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Elmendorf-Richardson merger to begin next year

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The process of combining Elmendorf Air Force Base and Fort Richardson into one joint operation will begin early next year, Army officials said Tuesday.

The joint installation in Anchorage will be the result of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure process. Across the country, 26 facilities are being combined into 12 bases.

The Anchorage transition to one base will begin Jan. 31 and is slated for completion by October 2010.

A commander for the joint facility has not yet been named. But Col. Timothy Prior, the commander at Fort Richardson, will be the deputy commander of the joint base. Air Force Col. Jeffery Vinger is the provisional joint base commander.

The plan has been in the works for four years, and vice chiefs of the Air Force and Army signed off on the plan Friday.

“This union formalizes an already close working relationship the Air Force and Army have shared for years,” Prior said in a prepared statement.

Vinger said the military was focused on maintaining services for soldiers, airman, their families and the combined civilian work force.

“Efficiencies won’t translate to job cuts; that’s not the goal of this initiative. We’re looking for best practices from both services,” he said.