Alaska Army National Guard deploys Black Hawk to Bethel for spring floods season > Alaska National Guard > News

An official website of the United States government

Here's how you know

Official websites use .mil

A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.

Secure .mil websites use HTTPS

A lock () or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

A UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter departs Bethel, Alaska, returning to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, April 9, 2021, after providing transportation to hub villages April 7-9. Maj. Gen. Torrence Saxe, commissioner for the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and adjutant general for the Alaska National Guard, accompanied by representatives from the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development, traveled to Western Alaska to meet with Tribal leaders and citizens in Bethel, Tuluksak, and Chevak. They discussed disaster assistance measures and processes in light of recent emergencies that have occurred in the region, and in preparation for the upcoming flood season. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Dana Rosso)

PHOTO INFORMATION

Download

Details

210409-Z-PB-PB632-0141

A UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter departs Bethel, Alaska, returning to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, April 9, 2021, after providing transportation to hub villages April 7-9. Maj. Gen. Torrence Saxe, commissioner for the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and adjutant general for the Alaska National Guard, accompanied by representatives from the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development, traveled to Western Alaska to meet with Tribal leaders and citizens in Bethel, Tuluksak, and Chevak. They discussed disaster assistance measures and processes in light of recent emergencies that have occurred in the region, and in preparation for the upcoming flood season. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Dana Rosso)

Community members of the City of Chevak watch from a safe distance as representatives from of the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, the Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development load onto an Alaska Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter in Chevak, Alaska, April 9, 2021. Members of the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, the Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development traveled to Western Alaska April 7-9 to meet with Tribal leaders and citizens in Bethel, Tuluksak, and Chevak to discuss disaster assistance measures and processes in light of recent emergencies that have occurred in the region, and in preparation for the upcoming flood season. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Dana Rosso)

PHOTO INFORMATION

Download

Details

Public Affairs Specialist

Community members of the City of Chevak watch from a safe distance as representatives from of the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, the Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development load onto an Alaska Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter in Chevak, Alaska, April 9, 2021. Members of the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, the Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development traveled to Western Alaska April 7-9 to meet with Tribal leaders and citizens in Bethel, Tuluksak, and Chevak to discuss disaster assistance measures and processes in light of recent emergencies that have occurred in the region, and in preparation for the upcoming flood season. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Dana Rosso)

Members of the Alaska National Guard, along with members of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, receive a passenger safety briefing prior to boarding an Army National Guard UH-60 Blackhawk for a flight from Bethel to Tuluksak, Alaska, April 8, 2021. Members of the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, the Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development traveled to Western Alaska April 7-9 to meet with Tribal leaders and citizens in Bethel, Tuluksak, and Chevak to discuss disaster assistance measures and processes in light of recent emergencies that have occurred in the region, and in preparation for the upcoming flood season. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Dana Rosso)

PHOTO INFORMATION

Download

Details

Public Affairs Specialist

Members of the Alaska National Guard, along with members of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, receive a passenger safety briefing prior to boarding an Army National Guard UH-60 Blackhawk for a flight from Bethel to Tuluksak, Alaska, April 8, 2021. Members of the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, the Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development traveled to Western Alaska April 7-9 to meet with Tribal leaders and citizens in Bethel, Tuluksak, and Chevak to discuss disaster assistance measures and processes in light of recent emergencies that have occurred in the region, and in preparation for the upcoming flood season. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Dana Rosso)

JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska –

The Alaska National Guard will send a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter to Bethel tomorrow as part of the State’s effort to prepare for disaster response during the 2021 spring flood season.

A Black Hawk and aircrew from the 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation Regiment, Alaska Army National Guard, is scheduled to arrive in Bethel April 27 and will remain until the risk for flooding subsides. While stationed in Bethel, the crew will continue to train on their federal mission and remain ready to respond to any requests for support from civil authorities through the State Emergency Operations Center.

Commissioner for the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard, Maj. Gen. Torrence Saxe, traveled to Western Alaska earlier this month to meet with Tribal leaders and citizens in Bethel, Tuluksak and Chevak to discuss disaster assistance measures and processes in light of recent emergencies that have occurred in the region, and in preparation for the upcoming flood season.

While there, Saxe announced that the Alaska National Guard plans to preposition a Black Hawk during flood season for potential natural disaster emergency response, considering the potential threat of flooding along the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers.

A Black Hawk aircrew is equipped and prepared to respond expeditiously to a rapid event that may require evacuation.

The Guard has an aviation facility in Bethel and for many years, one or two helicopters have been stationed there.

However, more than half of the unit’s aircraft and aircrew are currently deployed overseas for a nine-month deployment to Kuwait. They are supporting Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, a mission to increase regional stability, ongoing since 2014.

Arctic Connect validates HF communication across Alaska
March 5, 2026 — “Harpoon 1-2, this is Midnight Sun 1, radio check, over.” A brief pause stretches across the 545 miles of Arctic terrain, mountains and tundra between Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and Nome. “Midnight Sun 1, this is Harpoon 1-2. I read you loud and clear. How me?” The response cuts clean through the static. In Alaska, that simple exchange is more than a radio check, it’s reassurance that when distance, weather or infrastructure fail, communication does not. ... MORE

Arctic Connect 26 is high-frequency radio communications exercise conducted across Alaska, designed to validate select Alaska Organized Militia units’ ability to communicate with the AKNG’s Joint Operations Center and with each other.

Director of the Army National Guard visits with Alaska Army Guard Soldiers
March 3, 2026 — When Alaska Army National Guard Land Component Commander Col. Aaron Kelsey greeted Director of the Army National Guard Lt. Gen. Jon Stubbs at the entrance of the Alaska Army National Guard Readiness Center on JBER Feb. 20, the mercury had plummeted to 6 degrees below zero with the chill condensing the air to the point the bronzed Minute Man statue standing watch over the Army officers’ meetup was festooned in a layer of frigid frost. Standing as representation of the 1,542 citizen Soldiers and Arctic capable, mission-ready forces within the Alaska Army National Guard, the statue’s symbolism as a guardian sentry over the North emerged throughout the director’s visit. ... MORE

Lt. Gen. Jon Stubbs, Director of the Army National Guard, speaks to Alaska Army National Guard Soldiers Feb. 20, 2026, at the Alaska Army National Guard Readiness Center at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. Stubbs and Command Sgt. Maj. of the Army National Guard Brian Kendrick also met with AKARNG Soldiers at Fort Wainwright and Fort Greely.

Alaska Air National Guard rescues injured snowmachiner near Cooper Landing
February 26, 2026 — Alaska Air National Guard personnel conducted a rescue mission Saturday, Feb. 21, after receiving a request for assistance from the Alaska State Troopers through the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center. The mission was initiated to recover an injured snowmachiner in the Cooper Landing area, approximately 60 air miles south of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. The Alaska Air National Guard accepted the mission, located the individual, and transported them to Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage for further medical care. ... MORE

Alaska Air National Guard pararescuemen assigned to the 212th Rescue Squadron prepare to hoist an injured snowmachiner from a heavily wooded, mountainous area near Cooper Landing, Alaska, Feb. 21, 2026. The mission marked the first search and rescue operation conducted by the 210th Rescue Squadron using the HH-60W Jolly Green II.

Alaska Army National Guard rescues overdue snowmachiner in remote area north of Bethel
February 19, 2026 — An Alaska Army National Guard aircrew assigned to Bethel conducted a successful search and rescue mission to locate and extract an overdue snowmachiner during a mission coordinated through the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center. The mission opened Feb. 15 in response to a request for assistance from the Alaska State Troopers to perform a search for an overdue snowmachiner who had been snowmachining north of Pilot Station. The Alaska Army National Guard accepted the mission through AKRCC and launched a UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter from Bethel to search the area. ... MORE

An Alaska Army National Guard aircrew assigned to Bethel conduct a search and rescue mission to locate and extract an overdue snowmachiner during a mission coordinated through the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center in Western Alaska, Feb. 16, 2026.

Alaska Air National Guardsmen conduct a medical evacuation at night
January 14, 2026 — Alaska Air National Guardsmen assigned to the 176th Wing medically evacuated an individual in Southcentral Alaska, Jan. 12. In response to a request for assistance from the Alaska State Troopers the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center opened a MEDEVAC mission for an individual experiencing a cardiac emergency. Due to weather conditions, the absence of daylight, and the lack of an illuminated airstrip near the distressed individual, local civilian air ambulance services were unable to conduct the mission. ... MORE

Alaska Air National Guard trains with Coast Guard at Air Station Kodiak

Op Santa comes to Anchorage, spreads holiday cheer for Western Alaskans
December 17, 2025 — For nearly 70 years, the Alaska National Guard has worked with partner agencies to spread holiday cheer to rural Alaskan communities. For the first time in recent memory, Op Santa came to Anchorage to serve Western Alaska families displaced by Typhoon Halong... MORE

Alaska Guard’s snowstorm response inspires local PD officer to enlist
December 11, 2025 — What began as a chance encounter during a severe Yakutat snowstorm set Spc. Brad Adams on an unexpected path to the Alaska Army National Guard and toward a new sense of purpose, stability and opportunity for his family... MORE

Beloved, longest serving AKNG command senior enlisted leader Small hands reigns to Phlegar, celebrates retirement
December 9, 2025 — Alaska National Guard Soldiers, Airmen, leaders, families, and community members gathered to witness a time-honored military tradition as Command Sgt. Maj. Julie Small transferred responsibility of the AKNG command senior enlisted leader position to Command Sgt. Maj. John Phlegar and celebrated her retirement following 31 years of service during a dual ceremony at the JBER Arctic Warrior Events Center Dec. 5... MORE

‘Someone real’: AKNG’s Matthew Komatsu’s path through fire and ice leads first CRO in Alaska Guard history to promote to general
December 8, 2025 — Long before he became the first Alaska National Guard combat rescue officer (CRO) in history to pin on a general star, Brig. Gen. Matthew Komatsu was a kid in the Midwest, mesmerized by Top Gun and dreaming of fighter jets. “I was eight or nine when I saw the greatest recruiting propaganda in the nation’s history,” he said with a laugh. “I wanted to be a fighter pilot like Maverick.” The dream carried him all the way to the U.S. Air Force Academy, but once there, reality arrived quickly. He struggled to fit in, chafing at the rigid environment. “I realized pretty early I was a nonconformist, and it’s not a place that encourages that,” he said. “Those first four years, you’re becoming an adult and figuring things out. I barely hung on.”... MORE

AKOM logistics experts key to Typhoon Halong response
November 26, 2025 — The Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Region of Alaska is approximately the size of the state of Louisiana. Despite its size and population of about 25,000 residents scattered across 48 communities, there isn’t a paved network of highways connecting outlying villages to the hub city of Bethel, so logistics can be complex and require much planning. Bethel, located near the Kuskokwim River about 60 miles downriver from the seacoast, is home to the Alaska Army National Guard Readiness Center and its adjoining helicopter hangar, both critical logistical hubs for the Alaska Organized Militia’s ongoing response to the devastating impact of Typhoon Halong on the region... MORE