, 173rd Civil Engineering Squadron, Engineer Assistant. Kind of satisfying that everything went right, especially when everyone keeps saying you can’t do that. It seems that preparation, leadership, and team cohesion really shined through.”

Operating under strict safety protocols due to extreme medical isolation and high-risk work environments, the deployment concluded with zero safety mishaps or injuries.

“No one is surprised as I am,” said Staff Sgt. Derek Sjogren, 173rd Fighter Wing, Emergency Management. As a seasoned EMT and Fire Fighter I have responded to my fair share of construction site accidents and rendered lifesaving aid to workers in much more supported and safer projects than this one. To come out of this without any incidents is amazing.”

The success of Operation 26-02 Indian Mountain directly aligns with the 2026 National Defense Strategy’s mandates to defend the U.S. homeland, increase joint-force burden-sharing, and supercharge the defense industrial base by relying on highly trained, organic military sustainment.

“This deployment was a huge success for the 173CES, being a step along the way to a culmination of a deliberate training plan and a culture shift to push the unit well outside comfort zones and not just survive but thrive in the unknown and proving that we can run with scissors and get the job done,” said Maj Joe Young, 173rd Civil Engineering Squadron, commander. This aligns well as the 173FW and Kingsley Field ANGB begin to transition from AETC to ACC requiring an entire change of mindset and level of lethality and readiness. As mission change and bedding down new aircraft drive us into the unknown, Engineers lead the way.”