As the nation comes together to celebrate Independence Day, we’re proud to introduce two new tributes to the brave service members who protect our country: our fourth “Honoring Those Who Serve” aircraft and 16th Fallen Soldier Cart. 

The Fourth of July is a time to reflect on the freedoms we enjoy and to recognize the sacrifices made by military members. At Alaska, we are dedicated to honoring these heroes and their families in meaningful ways. We take seriously our responsibility to care for our military guests, and we prioritize it with every flight. 

Honoring Those Who Serve Aircraft 

In partnership with Boeing, we are proud to unveil our specially designed “Honoring Those Who Serve” aircraft. The design, which is almost identical to three of our other jets, features a new patriotic paint scheme with symbolic imagery representing all six branches of the US Armed Forces: Air Force, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and Space Force.

From its star-spangled design to the heartfelt message emblazoned on its side, this aircraft is a flying tribute to the courage and dedication of those who serve today, and those who served in the past. 

Every time this aircraft takes to the skies, it serves as a reminder of the sacrifices made by US military personnel. We hope our guests, employees and aviation enthusiasts alike will feel a sense of pride and appreciation when they see this aircraft in the air and on the tarmac. 

Fallen Soldier Cart 

In addition to our new aircraft, we recently delivered our 16^th Fallen Soldier Cart to Nashville International Airport (BNA) on June 26. These dedicated carts, designed and crafted by Alaska’s Maintenance and Engineering department, are a solemn and respectful symbol that transports the remains of fallen service members, ensuring they are treated with the utmost dignity and respect. 

Alaska has dedicated this special cart to BNA for shared use among all airlines, as a gesture of respect and remembrance. The cart, in its first mission, transported the cremated remains of US Navy Vietnam veteran, Aviation Boatswain’s Mate, Roy Campbell. 

Alaska maintenance & engineering employees drove eight days, across 10 states and 2,632 miles to deliver a Fallen Soldier Cart to Nashville on June 26, where it will serve to honor military heroes at Nashville International Airport (BNA). 

In 2011, the Fallen Soldier Program was created to ensure military protocols are followed when handling the remains of fallen service members being flown to their final resting place on Alaska Airlines. The cart plays a pivotal role during the dignified ceremonies of loading and unloading the remains of fallen soldiers onto aircraft. 

Adorned with the American flag, the insignia of the six military branches, and a plaque honoring the fallen, our carts are a powerful tribute to those who have served our country. 

Alaska has Fallen Soldier Carts at the following airports: Anchorage, Dallas Fort-Worth, Fairbanks, Honolulu, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Nashville, Phoenix, Portland, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, Spokane, Washington Reagan. 

This Fourth of July, as fireworks light up the sky and people gather to celebrate, we invite you to join us in paying tribute to our military heroes. At Alaska, we believe it is our duty to honor those who serve and are committed to doing so with the respect and gratitude they deserve. Learn more 

Related

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTVF) – The State of Alaska has filed suit hoping to recoup losses in revenues stemming from federal cancellation of oil and gas leases on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).

In a press release Tuesday, the Alaska Attorney General’s office announced the suit, which was filed in the United States Court of Federal Claims. The release mentions nine cancellations on ANWR’s Coastal Plain.

Calling it an effort to hold the U.S. government accountable for the economic impacts of its environmental policies, Attorney General Treg Taylor alleges the federal government is undermining Alaska’s ability to be economically independent.

“The Biden administration’s decisions since day one have been aimed at making the State of Alaska off limits to any resource development to the detriment of Alaska and Alaskans seeking to provide for their families,” said Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor. “As the rest of the nation celebrates the Fourth of July, the federal government has systematically undermined the State’s ability to maintain its economic independence. This was not what was promised Alaskans at statehood, and why the State must continue to fight.”

“We know these resources can be developed safely and responsibly, and with the support and involvement of the local communities that live within the 1002 Area,” said John Boyle, Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources. “The only obstacle is the radical environmentalist agenda of the Biden Administration.”

The release claims Alaska was promised the ability to use resource development to build its economy.

It also says the government’s action cancelling the Coastal Plain leases, which had been approved in 2017 under the Trump Administration, constitutes a breach of contract.

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Since the late 1700s, the Juneau Ice Field, interconnected glaciers that stretch across 1,500 square miles of Alaska and British Columbia, has lost about a quarter of its volume. But it’s an “incredibly worrying” phenomenon that took place between 2010 and 2020 that has scientists especially concerned: The remote swath, which features the famous Mendenhall Glacier, dropped 1.4 cubic miles of ice annually during that decade-long period, double the rate of ice melt before 2010, reports the New York Times. In their study published Tuesday in Nature Communications, researchers add that rates of “area shrinkage” were five times faster from 2015 to 2019 than they were from 1979 to 1990.

The team led by Newcastle University glaciologist Bethan Davies pulled together decades of glacial measurements using aerial views, surveys, maps, and satellite imagery, supplementing that with in-the-field verification and research into tree rings and peat to try to figure out previous environments in the ice field. What they found was that every single one of the area’s 1,050 glaciers receded between 1770 and 2019, with 108 glaciers vanishing altogether; dozens of new lakes formed as a result. Scientists say the melt is affected by tourism; soot from wildfires that lands on the ice and expedites melting; and the wide, flat surface of thinning ice that further exposes it to warming air, among other factors.

Just because Alaska is a far-flung spot for most of the planet’s inhabitants, the glacial melt there matters “tremendously,” per the Times, which notes that “in no other region of the planet are melting glaciers predicted to contribute more to global sea-level rise this century.” Plus, scientists fear that ice fields elsewhere, including in Greenland, Norway, and other Arctic-adjacent locations, could meet the same fate, per Reuters. Global warming will likely continue to further exacerbate the situation, with one climatologist warning of a possible “death spiral” for the glaciers, per the AP. “If we reduce carbon, then we have more hope of retaining these wonderful ice masses,” Davies tells the Times. “The more carbon we put in, the more we risk irreversible, complete removal of them.” (More glacial melt stories.)