An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

NEWS | March 12, 2020

Alaska National Guard’s exercise Arctic Eagle 2020 wraps up

By Spc. Grace Nechanicky Alaska National Guard Public Affairs

Exercise Arctic Eagle 2020, a two-week biennial exercise organized by the Alaska National Guard, came to an end Mar. 7. The exercise included about 1,250 participants from multiple local and federal civilian agencies as well as foreign and domestic military components, including approximately 900 Air and Army Guardsmen from 15 states, and it took place at multiple venues at locations around the state of Alaska starting Feb. 20.

The locations included Fort Wainwright, Fairbanks, Deadhorse, Bethel, Wasilla and Camp Seadragon.

“Alaska is one fifth the size of the U.S., it’s the only arctic state, and most of the state is off of the road system,” said Maj. Gen. Torrence Saxe, the adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard, “So it’s important to ensure our training opportunities take place at a wide variety of locations that offer unique weather and terrain-related challenges.”

The overall mission of Arctic Eagle is to train and test equipment in arctic environments while demonstrating interoperability with other agencies in a hypothetical emergency response scenario. National Guard states, in partnership with other nations, active duty forces, local, state and federal agencies, are prepared to support the global challenges of Arctic operations and security.

Fort Wainwright hosted two of the venues. Here, a chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear enterprise search and extraction took place progressing through four phases: search and extraction, dry decontamination, medical triage and casualty transportation to local hospitals. Civilian and military participants from Alaska, Colorado, Indiana, Maryland, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin were involved in the training, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency and their K9 unit, and the United States Marine Corps Chemical Biological Incident Response Force.

At the Yukon Training Area on Fort Wainwright, a separate cold-weather exercise took place involving the Alaska National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 297th Infantry Regiment in which various survival, arctic light infantry and weapons training was conducted to test and validate field skills and gear in extreme cold weather conditions. This portion was supported by New Hampshire National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.

In Fairbanks, multiple civil support teams from Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Washington participated in a CBRN response enterprise civil support team exercise at the North Star Fire Department, the Tanana Valley State Fair Grounds and the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and other federal and local agencies participated in the exercise as well.

At Harrison Bay and Deadhorse, cargo and equipment were transported by CC-138 Twin Otter planes. The New York National Guard also conducted day and night landings in LC-130 Skibirds, which is a ski-equipped variant of the C-130 Hercules.

In Bethel, multiple National Guard units conducted a domestic operations mission to support the people of Bethel by running radiological tests and critical site surveys, practicing cold weather survival skills, and testing long-range communications with the Alaska State Defense Force Headquarters at Alcantra Armory in Wasilla.

“We have ASDF personnel out in most of the villages that we went to,” said Amy Schwalber, AE20 lead exercise planner, “So we have members who actually live and work in that area, and they were able to engage the leadership within the community to turn it into a positive outreach.”

The ASDF at Alcantra also conducted domain awareness and critical site security with the 5th Battalion, 19th Special Operations Group (Airborne) and U.S. Border Patrol, tactical personnel who were working out of the Bethel armory.

At Camp Seadragon, near Deadhorse, personnel and aircraft of the Alaska National Guard established a landing zone for the Naval Arctic Research Laboratory to conduct research off the north coast of Alaska. The Guardsmen conducted Arctic Sustainment Package airdrops from an HC-130 Combat King II and a C-17 Globemaster III which also provided an addition of rescue resupply airdrops.

AE20 provides training opportunities for National Guard forces, in collaboration with state and federal partners, to exercise and develop a level of interagency interoperability to ensure an efficient response to a catastrophic event, alleviating impacts to the citizens of Alaska and setting conditions for recovery operations.

“By training other states that aren’t Alaska, it allows them to get experience in the extreme cold,” said Schwalber. “So, should we need assistance here in Alaska, we have individuals who are trained and equipped for the conditions.”

The Alaska National Guard is prepared and trained for domestic operations, crisis response, homeland security, and homeland defense.
Alaska Air Guardsmen assist National Park Service rescue of Denali climber
May 24, 2023
Alaska Air Guardsmen assist National Park Service rescue of Denali climber

Alaska National Guardsmen, State Defense Force deploy to Bethel, Circle to assist with flood recovery
May 23, 2023
Senior Airman Sean Lake, 168th Wing, Alaska Air National Guard, loads gear at Eielson Air Force Base in preparation to help with debris-clearing operations in Circle, Alaska, May 23, 2023. Four Guardsmen and one member of the Alaska State Defense Force will assist with cleanup and flood recovery efforts at the request of the Alaska State Emergency Operations Center. (Alaska Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sgt. Julie Avey)

Alaska's Best Warrior Competition Award Ceremony
May 21, 2023
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
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
Bartlett High School JROTC Takes Flight with Alaska Army National Guard

National Guard, tribal consortium team up in St. Mary’s, Western Alaska
April 6, 2023
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

Alaska Army National Guard ‘First Scouts’ awarded state’s highest heroism medal for 1955 rescue
March 29, 2023
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
Bethel’s Cama-i weekend a flurry of activity for Alaska National Guard

Alaska Guard, Reserve interoperability aid arctic mobilization proficiency
March 24, 2023
Alaska Guard, Reserve interoperability aid arctic mobilization proficiency