Alaska Army National Guard Sgt. Eugene Gonzalez, left, assigned to Alpha Company, 49th Missile Defense Battalion, dons his gas mask during the ruck march portion of the Alaska State Best Warrior Competition 2025 at Camp Carroll on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, May 20, 2025. Hosted by the AKARNG’s 207th Multi-Functional Training Regiment, the SBWC, is an annual, multi-day Soldiering contest that showcases the competitors’ readiness and lethality through a series of challenging mental and physical tests. The events included, a variety of physical fitness tasks, ruck march, land navigation course, live-fire stress shoot, an obstacle course, drill and ceremony, and a uniform inspection. (Alaska National Guard photo by Alejandro Peña)