St. Paul Island, Alaska

Yesterday I spent my 48th day on St. Paul Island. My TDY trip here in support of the galley staff for the extra contractors on base is scheduled for 96 days, meaning I am halfway through! If the trip has been anything, it’s been long. I’m looking forward to counting down the days instead of counting up. I have also gained an awful lot of respect for those that spend an entire tour here.


St. Paul Island is home of a LORAN station operated by the Coast Guard. In support of the 625’ tower that pumps its 400,000 watt signal out over the bearing sea, there are currently 14 people stationed here permanently. There are also two civilians that work in a full time status at the station. Each member that gets stationed here leaves their family behind for an entire year. They are compensated by getting an extra 2.5 days/month of compensatory leave and a high priority of transfer for their next assignment. These benefits are the only way that this assignment stays, for the most part, in a volunteer-only status. Thank God for volunteers.


My time here started on the evening of July 27th. An overnight in Anchorage and some hours of flying landed me first on St. George Island and then on to St. Paul. Both islands are part of the Pribilof Island chain.

The XPO picked me up from the airport and our first stop was a seal rookery past Zapadni Point on the southern coast of the island. There I caught my first look at the endangered Northern Fur Seal. I was really looking forward to this visit, as the Fur Seal trade is what originally brought the Coast Guard (then the Revenue Cutter Service) to Alaska. I was not disappointed. The seals were fascinating to watch and listen to. They also have a fascinating smell.

The first week I spent time learning the ins-and-outs of my job here. I also started to learn the routine of LORAN station. There are a lot of techniques used by the personnel to pass their time here. One of my favorites takes place on Fridays. The crew is generally granted early liberty after lunch. Darts, billiards, foosball and movies dominate the afternoon. After dinner the real fun starts, as most of the crew participates in a NL Texas Hold’em tournament (for free, of course) on the mess deck. That first Friday, I took down a tournament of 8 players. This game is easy! Since then, it hasn’t come as easy. I must say that winning 3 of 9 tournaments since arriving appears to be more than my fair share though.

On my first Saturday, and many days since, I walked part of the island. It was just a five mile portion of the island. As a clue to the visual wonders this island displays in the summer time, I took 163 digital photos in that five miles. That first Saturday also marked the beginning of a new month, which was great news (even if I had only been here five days so far).

Anticipation is a big part of passing the time in St. Paul. I’ve found myself looking forward to a number of milestones. Each Friday is indeed a milestone; I’ve been looking forward to the next poker game for years. Also, the comings and goings of personnel is usually looked forward to. As bittersweet as it can be, someone leaving the island means I am closer to going home to see my family. I imagine many people here can’t wait for the day I leave as a marker that their year is closer to being done.

Each milestone seems bigger than it did anywhere else too. For example, I’ve never quite anticipated the start of a football season as much as I have this one. Both college football and the NFL are such a big deal here. Most likely it is because each sports fan knows that a Sunday full of football is a Sunday that flies by. Also, I really can’t wait for my birthday to get here. Not only does it bring up the prospect of some really cool stuff in the mail (like a PEZ dispenser jigsaw puzzle or San Diego Chargers watch!), but it will also mean that I only have five weeks left!

What’s left for the remaining 48 days? Well, there are at least seven more poker games. Maybe (likely) I can add to the six books I’ve read so far. (It’s tough and easy to read here. No one interrupts you. But it gets awfully quiet.) I have at least one more puzzle in store. There will be plenty of working out (at an hour-and-a-half/day, I can burn up 6% of my time here). More walks and photos are definitely on the way. Mostly I will be putting my head down and grinding the time away by picking my head up and enjoying my time here as much as I have so far.