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Multimedia Release

Date: August 10, 2010

Contact: External Affairs Office

(907) 463-2065

Multimedia Release: Coast Guard Commandant visits Operation Arctic Crossroad personnel at Kotzebue

Editors note:  Please click on the photos below to download high resolution imagery.

KOTZEBUE, Alaska - Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Robert Papp Jr. visits deployed personnel from the Coast Guard, Army National Guard and United States Public Health Service in support of Operation Arctic Crossroads 2010 at Forward Operating Location Kotzebue Tuesday, August 10, 2010. Coast Guard video by Petty Officer 3rd Class Walter Shinn  KOTZEBUE, Alaska - Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Robert Papp Jr. and Alaska Senator Mark Begich visit with Coast Guard and Army National Guard personnel deployed in support of Operation Arctic Crossroads 2010 Tuesday, August 10, 2010. Operation Arctic Crossroads is a community outreach across Northern Alaska in an effort to integrate local knowledge with military expertise to meet the many challenges of Arctic operations. Coast Guard photo taken by Petty Officer 3rd Class Walter Shinn. KOTZEBUE, Alaska - Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Robert Papp Jr. and Alaska Senator Mark Begich visit with Coast Guard and Army National Guard personnel deployed in support of Operation Arctic Crossroads 2010 Tuesday, August 10, 2010. In addition to testing the Coast Guard’s capabilities of operating in the Arctic they are also providing much-needed medical, dental and veterinary care to the residents of this remote region. Coast Guard photo taken by Petty Officer 3rd Class Walter Shinn. KOTZEBUE, Alaska - Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Robert Papp Jr. and Alaska Senator Mark Begich visit with Coast Guard and Army National Guard personnel deployed in support of Operation Arctic Crossroads 2010 Tuesday, August 10, 2010. The increasingly accessible and active Arctic region has significant environmental, scientific, economic and security impacts that have broad implications for all of the agencies participating and the public responsibilities they hold. Coast Guard photo taken by Petty Officer 3rd Class Walter Shinn. KOTZEBUE, Alaska - Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Robert Papp Jr. and Alaska Senator Mark Begich visit community leaders in Kotzebue Tuesday, August 10, 2010. Papp and Begich visited with community leaders prior to meeting with military personnel deployed in support Operation Arctic Crossroads 2010 at Forward Operating Location Kotzebue. Coast Guard photo taken by Petty Officer 3rd Class Walter Shinn.

KOTZEBUE, Alaska - Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Robert Papp Jr. and Sen. Mark Begich visit personnel involved with Operation Arctic Crossroads 2010 at Forward Operating Location Kotzebue Tuesday.

During the visit in Kotzebue Papp held a meeting with community leaders where they had the opportunity to ask questions regarding what role the Coast Guard plays in operating in the Arctic Region.

“I understand that when the ice recedes and the water is there these are some of the most treacherous waters in the world,” said Papp.  “Anyone who sails through the Bering Sea, Arctic Ocean and the Gulf of Alaska experience weather that is unlike any other across the world.“

The Coast Guard is testing the capabilities for small response boats operating in shallow waters, testing the reliability of traditional communications and reaching out to remote villages in the Arctic Region with a team of medical doctors as well as veterinarians.  Two Coast Guard Auxiliary members also traveled to the remote villages educating the communities on boating safety.

Operations from Arctic Crossroads 2010 will be evaluated by Papp who will present the results to Congress in Washington D.C.

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