KIYU NEWSROOM

Galena Base Closure and Transfer Meetings
November 2, 2006
Tim Bodony (KIYU)

The following two interviews recount the "tri-party" base closure meetings that took place in Galena on the week of October 16-20, 2006. These meetings, involving the Air Force, State of Alaska, and Galena city and tribal leaders, are to happen quarterly until the departure of the Air Force is complete in September 2008. 

Both interviews originally aired on November 2nd in the "KIYU Interior Voices" newsmagazine. 

The Commander of the 611th Air Support Group, Colonel Joe Skaja, spoke with KIYU's Tim Bodony a few days after the meetings by telephone. Skaja recounts how he began the October 20th meeting with a call for everyone in the room to prevent rumor mongering and the spreading of misleading information.

download October 25 interview with Colonel Skaja

Frank Richards serves as the unofficial chairman of the tri-party BRAC meetings. He is the Department of Transportation Statewide Maintenance and Operations Engineer.

In an interview recorded in Galena immediately following the October 20 tri-party meeting, Richards echoed Colonel Skaja's call for better communications between the State, Air Force, and community.

download October 20 interview with Frank Richards