16 Proceedings Fall 2025 piers that make up the Coast Guard’s vast shore facility portfolio. As the Shore Infrastructure Logistics Center (SILC) mantra states: Every Coast Guard mission begins and ends at a shore facility. Enter Civil Engineering Unit (CEU) Juneau. Planning and Real Property CEU Juneau is SILC’s service provider in the Last Frontier, supporting Alaskan Coast Guard units with a broad portfolio of services including planning, real property, environmental, design, and construction man- agement business lines. The unit manages more than 3,000 real property assets across the state, valued at more than $8.8 billion. Real property includes all land, build- ings, and structures, both owned and leased. Some of these assets are well-known and used daily. For example, fixed aids to navigation marking shoal water in narrow T he fishing industry in Alaska generated an astounding $6 billion in economic output in 2024.1 It is a big part of life in the Last Frontier, and if you find yourself in one of Alaska’s remote cities, towns, or villages, chances are most people you meet will have a family member or friend who works in this industry. It is a dangerous job, with Alaskan fishermen brav- ing the cold, remote waters of the Bering Sea or Gulf of Alaska, enduring high seas, treacherous winds, and freezing weather to haul in their catches. In the midst of this, the Coast Guard fulfills its responsibilities to rescue those in distress and enforce federal fishing laws to help ensure the industry survives for generations to come. While heroic rescue missions rightfully attract media attention, it’s easy to gloss over the fact that no Coast Guard mission would be possible without the houses, offices, communications towers, hangars, runways, and Civil Engineering Support in the Last Frontier by lt Kyle hansen Construction Branch Chief Civil Engineering Unit Juneau U.S. Coast Guard CdR tyleR heffneR Commanding Officer Civil Engineering Unit Juneau U.S. Coast Guard Located in Port Clarence, Alaska, the Port Clarence Long Range Navigation Station was a Coast Guard facility and part of the LORAN-C navigation system that provided precise location and timing information for maritime and aviation navigation. The facility was decommissioned in 2010, and the land was later returned to the Bering Straits Native Corporation as part of a land reclamation effort. Coast Guard photo by Christina Howard
