Alaska Army Guard aviators train with Special Tactics Airmen

Special Tactics Airmen assigned to 24th Special Operations Wing, Detachment 1, conduct an aerial insertion and field training exercise at Camp Mad Bull training site on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Jan. 10, 2023. The 24 SOW Det 1 Special Tactics Airmen are capable of assessing and opening anything from a major international airport to clandestine dirt strips in either permissive or hostile locations, providing strategic access for follow-on forces during global contingencies, and joint readiness exercises. Alaska Army National Guardsmen assigned to the 207th Aviation Battalion flew UH-60L and HH-60M Black Hawk helicopters in order to support the aerial insertion, medical evacuation and hoist training of the Special Tactics teams. The Alaska Army National Guard’s GSAB routinely trains with all branches of the military as well as civilian agencies to increase its operational interoperability and to be ready for a wide range of federal and state missions.

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Alaska Army Guard aviators train with Special Tactics Airmen

Special Tactics Airmen, assigned to 24th Special Operations Wing, Detachment 1, unload from an Alaska Army National Guard UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter, assigned to 1-207th Aviation Regiment, Jan. 10, 2023, at Camp Mad Bull on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. The aircrew conducted aerial insertion training while the Special Tactics teams conducted arctic operations at JBER. The Alaska Army National Guard’s General Support Aviation Battalion routinely trains with all branches of the military as well as civilian agencies to increase its operational interoperability and to be ready for a wide range of federal and state missions. (Alaska National Guard photo by Dana Rosso)

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Alaska Army Guard aviators train with Special Tactics Airmen

An Alaska Army National Guard HH-60M Black Hawk helicopter, assigned to 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, makes a tactical approach into Camp Mad Bull on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Jan. 10, 2023. The aircrew conducted medevac and hoist training with the 24th Special Operations Wing during its arctic operations training exercise. The Alaska Army National Guard’s General Support Aviation Battalion routinely trains with all branches of the military as well as civilian agencies to increase its operational interoperability and to be ready for a wide range of federal and state missions. (Alaska National Guard photo by Dana Rosso)

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Alaska Army Guard aviators train with Special Tactics Airmen

An Alaska Army National Guard UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter, assigned to 1-207th Aviation Regiment, delivers a Special Tactics Airmen squad assigned to 24th Special Operations Wing, Detachment 1, to their designated landing zone at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Jan. 10, 2023. The aircrew conducted aerial insertion training with the Special Tactics teams. The Alaska Army National Guard’s General Support Aviation Battalion routinely trains with all branches of the military as well as civilian agencies to increase its operational interoperability and to be ready for a wide range of federal and state missions. (Alaska National Guard photo by Dana Rosso)

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Alaska Army Guard aviators train with Special Tactics Airmen

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Alaska Army Guard aviators train with Special Tactics Airmen

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Alaska Army Guard aviators train with Special Tactics Airmen

Special Tactics Airmen assigned to the 24th Special Operations Wing transmit a 9-line medevac request to a HH-60M Black Hawk helicopter flying in the vicinity of Camp Mad Bull training area on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Jan. 10, 2023. The aircrew conducted medevac training with the 24th Special Operations Wing during its arctic operations exercise. The Alaska Army National Guard’s General Support Aviation Battalion routinely trains with all branches of the military as well as civilian agencies to increase its operational interoperability and to be ready for a wide range of federal and state missions. (Alaska National Guard photo by Dana Rosso)

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Alaska Army Guard aviators train with Special Tactics Airmen

Special Tactics Airmen assigned to 24th Special Operations Wing, Detachment 1, prepare to transfer a notional casualty to an Alaska Army National Guard HH-60M Black Hawk helicopter assigned to Golf Company, Detachment 2, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, at Camp Mad Bull on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Jan. 10, 2023. The aircrew conducted air assault, medical evacuation and hoist training with the Special Tactics teams. The Alaska Army National Guard’s General Support Aviation Battalion routinely trains with all branches of the military as well as civilian agencies to increase its operational interoperability and to be ready for a wide range of federal and state missions. (Alaska National Guard photo by Dana Rosso)

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Alaska Army Guard aviators train with Special Tactics Airmen

Special Tactics Airmen, assigned to 24th Special Operations Wing, Detachment 1, prepare to transfer a notional casualty to an Alaska Army National Guard HH-60M Black Hawk helicopter assigned to Golf Company, Detachment 2, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, at Camp Madbull on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Jan. 10, 2023. Army Guard air crews conducted aerial insertion, medical evacuation and hoist operations with the Special Tactics teams. The Alaska Army National Guard’s General Support Aviation Battalion routinely trains with all branches of the military as well as civilian agencies to increase its operational interoperability and to be ready for a wide range of federal and state missions. (Alaska National Guard photo by Balinda O’Neal)

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Alaska Army Guard aviators train with Special Tactics Airmen

Alaska Army Guard Spc. Matthew Tucker, left, a flight medic, and Staff Sgt. Brad McKenzie, a crew chief and hoist operator, both assigned to Golf Company, Detachment 2, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, assist Special Tactics Airmen, assigned to 24th Special Operations Wing, Detachment 1, with medical evacuation training, at Camp Madbull on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Jan. 10, 2023. Army Guard air crews also conducted aerial insertion and hoist operations with the Special Tactics teams. The Alaska Army National Guard’s General Support Aviation Battalion routinely trains with all branches of the military as well as civilian agencies to increase its operational interoperability and to be ready for a wide range of federal and state missions. (Alaska National Guard photo by Balinda O’Neal)

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Alaska Army Guard aviators train with Special Tactics Airmen

Alaska Army Guard Staff Sgt. Brad McKenzie, left, a crew chief and hoist operator, assists Spc. Matthew Tucker, a flight medic, both assigned to Golf Company, Detachment 2, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, as he prepares to be lowered from an Alaska Army National Guard HH-60M Black Hawk helicopter on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Jan. 10, 2023. Army Guard air crews conducted aerial insertion, medical evacuation and hoist training with Special Tactics Airmen, assigned to 24th Special Operations Wing, Detachment 1. The Alaska Army National Guard’s General Support Aviation Battalion routinely trains with all branches of the military as well as civilian agencies to increase its operational interoperability and to be ready for a wide range of federal and state missions. (Alaska National Guard photo by Balinda O’Neal)

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Alaska Army Guard aviators train with Special Tactics Airmen

An Alaska Army National Guard HH-60M Black Hawk helicopter, assigned to 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, conducts medevac hoist operations at Camp Mad Bull on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Jan. 10, 2023. The aircrew conducted medevac and hoist training with the 24th Special Operations Wing during its arctic operations training exercise. The Alaska Army National Guard’s General Support Aviation Battalion routinely trains with all branches of the military as well as civilian agencies to increase its operational interoperability and to be ready for a wide range of federal and state missions. (Alaska National Guard photo by Dana Rosso)

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Alaska Army Guard aviators train with Special Tactics Airmen

Alaska Army Guard Staff Sgt. Brad McKenzie, left, a crew chief and hoist operator, assists Spc. Matthew Tucker, right, a flight medic, both assigned to Golf Company, Detachment 2, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, as he is hoisted into an Alaska Army National Guard UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter with a notional casualty on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Jan. 10, 2023. Army Guard air crews conducted aerial insertion, medical evacuation and hoist training with Special Tactics Airmen, assigned to 24th Special Operations Wing, Detachment 1. The Alaska Army National Guard’s General Support Aviation Battalion routinely trains with all branches of the military as well as civilian agencies to increase its operational interoperability and to be ready for a wide range of federal and state missions. (Alaska National Guard photo by Balinda O’Neal)

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Alaska Army Guard aviators train with Special Tactics Airmen

Alaska Army Guard Staff Sgt. Brad McKenzie, left, a crew chief and hoist operator, assists Spc. Matthew Tucker, right, a flight medic, both assigned to Golf Company, Detachment 2, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, as he is hoisted into an Alaska Army National Guard HH-60M Black Hawk helicopter with a notional casualty on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Jan. 10, 2023. Army Guard air crews conducted aerial insertion, medical evacuation and hoist training with Special Tactics Airmen, assigned to 24th Special Operations Wing, Detachment 1. The Alaska Army National Guard’s General Support Aviation Battalion routinely trains with all branches of the military as well as civilian agencies to increase its operational interoperability and to be ready for a wide range of federal and state missions. (Alaska National Guard photo by Balinda O’Neal)

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Alaska Army Guard aviators train with Special Tactics Airmen

Special Tactics Airmen, assigned to 24th Special Operations Wing, Detachment 1, prepare to be loaded onto an Alaska Army National Guard UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter, assigned to 1-207th Aviation Regiment, Jan. 10, 2023, at Camp Mad Bull on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. The aircrew conducted aerial insertion training while the Special Tactics teams conducted arctic operations at JBER. The Alaska Army National Guard’s General Support Aviation Battalion routinely trains with all branches of the military as well as civilian agencies to increase its operational interoperability and to be ready for a wide range of federal and state missions. (Alaska National Guard photo by Dana Rosso)

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Alaska Army Guard aviators train with Special Tactics Airmen

Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson – Special Tactics Airmen assigned to 24th Special Operations Wing, Detachment 1, conduct an aerial insertion and field training exercise at Camp Mad Bull training site on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Jan. 10, 2023. The 24 SOW Det 1 Special Tactics Airmen are capable of assessing and opening anything from a major international airport to clandestine dirt strips in either permissive or hostile locations, providing strategic access for follow-on forces during global contingencies, and joint readiness exercises. Alaska Army National Guardsmen assigned to the 207th Aviation Battalion flew UH-60L and HH-60M Black Hawk helicopters in order to support the aerial insertion, medical evacuation and hoist training of the Special Tactics teams. The Alaska Army National Guard’s GSAB routinely trains with all branches of the military as well as civilian agencies to increase its operational interoperability and to be ready for a wide range of federal and state missions.

A return to Normandy
July 8, 2026 — For more than 80 years, C-47 Skytrain tail number 42-100857 has connected generations of Airmen. On June 6, 1944, the aircraft carried American paratroopers into Normandy during Operation Overlord, one of history's defining airborne assaults. After D-Day, 42-100857 continued supporting airborne, airlift and glider operations across Europe through the end of World War II. The aircraft eventually found a second life in Alaska, transitioning from wartime service to civil airlift and search-and-rescue operations as a DC-3. ... MORE

Combat rescue officers and pararescuemen of 212th Rescue Squadron stand in front of a 211th Rescue Squadron HC-130J Combat King II combat search and rescue aircraft during the 82nd D-Day anniversary in Normandy, France. The Alaska Air National Guard Airmen jumped with the Air Force and U.S. Army to commemorate the cross-channel invasion.

Alaska National Guard rescues 4 in 4 missions during July 4 weekend
July 8, 2026 — Soldiers and Airmen of the Alaska National Guard executed four missions to save four people over the July 4 holiday weekend. Maj. Kody Schmidt, Alaska Rescue Coordination Center senior controller, said the first mission opened following a request from the Alaska State Troopers (AST) for a hoist-capable helicopter to rescue a critically ill patient from a remote residence on the Kantishna River west of Cantwell. ... MORE

Alaska connection comes full circle during Area Support Group Balkans assumption of command
July 2, 2026 — A decades-long connection between Alaska and Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo, came full circle June 29 as Alaska Army National Guard Col. Kurt Rorvik assumed command of Area Support Group-Balkans during a ceremony presided over by Maj. Gen. Michael Lalor, commanding general of the 21st Theater Sustainment Command. For Rorvik, whose previous assignment was deputy chief of staff and senior Guard advisor for Alaskan Command at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, the assignment carries a unique significance. Camp Bondsteel is named for Medal of Honor recipient Staff Sgt. James L. Bondsteel, who retired from the Army at Fort Richardson, remained in Alaska following his military service and is buried at Fort Richardson National Cemetery. As he prepared to assume command in Kosovo, Rorvik reflected on that connection... MORE

Camp Bondsteel, headquarters of Area Support Balkans and NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) Regional Command-East, is named in honor of Bondsteel, who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Vietnam War.

Alaska Air Guard pararescue save pilot near Knik Glacier
May 13, 2026 — Alaska Air Guard pararescue save pilot near Knik Glacier... MORE

A man wearing camouflage fatigues holding up an IV bottle.

Army Guard offers full-ride scholarships for college-bound Alaskans
May 12, 2026 — Army Guard offers full-ride scholarships for college-bound Alaskans... MORE

Alaska Army National Guard CH-47 crews support Denali Base Camp establishment
April 23, 2026 — An Alaska Army National Guard CH-47F Chinook helicopter lifted off from Talkeetna with a load calculated down to the pound. Carrying more than 5,500 pounds of cargo and equipment, its destination was Denali Base Camp at 7,200 feet on the Kahiltna Glacier where there are no runways and little margin for error. The mission was straightforward in purpose but demanding in execution: deliver critical equipment into one of the most remote operating environments in North America in support of the National Park Service at Denali National Park and Preserve ahead of the climbing season on Mount McKinley. ... MORE

Alaska Army National Guard CH-47 Chinook aircrew members and National Park Service personnel assigned to Denali National Park and Preserve’s Denali Rescue Team pose for a photo at Denali Base Camp on the Kahiltna Glacier, April 14, 2026. Alaska Army National Guard and active-duty CH-47 crews delivered cargo to support the establishment of base camp operations ahead of the climbing season on Mount McKinley, demonstrating heavy-lift capability in a high-altitude environment.

National Guard Soldiers to Compete in Best Ranger Competition
April 10, 2026 — Six of the National Guard’s most lethal Ranger-qualified Soldiers will compete for the coveted title of ‘Best Ranger’ at the 42nd annual Lt. Gen. David E. Grange Jr. Best Ranger Competition, April 10-12, at Fort Benning, Georgia. The National Guard is represented by three two-man teams: U.S. Army Capt. Erik Gorman and Capt. Christian Thompson; 1st Lt. Zachary Thompson and Sgt. 1st Class Robert Flora; and 1st Lt. Talan Saylor and Cpl. Brendan Fox... MORE

U.S. Army Capt. Erik Gorman, a plans officer with the Alaska Army National Guard, is one of six National Guard Soldiers competing in the 42nd annual Lt. Gen. David E. Grange Jr. Best Ranger Competition, April 10–12, at Fort Benning, Georgia. Representing three two-man teams, National Guard Soldiers are competing alongside 61 teams from across the Army in a grueling three-day event that tests physical endurance, technical proficiency and leadership under pressure. Their participation highlights the National Guard’s readiness, lethality and ability to perform at the highest levels of military excellence.

Alaska National Guard Human Resource Office modernizes to improve customer service
April 2, 2026 — Alaska National Guard Human Resource Office modernizes to improve customer service... MORE

Avalanche Company hones lethality at JBER Infantry Platoon Battle Course
March 26, 2026 — Avalanche Company hones lethality at JBER Infantry Platoon Battle Course... MORE

Alaska Air National Guard Member's Readiness and Willingness to Help Saves a Life
March 17, 2026 — FAIRBANKS, Alaska — What began as a father-daughter evening at an Armed Services YMCA Father-Daughter Gala quickly turned into a life-saving moment when an Alaska Air National Guard Airman used his training to assist an unresponsive Fairbanks resident... MORE

U.S. Air National Guard Master Sgt. Anthony Lesle, 168th Logistics Readiness Squadron, 168th Transportation Flight, discusses vehicle maintenance statuses at the 168th Wing, ensuring fleet readiness in support of operations and winter conditions.