The CINC speaks.

Via Military Times:

President Donald Trump showered praise on troops and touted the opening of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling when Air Force One made a refueling stop Thursday in Alaska as the president returned from Asia.

Trump was traveling back to Washington after his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un collapsed in Vietnam.

He didn’t discuss those talks during a 20-minute address.

Standing in front of an F-22 Raptor fighter jet at an Anchorage base, Trump thanked all those serving in the military in Alaska, “our country’s last frontier as America’s first line of defense.”

He noted that since World War II, Alaska-based forces have served as the top cover for North America.

“You are a powerful warning to the world to never strike American soil,” Trump said. “You are a warning that everybody knows about and nobody wants to play with.”

Trump also noted that the Anchorage base will receive the first of 54 new F-35 stealth fighter jets that will be “arriving here very soon.” He also said 20 more ground-based interceptors will be installed at Fort Greeley, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Fairbanks, to strengthen the nation’s missile defense system.

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