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The most recent appropriations for the Department of War expired at 11:59 p.m. EST on September 30, 2025. Military personnel will continue in a normal duty status without pay until such time as a continuing resolution or appropriations are passed by Congress and signed into law. Civilian personnel not engaged in excepted activities will be placed in a non-work, non-pay status.
For more information: https://www.war.gov/Lapse-in-Appropriations
Alaska National Guard Child and Youth Program volunteers, including youth council members, led activities at the AKNG CYP Fall Festival Sept. 13, 2025, helping children play, learn, and grow. The event highlighted the program’s role in developing young leaders and connecting Guard families to their community. (Alaska National Guard photo by Seth LaCount)
AKNG Child and Youth Program Fall Festival celebrates community, youth empowerment
By Seth LaCount | Sept. 25, 2025
Alaska National Guard Child and Youth Program members welcomed the autumn season by holding their second annual Fall Festival Sept. 13 at JBER. Approximately 260 local residents attended this year’s event, which included 51...

University of Alaska Army Cadet Jake Thacker writes notes prior to land navigation during a field training exercise at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Sept. 18, 2025. The Nanook Battalion which includes the University of Alaska Fairbanks as the host school and the University of Alaska Anchorage as a detachment with the U.S. Army and the Alaska Army National Guard to develop warrior skills, train tactical task and prepare students to serve as commissioned officers in the Army, Army Reserve or Army National Guard. (Alaska National Guard photo by Pfc. Azavyon McFarland)
ROTC Minuteman Scholarship Recipient: Alaska Army Guardsman embarks on path to leadership
By Pfc. Azavyon McFarland | Sept. 25, 2025
The leaves aren’t the only thing changing in Alaska this fall. For Cadet Gabriel Gravel, an Alaska Army Guardsman attending University of Alaska Anchorage, transformation is also happening on his journey from enlisted Soldier...

An Alaska Air National Guard HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter assigned to the 210th Rescue Squadron flies over Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska while conducting a training operation Oct. 2, 2024. The Pave Hawk is the 176th Wing’s primary platform for personnel extraction since the all-weather helicopter can land in a variety of austere locations, and the crew can employ the rescue hoist when landing is not possible. The 210th, along with the 211th and 212th RQSs, make up the 176th Wing Rescue Triad and are among the busiest combat search and rescue units in the world. (Alaska National Guard photo by Alejandro Peña)
Multi-agency responders save plane crash survivor
By Alejandro Pena | Sept. 11, 2025
Alaska Air National Guardsmen with the 176th Wing rescued the single occupant of a plane crash Sept. 10, approximately 115 miles northeast of Anchorage...

An Alaska Army National Guard UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter assigned to A Company, 1-168th General Support Aviation Battalion approaches the Herbert Glacier riverbed while conducting flight operations near Juneau, Alaska, Jan. 24, 2025. The Juneau-based Black Hawk aircrew conducts their federal mission training requirements and, when available, can respond to emergency requests by the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center or the State Emergency Operations Center. The Black Hawk is a versatile aircraft, suited for a variety of missions including, air assaults, medical evacuations, and airlift operations. Equipped with internal and external auxiliary fuel tanks, the Black Hawk’s range is extended allowing the aviators to better support the communities of Southeast Alaska. (Alaska National Guard photo by Alejandro Peña)
Alaska Army National Guard rescues multiple individuals from two separate small aircraft crashes
By Alejandro Pena | Sept. 9, 2025
Alaska Army National Guard aviators with the 1-168th General Support Aviation Battalion, rescued individuals in two separate plane crashes across Alaska Sept. 5, and Sept. 8, respectively...

Arizona Army National Guard Sgt. Sean Smeltzer, assigned to Alpha Company, 49th Missile Defense, Ground Based Interceptor Security Company works on shift at Ft. Greely, Alaska August 13, 2025. Smeltzer is currently on a one-year rotation with the AZARNG, augmenting the missile defense site’s military police force. (Alaska National Guard photo by David Bedard)
Alaska Army National Guard’s 49th Missile Defense Battalion forges mission success through resilience, community
By Seth LaCount | Sept. 9, 2025
In the heart of interior Alaska, where the wind howls across the tundra and winter locks the land in forty-below darkness, Soldiers of the Alaska Army National Guard’s 49th Missile Defense Battalion carry out one of the...

Alaska Army National Guard Chief Warrant Officer 2 Ben Russell, a UH-60 Black Hawk pilot with the 207th Aviation Troop Command, poses with the SECDEF Employer Support Freedom Award during an award ceremony Sept. 4, 2025. Russel nominated his employer, the Anchorage Fire Department for the award and the AFD was one of 15 organizations nationwide that received it for their commitment to excellence and taking care of those who serve. (Alaska National Guard photo by Seth LaCount)
Anchorage Fire Department receives DOD’s highest award for outstanding employer support
By Seth LaCount | Sept. 5, 2025
The Anchorage Fire Department received the 2025 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award at a ceremony at the Anchorage Fire Training Center, Sept. 4. The AFD was only the third Alaska employer to receive this...