Alaska National Guard kicking off Arctic Eagle-Patriot exercise

WASILLA — The Alaska National Guard is hosting Arctic Eagle-Patriot 2022, a multi-state, multi-agency event that focuses on Arctic operations and emergency response Feb. 22 through March 10.

Alaskans may notice increased military activity such as vehicle convoys near National Guard armories and military ranges and overall air traffic across the state during this time period.

According to a recent press release, the interagency exercise will include approximately 900 Air and Army National Guard personnel from 15 states and more than 200 active duty Air Force, Army, and Marine Corps counterparts who will train with interagency partners for the homeland security and emergency response mission in and around the Arctic.

Over 500 participants from federal, state and local agencies will take part in the exercise along with international partners from the Canadian Army Reserve and Royal Canadian Air Force.

The exercise is conducted at JBER, Anchorage, Kodiak, and Nome. It’s designed to increase the National Guard’s capacity to operate in the Arctic and prepare for homeland security and state-level emergency scenarios.

The Arctic Eagle-Patriot exercise series was established in 2012 to increase the National Guard’s awareness and capacity to operate in Arctic environments. The exercise has been a venue for innovative training in cold-weather technology, public and private partnerships and multi-agency integration since 2017.

For more information, visit ak.ng.mil.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com