Alaska National Guard

Leadership

Alaska Army Guard Sgt. Fabrain Alexander, the task force noncommissioned officer in charge and a military policeman with the 297th Military Police Company, sets up a water vacuum suction hose while assisting with cleanup and flood recovery efforts in Manley Hot Springs May 12-15, 2022. The State Emergency Operations Center requested the AKNG for support following a state disaster declaration on May 7 for the Yukon Koyukuk Regional Education Attendance Area.

Alaska Guardsmen return from disaster support after state activation following ice-breakup flooding

By 1st Lt. Balinda O’Neal | May 18, 2022

Five soldiers with the Alaska Army National Guard returned here May 16 after assisting the Interior Alaska community of Manley Hot Springs for four days after the region received significant ice-breakup flooding from the...

Alaska Air National Guard Staff Sgt. Preston Fernandez, a radio frequency transmission systems technician with 176th Communications Flight, installs a satellite communications antenna March 22, 2021, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. The SATCOM antenna is part of the 176th Wing’s Mobile Rescue Operations Center, a rapidly deployable command-and-control suite that supports rescue operations. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by David Bedard/Released)

Arctic Guardians ready to deploy Agile Combat Employment rescue force

By David Bedard | May 13, 2022

Arctic Guardians of the 176th Wing’s 210th, 211th, and 212th Rescue Squadrons as well as supporting wing units are ready to deploy worldwide as the nucleus of a personnel recovery task force using the principles and tactics...

Pvt. Frederica Rivers of the 207th Engineer Company, Spc. Steven Romero and Pfc. Harlan Hartman of the 297th Military Police Company, and Spc. Kyle Johnson of the 297th Regional Support Group inspect vehicles and load necessary equipment in preparation to travel to Manley Hot Springs, Alaska, May 12, 2022, to support flood recovery operations. The Guardsmen will assist with cleanup and flood recovery efforts at the request of the State of Alaska Emergency Operations Center. (Alaska National Guard photo by Senior Master Sgt. Julie Avey)

Alaska National Guard to provide flood recovery assistance to Manley Hot Springs

By | May 12, 2022

An Alaska National Guard task force of five soldiers departed Fairbanks, May 12, 2022 for the Interior Alaska community of Manley Hot Springs after the region received significant flooding from the Tanana River, prompting a...

Alaska National Guardsmen Sgt. 1st Class Oliver Meza, noncommissioned officer in charge of Drug Demand Reduction, trains guardsmen and police officers in the use of naloxone kits provided through Project HOPE in Wasilla, Alaska, April 13, 2022. The Alaska National Guard collaborates with the Office of Substance Misuse and Addiction Prevention in Project HOPE, a state-run initiative aimed at providing opioid overdose rescue kits and training mission partners and law enforcement agencies. (Alaska National Guard photo by Victoria Granado)

Project HOPE: AKNG’s Counterdrug unit, State of Alaska counter opioid overdose rise with naloxone rescue kits

By Victoria Granado | May 9, 2022

The Alaska National Guard’s Counterdrug Support Program, a joint unit of Air and Army National Guardsmen, supports and partners with the state’s Office of Substance Misuse and Addiction Prevention in addressing a rising trend...

The Alaska National Guard Joint Force Headquarters Sexual Assault Prevention and Response coordinator, Ashley Shelton, was named the Department of Defense’s 2022 Liz Blanc Exceptional Sexual Assault Response Coordinator of the Year for the National Guard. The annual awards recognize SARCs from each of the armed services as the very best in a large field of professionals dedicated to sexual assault response and victim assistance. Shelton is pictured with Eris – a four-month-old fawn Bullmastiff currently in training to be a SAPR Therapy Dog outside of the AKNG armory on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, May 3, 2022. (Alaska National Guard photo by 1st Lt. Balinda O’Neal)

AKNG Sexual Assault Response coordinator receives DoD award for exceptional sexual assault response and victim assistance

By 1st Lt. Balinda O’Neal | May 4, 2022

Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month may be recognized officially only in April but it took year-round dedication for one non-traditional, compassionate advocate to be recognized as the very best in a large field of...

Maj. Gen. Torrence Saxe, adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard, presents the Governor’s Trophy to Golf Company, Detachment 2, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion in an award ceremony held at Bryant Army Airfield, Alaska, April 29, 2022. Throughout 2021, the medical evacuation unit rescued 15 Alaskans, trained with over 400 Indian Army Soldiers, and received the Jolly Green Rescue of the Year Award, ultimately leading them to receiving the Alaska Governor’s Trophy and Distinguished Unit Citation.(Alaska National Guard Photo by Staff Sgt. Katie Mazos-Vega)

AK army aviation unit earns coveted Governor’s trophy for first time

By Staff Sgt. Katie Mazos-Vega | May 4, 2022

JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — The Alaska Army National Guard’s Golf Company, Detachment 2, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion received the Alaska Governor’s Trophy and the Alaska Governor’s Distinguished...

A Soldier crosses a Slide-for-Life obstacle during the Best Warrior Competition on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, May 11, 2022. The six-day competition tests Soldiers’ mental and physical agility and toughness through a series of battle-focused events that measure technical and tactical proficiency. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Victoria Granado)

Alaska Army National Guardsmen compete in Best Warrior 2022

AK army aviation unit earns coveted Governor's trophy for first time

Alaska National Guardsmen Sgt. 1st Class Oliver Meza (second from left), noncommissioned officer in charge of Drug Demand Reduction, trains guardsmen and police officers in the use of naloxone kits provided through Project HOPE in Wasilla, Alaska, April 13, 2022. The Alaska National Guard collaborates with the Office of Substance Misuse and Addiction Prevention in Project HOPE, a state-run initiative aimed at providing opioid overdose rescue kits and training mission partners and law enforcement agencies. (Alaska National Guard photo by Victoria Granado)

AKNG's Counterdrug, State of Alaska distribute naloxone rescue kits

Alaska Army National Guardsmen with the 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion travel from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson to Nome, Alaska, via UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter April 11, 2022. The UH-60L Black Hawk helicopters will remain in Nome for Golf Company, Detachment 1, 2-211th GSAB to conduct annual training and aide in River Watch if needed this spring. Should there be significant flooding or other emergency in the vicinity, the helicopters will provide support as requested by the State. (Alaska National Guard photo by 1st Lt. Balinda O’Neal)

Alaska Army Guard stage helicopters in Nome for River Watch

Pvt. Stanley Radeski, Alaska State Defense Force, surveys the outskirts of Nome for a domain awareness exercise, Mar. 1. Alaska Exercise Arctic Eagle-Patriot 2022 increases the National Guard’s capacity to operate in austere, extreme cold-weather environments across Alaska and the Arctic region. AEP22 enhances the ability of military and civilian inter-agency partners to respond to a variety of emergency and homeland security missions across Alaska and the Arctic. (Alaska National Guard photo by Victoria Granado)

Alaska State Defense Force: A tradition of homeland protection

Alaska National Guard Sgt. Andrew Hunt, 103rd Civil Support Team, conducts a site characterization sweep of a simulated chemical weapons lab during exercise Van Winkle 2022 in Juneau, Alaska, March 22. Van Winkle 2022 is a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, explosive response exercise designed to enhance interoperability between state, federal and local first responders with complex training scenarios. Exercise participants included CST units from the Alaska National Guard, Montana National Guard, Connecticut National Guard, Mississippi National Guard and North Carolina National Guard. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Victoria Granado)

Alaska National Guard conducts multiagency CBRNE exercise in Juneau

Arctic Guardians conduct operations on arctic sea ice

Arctic Guardians conduct operations on sea ice

Alaska National Guard 1st Sgt. Angela Horn, Staff Sgt. Anna Knopes, Chief Warrant Officer 5 Tracy Dooley, and Sgt. 1st Class Heather Percy competed in the Annual Chief of the National Guard Biathlon Race on Camp Ripley, Minnesota, from Feb. 12-15, 2022. The AKNG team took first place overall in the women's division during this year's competition. (Courtesy photo)

Alaska National Guardsmen take first place in Annual Chief of the National Guard Biathlon Race

Alaska Army National Guard Spc. Megan Koszarek with Avalanche Company, 1-297th Infantry Battalion, participates in squad and platoon situational training exercises (STX) at Alcantra armory in Wasilla, Alaska, March 11, 2022. An STX is a short, scenario-driven, mission-oriented exercise designed to train one collective task or a group of related tasks or battle drills. For the A-Co. Soldiers, the STX allows for evaluation of basic Soldier skills and leadership competencies to determine proficiency and certify the platoon to conduct live-fire exercises. It also reinforces previous training that the Soldiers have completed by bringing the entire platoon together to further prepare the unit for live-fire training. The infantrymen are preparing to participate in the Army National Guard’s eXportable Combat Training Capability (XCTC) program, which is a brigade field training exercise similar to a Combat Training Center. They will participate in an XCTC rotation at Camp Roberts, California, July 2022. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Spc. Grace Nechanicky)

Alaska Army National Guard A-Co., 297th IN BN conducts STX at Alcantra armory

Video by Victoria Granado

Alaska National Guard conducts multiagency CBRNE exercise in Juneau

Alaska National Guard Public Affairs

March 23, 2022 | 1:27

The Alaska National Guard’s 103rd Civil Support Team, National Guard CST units from other states, and local and federal agencies participated in Van Winkle 2022, a biannual, all-hazards response exercise in Juneau, March 22-23.

National Guardsmen of the 14th CST of Connecticut, 47th CST of Mississippi, 42nd CST of North Carolina and the 83rd CST of Montana flew to the state capital to take part in the scenario-based exercise.

Designed to apply and test their knowledge, units practiced responding to various chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive events while coordinating with civilian assets and federal agencies, such as the Juneau fire department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.