Military impact: Alaska's defense spending bolsters state economy.

• Author: Hollander, Zaz
• Position: MILITARY

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Alaska's military defends the nation. But Alaska-based fighting forces have also been a significant safeguard when it comes to the state's economy. Federal spending by the US military in Alaska--though expected to decline in coming years--constitutes a major economic engine that brought an infusion of spending during tough times.

Here's one way to look at it: A decade-long force buildup and construction boom by Alaska's military probably helped spare the state from the worst of the economic woes that hammered the Lower 48 these past few years.

"If you see it as an industry, which it basically is, the United States of America is paying Alaska to defend the nation and they're providing all the resources," says Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development economist Neal Fried. "It was a big source of growth in the last decade for Alaska, and one of the reasons we experienced only a glancing blow from the recession."

Three-quarters of the federal jobs in Alaska are military, if you include both uniformed military and civilian employees. The US Department of Defense is the state's largest federal entity, employing nearly 30,000 Alaskans, according to the Alaska Department of Labor & Workforce Development. Alaska's concentration of veterans is the highest in the nation at 15 percent of the state's adult population. Military retirees receive hundreds of millions of dollars in benefits.

The military's economic might reaches many business sectors. Defense construction spending, while down this year, added up to more than $1 billion in 2010 and 2011. Alaska corporations benefit from those contracts.

Military members and their families spend money in their home communities of Kodiak, Anchorage, Fairbanks, Delta Junction or Juneau. Fairbanks, for example, boasts about 8,000 military members and 10,000 family members and retirees. Translate those people to consumers and you've got an economic driver that reaches $800 million a year, according to the Fairbanks Economic Development Corp.

There are less direct effects to Alaska's military presence, too. Consider the economic benefits of the US Coast Guard, saving the lives of fishermen and others, as well as vessels and property.

"If you rescue someone, that means they can go back to work," says Coast Guard Lt. J.G. James Dooley, based in Juneau.

Boom and Bust

Today, military personnel and their families make up 8 percent of the state's population, most living in Anchorage...