Mission Statement: The 59th Signal Battalion conducts strategic Signal operations to enable mission command for Joint, DoD, and U.S. Army Alaska (USARAK) organizations within Alaska and serves as the Continuity of Operations (COOP) for the Regional Cyber Center - Pacific (RCC-P).
59th Signal Battalion has units and personnel at the three major Army installations in Alaska: Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER), Fort Wainwright, and Fort Greely with its primary headquarters at JBER. Charlie Company, 307th Expeditionary Signal Battalion is also co-located at JBER to provide expeditionary communications support to USARAK all across Alaska.
Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) is a base that makes up Elmendorf Air Force Base and Fort Richardson in Alaska. Fort Richardson was named for the military pioneer explorer, Brig. Gen. Wilds P. Richardson, who served three tours of duty in the rugged Alaska territory between 1897 and 1917.
A full range of family and soldier support facilities common to any small Army community are found on post, ranging from a shoppette to childcare and recreational facilities. The post has small but modern dental and medical clinics, and receives major medical services from the 3rd Medical Group hospital on the Elmendorf side. The Joint Military Mall, also located on Elmendorf, provides Post Exchange and commissary services.
Anchorage, AK
Anchorage (officially called the Municipality of Anchorage) is the northernmost major city in the United States, and largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With an estimated 286,174 municipal residents in 2009 (374,553 residents within the Metropolitan Statistical Area), the city constitutes more than 40 percent of the state's total population; only New York has a higher percentage of residents who live in the state's largest city. Anchorage has been named All-America City four times, in 1956, 1965, 1984/85, and 2002, by the National Civic League. It has also been named by Kiplinger as the most tax friendly city in the United States.
Climate
Anchorage (current conditions) has a subarctic climate but with strong maritime influences that moderate temperatures. Average daytime summer temperatures range from approximately 55--78 �F (13--26 �C); average daytime winter temperatures are about 5--30 �F (-15---1.1 �C). Anchorage has a frost-free growing season that averages slightly over 100 days.
Average January low and high temperatures at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (PANC) are 9--22 �F (-13---6 �C) with an average winter snowfall of nearly 71 in (180 cm). The 1954--1955 winter had 132.8 in (337.3 cm), which made it the snowiest winter on record. The coldest temperature ever recorded at the original weather station located at Merrill Field on the East end of 5th Avenue was −38 �F (−38.9 �C) on February 3, 1947.
Summers are typically mild (although cool compared to the contiguous US and even interior Alaska), and it can rain frequently. Average July low and high temperatures are 52--66 �F (11--19 �C) and the hottest reading ever recorded was 92 �F (33.3 �C) on June 25, 1953. The average annual precipitation at the airport is around 16 in (406 mm). Anchorage's latitude causes summer days to be very long and winter daylight hours to be very short. The city is often cloudy during the winter, which decreases the amount of sunlight experienced by residents.
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