The Alaska National Guard announced on Thursday that they will formally name the National Guard hanger in Kotzebue for long-time leader and former National Guard Adjutant General John W. Schaeffer on Tuesday, August 9th.

General Schaeffer, who was born and raised in Kotzebue, enlisted in the Alaska Army National Guard in 1957 and became a member of the Eskimo Scouts. Through the years, General Schaeffer would rise through the ranks, ultimately becoming the nation’s first Inupiaq two-star general. He would serve as the Adjutant General of the Alaska National Guard from 1986 until 1991.

While in his position as Adjutant General, Schaeffer would play a key role during the State’s response to the Exxon Valdez oil spill. He also “brokered a first-ever collaboration with the Russian military to locate and rescue a group of Alaska walrus hunters stranded on the sea ice,” the state’s National Guard pointed out in a Thursday release. Also, prior to retiring as General in the state’s National Guard, Schaeffer would also be instrumental in the freeing of the gray whales that were trapped in the Arctic ice, that incident was reported worldwide.[xyz-ihs snippet=”adsense-body-ad”]

Just before being appointed to Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Military Affairs and Adjutant General, Schaeffer was elected mayor of the Northwest Arctic Borough and served briefly before his appointment.

Brigadier General Laurie Hummel, Alaska’s current Adjutant General, will preside over the naming ceremony, that will take place at the National Guard hangar in Kotzebue on Tuesday, August 9th.

Singers, dancers and speakers will provide entertainment during the ceremony at the hanger south of the Ralph Wein Memorial Airport main runway. Schaeffer’s family, friends and colleagues will be speaking at the ceremony.

The ceremony at the hangar will begin at 3 pm on August 9th, and be followed by a potluck at the Kotzebue Fairgrounds at 5 pm.[xyz-ihs snippet=”Adversal-468×60″]

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