By JILL FANKHAUSER
Alaska Star

As ice melts in the Arctic Ocean more maritime vessels are moving into the region. Eventually, the famed Northwest Passage could become a reality. As a result, the U.S. Coast Guard is beginning to look at what it would take to operate in the Arctic Ocean. They are patrolling the coastline and testing equipment. (Above left) Aviation Electronics Technician 2nd Class, Navigator, Mick Hengen tracks the planes position with maps, gives coordinates to pilots and monitors weather during a recent media flight along Alaskas north coast.

The U.S. Coast Guard is testing Arctic waters — feeling out what sort of military presence might be needed along Alaska's northernmost coastlines.

The operation, Arctic Domain Awareness, a 16-day mission based in Barrow during July and August, gave the Coast Guard an opportunity to research the ever-changing sea ice, coastline, waters and risks associated with patrolling the region.

Coast Guard officials said maritime travel is increasing because of melting ice, creating potential new trade routes in the region. Russian and Canadian fishing vessels pushing international boundaries are also a concern.

“There are other facts, the presence of cruise ships in Barrow, the presence of potential oil exploration and oil lease sales. It's the presence of the potential for general ship movement through the Bering Straight,” said Rear Adm. Arthur Brooks, Commander of the 17th Coast Guard Division in Alaska.

“We are really doing a test bed to learn what do we need to do, how we should we do it and what resources will it take to do what we need to do for Americans in the Arctic,” Brooks said.

“There are ships that are coming through here from every flag you can imagine,” said Richard Glenn, vice president of Arctic Slope Regional Corp. “There's activity offshore that is unprecedented and there is our continuing dependence on the natural resources for our life.”

North Slope Borough Search and Rescue Director Pat Patterson said he is glad to see the Coast Guard in Barrow. The rescue group does about 300 medical rescues a year with its small fleet of planes and a helicopter.

“Anytime there is another airborne asset here in our vast region, we welcome that,” Patterson said. “We're the only thing here. And we like to learn from them, their technologies. We've worked on operations together.”

The local rescue group and Coast Guard have done at least one search and rescue together. In the first week of August they recovered the bodies of a 13-year-old boy and his father who went overboard in Kaktovik.

The Coast Guard opened the back of a C-130 cargo plane to give passengers from the media a better look at ice in the Arctic Ocean and coastal erosion in places like Kivalina.

North Slope Borough Mayor Edward Itta said he expects the need for rescue will increase as there are more boats in the northern waters.

Itta said he had several talks with the Coast Guard, the Barrow Arctic Science Consortium (a nonprofit group focused on subsistence and environmental issues) and the community about the Coast Guard operation before the Coast Guard's official arrival.

“I am amazed at how quickly it's come together,” Itta said. “I applaud the Coast Guard for the approach they have taken to come up here and learn.”

Since last October, the Coast Guard has been flying from Nome, above Kivilina, Point Hope and around to Barrow every two weeks documenting the conditions of the land and sea and collecting scientific and tactical information about the Arctic. The flights have also given pilots an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the area and weather.

Headquartered in Juneau with stations in Kodiak, Valdez and Ketchikan, they had to bring everything with them: two rescue helicopters, a cutter and two 25-foot boats to Barrow.

“They've opened their hearts and their doors. The community is putting up our people,” Brooks said. “Just to bring what we brought, we've consumed the infrastructure of their town. Both hotels are full and the Air Force contract facility is full.”

Brooks said infrastructure and having the right vehicle, boat or air support for the job, are some of the biggest challenges the Coast Guard faces in Barrow. He said helicopters and planes, like the 1950s era C-130, need to be stored indoors and the closest hanger is at Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks. It's expensive to build and maintain a hanger, he said.

“We are working with them to fit in with the structure they already have,” Brooks said. “I don't have the resources to stay all summer.”

Brooks said they haven't decided if they will return next summer.

The Coast Guard wrapped up its operation Aug. 11 and will take its findings to Washington, D.C. Congress will have to decide if the command post is needed and if it's worth putting forward the dollars for an arctic patrol.

This article published in The Alaska Star on Thursday, August 28, 2008.