The U.S. Missile Defense Agency has applied for a wetlands permit with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to begin construction of a portion of the nation's new missile defense system at Eareckson Air Station on Shemya Island.

Proposed work at the U.S. Air Force installation includes upgrades to the existing Cold War-era early warning radar system, utility extensions, housing and infrastructure improvements, dredging and land-clearing.

Most importantly will be the installation of test equipment related to X-Band radar, the most powerful tracking and detection device in the world and the heart of the national missile defense system.

Lt. Col. Jim Balocki, deputy commander of the ballistic missile defense program for the Alaska district, said work will begin this summer, once a permit is in place and a federal environmental impact statement completed.

Work related to the national missile defense system in Alaska also is slated for Fort Greely and Eielson Air Force Base. A test missile complex is set for construction this summer at Fort Greely, as is a transfer facility at Eielson for shipment of booster missile components.

Missile launch facilities on Kodiak Island also are being considered.

The test facilities at Fort Greely and Shemya are expected to be completed by mid-decade, according to Department of Defense officials.

About $198 million will be spent at Fort Greely this year, and $48 million at Shemya, Balocki said.

An estimated $12.5 billion is needed to fund the entire missile defense project, a top priority with the U.S. Defense Department.

Only two miles wide and four miles long, Shemya Island is one of the most important pieces of real estate in the United States. It has long been used by the military to monitor missile tests in Russia and as a refueling stop for U.S. war planes.

The island's location on the tip of the Aleutian chain makes Shemya ideal for the new antiballistic missile radar, designed to get an early look at any missile fired at the United States from Russia, China, Iraq, Iran or North Korea, Department of Defense officials say.

The antiballistic radar at Shemya would lock onto warheads as they cross the Pacific and guide intercepting missiles from mainland Alaska. In theory, the Alaska-launched missiles would destroy the incoming missiles on impact above the Earth's atmosphere.

Shemya, with the Bering Sea on one side and the Northern Pacific on the other, is closer to Russia and Japan than it is to Anchorage, 1,500 miles to the northeast.

The tiny island's location, while strategically significant, is one of the worst places on Earth to build anything, and it is a logistical nightmare, said John Killoran, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokesman in Anchorage.

"It's awful out there but the location couldn't be better," Killoran said.

Weather on Shemya is brutal, even by Alaska standards. Calm, sunny days are rare. Earthquakes have rocked the island repeatedly over the years.

Air Force Capt. Heather Anderson said she loves the place.

"It takes a special kind of person to work here because it's so remote," Anderson said.

To the 100 or so people who work on "The Rock" or the "Black Pearl," the incredible weather conditions are known simply as the "Shemya Factor."

For example, Anderson said, in the winter snow blows and swirls almost continuously, creating a sand-blasting effect. And the warmer weather doesn't always bring better conditions. Last summer saw 122 consecutive days of fog.

"For 122 days it was as thick as pea soup. You couldn't see in front of your face," Anderson said.

"We have hurricane-force winds without there actually being a hurricane, on a regular basis," Anderson said. "It's pretty spectacular."

There are a few temporary duty Navy and Air force personnel on the island like Anderson, and about 90 contractors from Chugach Eareckson Support Services, a joint venture between Del-Jen Inc. and Chugach Development Corp.

The contractors are charged with keeping the island's runway open to military and commercial traffic and other island operations.

The island also is home to about 18 Arctic foxes known locally as scruffys. The foxes earn their keep by keeping goose populations at bay, lessening the risk of aircraft-bird collisions, Anderson said.

Companies from California, Washington and Alaska have submitted proposals to the Missile Defense Agency to do the planned work this summer. A contract should be awarded by April, and work will begin immediately thereafter, Balocki said.

Barge shipments would have to come either from Anchorage or Seattle, 3,000 miles away.

Shemya has only one dock, and the island's beaches are home to many shipwrecks.

Balocki said the window of time for construction is narrow, so shipments must be precise.

"It's not like there is a Home Depot on the next island," Balocki said.