JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska – U.S. Airmen from multiple Air National Guard comptroller flights gathered for Exercise Arctic Ledger 2026, a financial management exercise designed to strengthen deployment readiness, build partnerships and prepare finance Airmen for potential contingency operations, June 10-14 in Alaska.
The exercise brought financial management Airmen out of their home-station offices and into a realistic training environment where they practiced the skills needed to support operations in a deployed location. Participants worked through contingency scenarios that tested their ability to continue mission support in degraded conditions.
According to U.S. Air Force Maj. Ryan Armes, commander and comptroller of the 165th Comptroller Flight, Georgia National Guard, who served as the lead planner for the event, Arctic Ledger was created to give finance Airmen hands-on experience with tasks they may be expected to perform downrange.
During the exercise, Airmen practiced setting up financial operations in a deployed environment, including scenarios when normal resources may not be available. The training challenged participants to think beyond day-to-day finance operations and focus on how their mission continues in a contingency setting.
“We as finance need to be able to still keep doing our job without power, without internet and without electricity, to still keep the mission going,” Armes said. “You need fuel, you need concrete, you need to buy all the things to keep the mission going, and that’s ultimately what we’re here for.”
Financial management plays a direct role in mission success by ensuring commanders, Airmen and units have access to the resources they need. In a deployed environment, that support can affect everything from fuel and equipment to infrastructure, aircraft parts and personnel support.
“If we can’t get our job done by paying the bills, it could mean not buying the fuel, not buying a generator or not buying a part for a plane,” Armes said. “If we can’t do that, the mission doesn’t succeed.”
Arctic Ledger 2026 also highlighted one of the Air National Guard’s strengths: the ability to bring Airmen from across the country together to share experiences, build partnerships and prepare for missions anywhere in the world. For many participants, Arctic Ledger offered training that differed from their normal duties at home units. While comptroller flights often balance a high operations tempo with daily financial services, this exercise gave Airmen time to focus specifically on deployment-based tasks and contingency requirements.
U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Graziella Bancheri, a financial management apprentice of the 125th Comptroller Flight, Florida National Guard, said the exercise provided valuable exposure to forms and procedures not commonly used in daily office operations.
In addition to technical training for various scenarios, Arctic Ledger emphasized the importance of working across units and states. Airmen from four comptroller flights brought different levels of experience, processes and perspectives to the exercise. That variety allowed participants to learn from one another while building relationships that could carry into future operations.
That collaboration is especially important as Airmen prepare to operate under evolving deployment models. Participants said Arctic Ledger helped them better understand how to communicate, identify training gaps and form a cohesive team with Airmen they may not work with at home.
Additionally, the multi-unit structure made Arctic Ledger stand out as a significant event for the financial management career field.
“This is historic for the financial management career field since it’s the first of its kind.” said U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Mitchell Arseneau, superintendent of the 125th Comptroller Flight, Florida National Guard. “I can’t emphasize enough how beneficial training prepared us to provide accurate and timely financial support and take care of personnel anywhere in the world.”
By combining realistic scenarios, multi-unit collaboration and contingency-focused training, Arctic Ledger strengthened the readiness of financial management Airmen and reinforced their role in sustaining the mission.