News

National Guard, tribal consortium team up in St. Mary’s, Western Alaska
April 6, 2023 — “Your left. Your left. Your left, right, left.” As a young girl, Tech. Sgt. Sharon Queenie remembers Guardsmen marching down the dirt road in Mountain Village with their ruck sacks strapped to their shoulders, singing cadences. A 20-mile stretch of road connects Mountain Village to Andreafski High School in St. Mary’s where Queenie found herself speaking with students from her alma mater alongside fellow Alaska National Guardsmen March 31, 2023. ... MORE

Alaska Air National Guard Staff Sgt. Sharon Queenie, a surveillance technician with the 176th Air Defense Squadron, gives a presentation to students from her hometown of St. Mary’s, Alaska, during a recruiting initiative in partnership with the Association of Village Council Presidents at the Andreafski High School, March 31, 2023. The Association of Village Council Presidents recently partnered with the Alaska National Guard to provide recruiting information and resources through their Tribal Job Centers. The initiative kicked off in St. Mary’s with presentations from AVCP and AKNG, where representatives interacted with students, parents, teachers, and community members. AVCP provides community development, education, social services, culturally relevant programs, and advocacy for the people and 56 tribes of Western Alaska.

Alaska Air Guardsmen medevac patient from Little Diomede
April 5, 2023 — Alaska Air Guardsmen medevac patient from Little Diomede... MORE

Alaska Army National Guard ‘First Scouts’ awarded state’s highest heroism medal for 1955 rescue
March 29, 2023 — On June 22, 1955, two Russian MiG-15s from Siberia shot down a U.S. Navy P2V-5 Neptune plane flying a routine maritime patrol from Kodiak out over the Bering Sea. After it crashed in flames on St. Lawrence Island, 16 Alaska National Guardsmen from the First Scout Battalion mounted an immediate rescue mission, ultimately saving everyone on board. On March 28, 2023, more than 67 years later, the Alaska National Guard and Alaska Office of Veterans Affairs presented the Alaska Heroism Medal, the state’s highest award for valor during peacetime, to one veteran and 15 family representatives of the Alaska Army National Guard’s First Scouts. ... MORE

Alaska Heroism Medals sit ready March 28, 2023, for the ceremony at the John Apangalook Memorial High School gymnasium honoring 16 Alaska Army National Guard First Scouts for their heroism during a 1955 rescue mission after two Russian MiG-15s shot down a U.S. Navy P2V-5 Neptune plane flying a routine maritime patrol over the Bering Sea with 11 sailors on board.

Bethel’s Cama-i weekend a flurry of activity for Alaska National Guard
March 27, 2023 — A host of Alaska National Guardsmen and members of the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and Alaska State Defense Force traveled to Bethel during its 2023 Cama-i Dance Festival, March 24-26, for celebration, community outreach and training. Guard and ASDF recruiters took the opportunity to meet and speak with community members during Cama-i and talk about the many opportunities available... MORE

Alaska Guard, Reserve interoperability aid arctic mobilization proficiency
March 24, 2023 — Monotonous beeps reverberated across the Joint Mobility Complex as Soldiers arriving to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson were scanned in for Reception, Staging, Onward movement and Integration ahead of 11th Airborne Division’s Joint Pacific Multi-National Readiness Center-Alaska 23-02 exercise. The Alaska Army National Guard’s 49th Personnel Detachment (Theater Gateway) and U.S. Army Reserve’s 3301st Mobilization Support Battalion welcomed incoming forces as part of the units’ combined annual training to support the exercise reception center, track incoming personnel, and keep accountability of participants and their equipment March 9-23. ... MORE

Alaska Army National Guard Black Hawk to continue training, operating out of Bethel
March 24, 2023 — The Alaska Army National Guard has been operating a UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter out of Bethel since late January 2023 and will continue doing so for the foreseeable future to continue federal training requirements across Western Alaska. While the aircraft and crew are stationed in Bethel for the purpose of conducting federal training requirements, they will remain available to provide emergency assistance as requested by the State Emergency Operations Center or Alaska Rescue Coordination Center. ... MORE

Perseverance ... and rain boots: Arctic Guardian overcomes obstacles to join the Alaska Air National Guard
March 16, 2023 — Arctic Guardian overcomes obstacles to join the Alaska Air National Guard... MORE

176th Wing Guardian Angels jump into Pilot Station to enable medevac
March 15, 2023 — 176th Wing Guardian Angels jump into Pilot Station to enable medevac... MORE

176th Wing integral to NORAD air sovereignty and routine intercept of Russian aircraft
March 7, 2023 — 176th Wing integral to NORAD air sovereignty and routine intercept of Russian aircraft... MORE

Alaska Air Guardsmen provide life-saving medevac for pediatric patient from Elim
March 1, 2023 — Alaska Air Guardsmen provide life-saving medevac for pediatric patient from Elim... MORE