Kansas National Guard engineers pave the way for future port in remote Alaskan community
Recognized as the largest Secretary of War-funded IRT project in the United States, the mission saw 100 Kansas Army National Guard Soldiers deploy to the remote coastal town in four separate two-week rotations. The IRT program is designed to produce mission-ready forces through military training opportunities that simultaneously provide key services to American communities.
“IRT opportunities are relatively new to us at the 891st, but it gives our Soldiers the opportunity to make a long-lasting impact with the engineer skills they have outside of Kansas,” said Capt. Austin Sigg, IRT projects officer in charge. “Each rotation of this mission saw the impact they had on the project, and the results will be there forever.”
Building upon their initial success in 2025, when 25 Soldiers grubbed and cleared the project site, this year's forces were tasked with raising a 5.1-acre staging pad 18 feet in elevation and constructing pedestrian trails connecting the access roadway to the coast. Led by an engineer officer, each team consisted of 20 enlisted engineers from multiple specialties, including heavy equipment operators, carpentry and masonry specialists, interior electricians, and plumbers, and a combat medic to ensure safety on the job site.
Three culinary specialists from the KSARNG field feeding platoon were assigned to each rotation to deliver meal coordination and preparation. Operating out of the Cordova High School kitchen, the mess section procured groceries locally to support the village economy. Over the course of the mission, they prepared 2,500 hot breakfast and dinner meals, and 1,250 sack lunches.
“Pulling in assets from other mission support commands gave the culinary specialists from 69th Troop Command the opportunity to take part in our mission,” said Sigg. “This really allowed our mission to be self-sustaining for the eight weeks we were there.”
During their rotations, the Soldiers logged over 6,000 man-hours of labor and hauled 37,000 cubic yards of fill material. To achieve this, the engineers used over 6,000 gallons of fuel, operating a fleet of heavy equipment that included a rock truck, a roller, a D6 dozer, a 330 excavator, and two 308 mini excavators.
To achieve the objective of connecting the access roadway to the coast, the engineers constructed five planned pedestrian trails. All five trails were built to rigorous U.S. Forest Service construction standards to ensure the trails are highly sustainable, featuring proper drainage, grading, and tread stabilization to withstand the harsh Alaskan climate.
Working under strict environmental and logistical constraints, the teams used only timber and stone from the surrounding areas to hand-carve pathways. The trails provide vital pedestrian access down to the waterfront through rough terrain and steep grades. By implementing tactical trail design, such as native stone steps, switchbacks, and hand-built retaining walls, the engineers mitigated erosion and stabilized the steep slopes to ensure long-term durability The paths provide access to landing beaches, which are required for maritime and port operations, and civilian fishing areas, ensuring safe transit down the coastal bluffs.
Beyond the dirt moved and the trails built, the mission left a lasting impact on the Soldiers as a personally rewarding opportunity to use their military training to directly assist a remote community.
“Awesome engineer training on a jobsite with real world, real time, and real results advantages,” said Spc. Jeramiah Johnson, equipment operator. “Not our average annual training by a mile.”
“It’s missions like these that make Soldiers want to reenlist,” said Staff Sgt. Andrew Selby, trail site noncommissioned officer in charge, “helping a community and seeing parts of the world they may never get to see without the opportunities in the military.”
“Honestly, I couldn’t be more proud of all the Kansas Army National Guard Soldiers that took part in this,” said Sigg.
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