The U.S. military is struggling to provide child care to its service members in Alaska, which is directly affecting operations and putting a strain on those serving in uniform.
Alaska child care providers have reported that the system statewide is in crisis, with long waitlists, low wages and high enrollment costs. While most of the child care challenges facing the military in Alaska are similar to those in the civilian world, some are unique.
Across the country, finding affordable and accessible child care has been a longstanding challenge for military families. U.S. Air Force Col. David Wilson, commander of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, said that child care is his “No. 1 challenge.”
There are 279 children currently on the base's child care waitlist. Placements are prioritized for single-parent military families, who are active-duty service members who have children and are not married. The second highest priority is for dual military families — where both the mother and father are in uniform.
Members of the military in Alaska say that they sometimes have to stay home to look after their children when child care is not available. Wilson and officers at other Alaska military installations say that civilian spouses are often forced to give up their jobs or scale back time at work to watch their kids, so their spouse can report for duty. Many service members in Alaska are far from…
