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MISSION STATEMENT The Mission of the Alaska State Defense Force is to maintain an organized a capable of timely and effective response to state emergencies, or on occasion the Governor, to provide military assistance to civil and military authoriti life, property and public safety. HISTORY When Ernest Gruening took office as Governor of the Territory of Alaska in D been a National Guard in Alaska. Governor Gruening took the necessary steps to in the 279th Infantry Battalion. In WWII this unit was federalized, and deployed of this action, the National Guard was not available to Alaska to assume a role Gruening, therefore decided that every able-bodied male otherwise not in the mil would be enrolled in a territorial guard and kept at home for the de When the National Guard returned to the State after the end of WWII, the disbanded and gradually faded into history. When Alaska became the 49th State, established included provisions that all able-bodied citizens of the United States over the age of 17 are members of the State Militia. Under these laws, specificall Militia is divided into the organized militia consisting of members of the Alask Naval Militia, the Alaska State Militia (currently called the Alaska State Defens militia, consisting of all other citizens available for service. These statutes Although these statutes had been on the books for many years, the Alaska S until early 1984 when Governor William Sheffield organized the Alaska State Gu military resource. In 1987 the name of the organization was changed to the Alaska avoid confusion with the Alaska National Guard. OVERVIEW Until recently the ASDF trained primarily as backup for the Alaska National would be federalized. However, recent events have caused significant changes in foreign priorities. This change in the paradigm of military affairs resulted in a shi deployment to that of civil support. The primary role of this civil support mission is to have the ASDF actively partici emergency management agencies in disaster assistance planning, exercises, and o recovery for both natural and man-made disasters. Most recently the ASDF has been activated for disaster response and recovery Central Floods, `96 Akutan Volcano, the `96 Millers Reach Fire, 1998 Standdown f Fisheries disaster, 1999, the Turnagain Pass Avalanche and the Year 2000 "Y2K" op has received commendations for its efforts in helping the citizens of the State of A operations we have served in during these disasters have been: Evacuation, Shelte Damage Assessment, Damage Verifications, Disaster Application Centers, Disast and Family Grant Programs, State Emergency Coordination Center Operations an Operations. Our troops come from a diverse background; from laborers to lawyers, from m and are from seventeen to seventy. Our only commonality is that we choose to ser our mission states, we are capable of a timely and effective response to state emer this task takes training, training and more training. The ASDF continues to validate its mission by training in both areas of military o management. We receive training from various emergency organizations. Some of Federal Emergency Management Agency (both at the Emergency Management Ins Courses), the Alaska Division of Emergency Services, Local Government Emergen the American Red Cross. ORGANIZATION Current Authorized Strength: 254 Current Strength:247 Headquarters, ASDF is located at Camp Denali, Fort Richardson, Alask immediately east of the National Guard Armory in the MG Mitchell Abood 49202.