ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson makes Anchorage a military hotspot, and even after retirement, many veterans seem to prefer Alaska over their hometowns.
Following his recent retirement from the Air Force, Steven Udall — who spent eight years stationed at JBER — returned with his family to Anchorage to become the first general manager of Anchorage’s soon-to-open Tommy’s Express Car Wash.
“There’s something about Alaska that is almost unspoken unless you’re here and can experience it,” Udall said in a press release announcing his hiring as general manager.
But Jessy Lakin with the Alaska Warrior Partnership seemed to put a finger on that unspoken quality.
“Alaska is great at bringing their community together and veterans love a community,” Lakin said in an interview last week. “So veterans always come back to Alaska.”
As the …