Eielson Air Force Base and UAF enter housing agreement

By Aaron Thomas

The University of Alaska Fairbanks and Eielson Air Force Base have signed a housing agreement to utilize unused housing on campus to solve a shortage on base. As the recent growth on base has outpaced infrastructure, the Air Force has been searching for a medium to long-term solution to house its members.  

Photo via University of Alaska Fairbanks

According to Eielson’s press release on June 17, the base is currently at 97% housing capacity and the agreement would help free up space for incoming active duty KC-135 Stratotankers and increased F-35A Lightning II manning.  Around 300 personnel will be moving on base in the near future. 

The program would allow 96 personnel to reside in Stevens and Nerland halls on lower campus. If the program is successful during the first year, the agreement may be renewed for up to 10 years. Both Stevens and Nerland halls are currently unoccupied and have been for the past year.

According to Stephen Phillips, the Director of Military & Veteran Services at UAF, the agreement was “discussed with all of the local and state-level entities that would have a stake in this.”Phillips said that the discussion of an arrangement had been going on as soon as “it became evident that Eielson was looking for a bit of a relief valve.” The Air Force officially submitted their proposal for the arrangement in late spring, and the contract was signed in June.

The majority of personnel enrolled in the program are between the ages of 19 and 21 according to Phillips. Several service members are also utilizing the on-campus housing agreement to pursue an education at UAF in tandem with their military service.

Phillips said that the language in the agreement “makes it clear that either party can bow out of this for virtually any reason.” If the remote location and commute is affecting timeliness or housing shortages arise as a result of the military personnel on campus, the contract can be terminated.

“If we were feeling a surge of enrollment here and our available dormitory space started to pinch down into the lower campus and those lower dorms, then by all means, our students, our mission here at university would come first, and we would likely communicate back to the Air Force,” said Phillips.

Service members in the program will be issued parking passes for the lower lot on campus, as possessing a means of transportation was a requirement for enrollment. Per the terms of the agreement, the Air Force is paying for the space on campus, housing, residential services, gym usage, parking, internet, and associated building maintenance.

“There’s a business aspect to this, and that aspect was beneficial to the university as well,” Phillips said.

Service members on campus have already gone through Title IX training from the Office of Rights, Compliance and Accountability and student orientation by the Wood Center. Those enrolled in the program are bound by both military standards and Title IX standards.

“Big to small, formal to informal, we have ties to the military, and it strengthens the university and it strengthens the military’s role here in Alaska,” Phillips said.