 In September 1951, the U.S. Air Force 626th Airborne Control and Warning Squadron was established on the island at a base on its southern end called Fire Island Air Force Station.Staffed by about 200 personnel, the base was an air defense radar center and Nike surface-to-air missile site for NORAD, doubling as a Federal Aviation Administration air traffic control radar and communications site.Since the island is not connected to the mainland, all supplies came by helicopter from Elmendorf Air Force Base and, during summer, by barge from Anchorage.