JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — To look at him, you wouldn’t know that he was a decorated combat veteran or that he had just retired after serving 25 years of his military career in the rescue community. For all cursory observations, he could be anybody. Senior Master Sgt. Doug Widener, a pararescueman (or PJ) who […]
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — The Alaska Army National Guard received two rebuilt M-973 Small Unit Support Vehicles from the Red River Army Depot near Texarcana, Texas, Nov. 3. SUSVs are fully-tracked, all-terrain, amphibious vehicles designed to support platoon-sized units in arctic and mountainous conditions. The SUSV, originally named the Bandvagn 206, was developed by […]
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Airmen with the Alaska Air National Guard’s 210th, 211th and 212th Rescue Squadrons rescued five people on Skilak Lake on the Kenai Peninsula, Nov. 9. A boater on Skilak Lake contacted authorities for assistance when his boat’s engine jammed, explained Master Sgt. Armando Soria, a controller with the Alaska Rescue […]
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Airmen with the Alaska Air National Guard’s 210th and 212th Rescue Squadrons rescued a 90-year-old man near Hiline Lake, Oct. 1, after he had fallen from the roof of his remote cabin. The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center received notification from a 406 personal locator beacon through their computer system and […]
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Approximately 25 pararescue and support personnel with the Alaska Air National Guard’s 176th Wing are using their time while deployed to the Horn of Africa to sharpen their skills and train with partner nations. The Guardsmen are deployed to Djibouti in support of Operation Enduring Freedom as part of Joint […]
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Two Soldiers from the 49th Missile Defense Battalion in Fort Greeley won the title of “Best Warrior” in the 2015 Best Warrior Competition here Aug. 24. Alaska Army National Guardsmen Sgt. Gerardo Lopez and Spc. Yamil Ramirez, both military policemen from the 49th Missile Defense Battalion, won the competition in the […]
BETHEL, Alaska—In a remote area northeast of Bethel, the Alaska National Guard conducted a major search-and-rescue exercise Feb. 6-10 to test the recovery operations for a simulated 737 plane crash.