Annette Island
Annette Island is an island in Gravina Islands of the Alexander Archipelago of the Pacific Ocean on the southeastern coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is at 55°08′N 131°27′W / 55.133°N 131.450°W. It is about 18 km (12 miles) long and about 18 km (12 miles) wide. The land area is 332.573 km² (128.407 sq mi). Annette Island is located across the Revillagigedo Channel from the Alaska mainland on the east and across from Revillagigedo Island on the north.
Metlakatla is a native Community founded by the Anglican missionary William Duncan. The island is composed mainly of Tsimshian Natives and is a cultural crossroads for Tlingit and Haida Natives as well. The largest settlement on the island is Metlakatla. The entire island is an Indian reservation, the only one in Alaska. The island's population was 1,447 at the 2000 census.
Since 1997, Alaska Command (ALCOM]#REDIRECT Alaska Command) has sponsored an Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) project on Annette Island. The Joint Forces Engineer Component Command, an organization organized by the Missouri Army National Guard and under the command and control of ALCOM is building a road from the part of the island closest to Ketchikan to Metlakatla, which is on the far side of the island away from the more populated islands and land in Alaska. This project will improve quality of life for the Metlakatla Indian Community by providing a safe, convenient, and efficient transportation link between the Metlakatla and Ketchikan road systems. The military end state is to provide the Federal Highway Administration a road to DoD main supply route standards. In the process, valid, joint training for all participating units is achieved. [1]
The core JFECC team typically spends from October through April of each year in Missouri developing construction plans for the following summer construction season. Both ALCOM and the Missouri National Guard provide leadership and support to the JFECC staff. All of the Armed Forces of the United States, including the Active and Reserve Components of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines have participated. JFECC's IRT mission is to develop a road to military specifications and Metlakatla will hire civilians to bring it to commercial standards later. [2]
References
- Annette Island: Block Groups 1 and 2 and Blocks 3004 thru 3013, Block Group 3, Census Tract 4, Prince of Wales-Outer Ketchikan Census Area, Alaska United States Census Bureau
- [[1]] Operation Alaskan Road
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