ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Air Force has canceled plans to study a move of F-16 fighter jets from Eielson (EYE’-el-son) Air Force Base outside Fairbanks to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage.
The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports cancellation of the environmental review is the latest sign that Eielson’s F-16 squadron will stay in interior Alaska.
The Air Force says the move would have cost Fairbanks 1,551 military and civilian jobs.
Alaska’s congressional delegation in October announced that the Air Force had abandoned plans to shift the squadron. Air Force officials said cost savings were not as great as anticipated.
The Air Force on Thursday gave notice in the Federal Register that the environmental study was cancelled. Matthew Felling, a spokesman for U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, says canceling the study was a formality.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.