Editing Adak, Alaska (section)

==History==
[[File:Mountain visible from Adak.jpg|thumb|Great Sitkin Island view with Telephoto from Adak, AK]]

===19th century===
The Aleutian Islands were historically occupied by the [[Aleut people|Unanga]], more commonly known now as the Aleuts. The once heavily populated island was eventually abandoned in the early 19th century as the Aleutian Island hunters followed the Russian fur trade eastward, and famine set in on the Andreanof Island group. However, they continued to hunt and fish actively around the island over the years, until [[World War II]] broke out.

=== Military===
Adak Army installations allowed U.S. and Canadian forces to mount a successful offensive against the [[Japan]]ese-held islands of [[Kiska]] and [[Attu Island|Attu]]. After the war, Adak was developed as a [[Naval Air Facility Adak|naval air station]], playing an important role during the [[Cold War]] as a [[SOSUS|submarine surveillance center]]. Large earthquakes rocked the island in 1957, 1964 and 1977.

[[File:Abandoned military facilities on Adak Island. Aleutian Islands, Alaska.jpg|thumb|alt=A series of large concrete buildings with peeling paint, clearly in a state of disrepair|Abandoned military buildings on Adak Island. These buildings house a basketball court, squash court, saunas, bowling alley, and more, all in an unusable state of disrepair.]]At its peak, the station housed over 6,000 naval and Coast Guard personnel and their families. In 1994, the base was downsized; the local [[McDonald's]] and both the family housing and schools were closed. The station officially closed on March 31, 1997, as a result of [[1995 Base Realignment and Closure Commission]] (BRAC). [[The Aleut Corporation]] purchased Adak's facilities under a land transfer agreement with the Department of the Interior and the [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]]/[[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]]. This agreement was finalized in March 2004. About 30 families with children relocated to Adak in September 1998, most of them Aleut Corp. shareholders, and the former high school was reopened at that time as a K–12 institution. The community incorporated as a second-class city in April 2001. Substantially all of the infrastructure and facilities on Adak are owned by Aleut Corporation, which is currently developing Adak as a commercial center via their subsidiary companies. For example, properties in active use are leased by Adak Commercial Properties, LLC.

Since World War II, the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard developed facilities and recreation opportunities at Adak. At its peak, Adak had a college, a McDonald's restaurant, a [[Baskin-Robbins]] ice cream stand, movie theater, roller skating rink, swimming pool, ski lodge, bowling alleys, skeet range, auto hobby shop, photo lab, and racquetball & tennis courts. A new $18-million hospital was built in 1990, just seven years prior to the closure of the station. By March 2003, six years after the closure of the station, most of these facilities had closed.

As of March 2021, the U.S. Navy is considering reopening the air base at Adak.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Leval|first=Dave|title=Sullivan: Navy considering reopening base in Adak|url=https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2021/03/15/sullivan-navy-considering-reopening-base-in-adak/|access-date=August 26, 2021|website=www.alaskasnewssource.com|date=March 15, 2021 |language=en}}</ref>