Alaska National Guard hosts The Adjutant General’s Match > 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.

An Army National Guardsmen from 1st Battalion, 297th Infantry Regiment surveys his pistol targets while competing in The Adjutant General’s Match at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, May 20, 2024.

PHOTO INFORMATION

Download

Details

Alaska National Guard hosts The Adjutant General’s Match

An Army National Guardsmen from 1st Battalion, 297th Infantry Regiment surveys his pistol targets while competing in The Adjutant General’s Match at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, May 20, 2024. TAG Match, hosted and organized by the Alaska National Guard’s Marksmanship Program, was a multi-day competition that tested the competitors’ reflexive and precision shooting skills with both the rifle and pistol. Competitors included Alaska Air and Army National Guardsmen from across the state, active-duty paratroopers from the 11th Airborne Division, and Coast Guardsmen from Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic. (Alaska National Guard photo by Alejandro Peña)

Alaska Air and Army National Guardsmen conduct a movement to fire during the rifle portion of The Adjutant General’s Match at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, May 22, 2024.

PHOTO INFORMATION

Download

Details

Alaska National Guard hosts The Adjutant General’s Match

Alaska Air and Army National Guardsmen conduct a movement to fire during the rifle portion of The Adjutant General’s Match at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, May 22, 2024. TAG Match, hosted and organized by the Alaska National Guard’s Marksmanship Program, was a multi-day competition that tested the competitors’ reflexive and precision shooting skills with both the rifle and pistol. Competitors included Alaska Air and Army National Guardsmen from across the state, active-duty paratroopers from the 11th Airborne Division, and Coast Guardsmen from Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic. (Alaska National Guard photo by Alejandro Peña)

Alaska Air National Guard Capt. Matthew Swanson, a HH-60G Pave Hawk pilot assigned to the 210th Rescue Squadron, fires the M18 Modular Handgun System while competing in The Adjutant General’s Match at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, May 21, 2024.

PHOTO INFORMATION

Download

Details

Alaska National Guard hosts The Adjutant General’s Match

Alaska Air National Guard Capt. Matthew Swanson, a HH-60G Pave Hawk pilot assigned to the 210th Rescue Squadron, fires the M18 Modular Handgun System while competing in The Adjutant General’s Match at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, May 21, 2024. TAG Match, hosted and organized by the Alaska National Guard’s Marksmanship Program, was a multi-day competition that tested the competitors’ reflexive and precision shooting skills with both the rifle and pistol. Competitors included Alaska Air and Army National Guardsmen from across the state, active-duty paratroopers from the 11th Airborne Division, and Coast Guardsmen from Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic. (Alaska National Guard photo by Alejandro Peña)

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Derrek King, assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, examines his shot target after firing the M17 Modular Handgun System during The Adjutant General’s Match at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, May 21, 2024.

PHOTO INFORMATION

Download

Details

Alaska National Guard hosts The Adjutant General’s Match

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Derrek King, assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, examines his shot target after firing the M17 Modular Handgun System during The Adjutant General’s Match at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, May 21, 2024. TAG Match, hosted and organized by the Alaska National Guard’s Marksmanship Program, was a multi-day competition that tested the competitors’ reflexive and precision shooting skills with both the rifle and pistol. Competitors included Alaska Air and Army National Guardsmen from across the state, active-duty paratroopers from the 11th Airborne Division, and Coast Guardsmen from Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic. (Alaska National Guard photo by Alejandro Peña)

JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska – Marksmanship is a fundamental skill in the military. Alaska Air and Army National Guardsmen from across the state, active-duty Soldiers from the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 11th Airborne Division, and U.S. Coast Guardsmen from Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic honed these skills while competing in The Adjutant General’s Match at the Small Arms Range Complex May 20-23.

TAG Match, hosted and organized by the Alaska National Guard’s Marksmanship Program, was a multi-day competition that tested the competitors’ reflexive and precision shooting skills through a series of challenging courses-of-fire with both the rifle and pistol.

Alaska Air National Guard Master Sgt. Jake Seigneur, Tech. Sgt. Alejandro Romero, Tech. Sgt. Zachary Little, and Staff Sgt. Gabriel Pertuset, all HH-60G Pave Hawk aviators assigned the 176th Wing’s 210th Rescue Squadron, comprised the winning Alaska National Guard Team and were presented with The Adjutant General’s Marksmanship Trophy.

The top three individual winners were:
First place ̶ Staff Sgt. Ethan Hopkins, 11th Airborne Division
Second place ̶ Tech. Sgt. Alejandro Romero, 210th Rescue Squadron
Third place ̶ Master Sgt. Jake Seigneur, 210th Rescue Squadron

Alaska Air National Guard Col. Matthew Kirby, 176th Mission Support Group commander, presided over the award ceremony at the conclusion of TAG Match. In addition to trophies for the top team and the top three individual winners, Kirby also recognized the top 20 AKNG shooters and presented them with the Governor’s Twenty Tab that is authorized for wear on their uniform.

By engaging in healthy competition the eclectic group of shooters not only fostered esprit de corps but also gained wisdom and knowledge that they can pass on to their less experienced troops.

In his closing remarks Kirby emphasized the importance of marksmanship as a crucial military skill.

“There is nothing that beats the last 300 meters of American foreign policy which is a small-arms rifle in the hands of one of you, our most lethal warriors,” said Kirby. “I want you to go out and spread the love of shooting to others. Because, if we lose that skill-set of shooting and marksmanship, then we are going to lose the next fight we are in.”

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