We saw China’s spy flights up close. Keep this outpost against America’s enemies strong

Events over the past month have been a useful reminder for our fellow Americans that Alaska holds a far more strategic position on the globe than our typical depiction in a box at the bottom of a map would indicate. 

Most know that Alaska is huge, at two-and-a-half times the size of Texas. Fewer may know that we’re not only the farthest north and west state; we are also the farthest east. We’re so far east that the International Dateline has to jog around the island of Attu in the Aleutian chain to divide us from Russian territory. 

We’re so far east that we’re closer to Australia than California is. 

CHINA THREATENS US WITH ‘CONSEQUENCES’ OVER SPYCRAFT SHOOTDOWN, SAYS IT WILL NOT ‘FLINCH’

This isn’t just some trivia to impress your friends at your next get-together, but to illustrate Alaska’s critical importance to our national defense. 

This beautiful view near Denali, Alaska, is how many Americans envision the nation’s…