News

Alaska's Best Warrior Competition Award Ceremony
May 21, 2023 — Alaska Army National Guard State Command Sgt. Maj. John Phlegar, announced the winners of the 2023 Alaska Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition during an awards ceremony at Camp Carroll on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson May 21... MORE

Command Sgt. Maj. John Phlegar, left, the state command sergeant major of the Alaska Army National Guard, pins the Army Commendation Medal on the 2023 Soldier of the Year, Spc. Adam Macro, a military police Soldier from Alpha Company, 49th Missile Defense Battalion during the Best Warrior Competition awards ceremony held at Camp Carroll, Alaska, May 21, 2023. Throughout the week of May 16, 2023, the Best Warrior Competition tested Soldiers on their physical and mental readiness as well as their knowledge of Army doctrine and common warrior tasks.

Alaska Army National Guard HH-60 hoists injured backcountry skier off Girdwood mountainside
April 20, 2023 — The Alaska Army National Guard conducted a mid-mountain, hoist rescue of an injured backcountry skier near Girdwood, April 19, 2023, after receiving the mission request from the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center. Air crew assigned to Golf Company, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion accepted the mission and departed from Bryant Army Airfield on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in a hoist-capable HH-60M Black Hawk helicopter specially designed for medical evacuations. ... MORE

On April 19, 2023, an avalanche broke loose at the top of a mountain near Girdwood, Alaska, pulling a backcountry skier 800 to 1000 feet down the face. The red box indicates the injured skier and rescue team. The Alaska Army National Guard’s Golf Company, 2-211th General Aviation Support Battalion received mission request from the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center and rescued the skier with a hoist-capable HH-60M Black Hawk helicopter specially designed for medical evacuations.

Bartlett High School JROTC Takes Flight With Alaska Army National Guard
April 14, 2023 — Thirty-six Bartlett High School Army Junior ROTC students jumped on an Alaska Army National Guard CH-47 Chinook helicopter, and proceeded to rip up Arctic Valley giving the students a flight they won’t soon forget, if ever. For most on board, it was their first time in a helicopter. The event was especially memorable since it was the helicopter that was used to extricate the infamous Into the Wild Bus on June 18, 2020. The purpose of the orientation flight was to give the JROTC students a real-life experience with the Alaska Army National Guard and provide an opportunity for students to ask questions and learn about opportunities and benefits of joining the Guard. ... MORE

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