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In the Alaskan tundra, the U.S. Army is pushing soldiers to their limits, restoring lost skills needed to fight in sub-zero temperatures and ever-changing arctic conditions.
The ability to fight in what the commander called “the harshest environment on Earth” is a new priority for the Army after years of shifts in focus have led to atrophy of readiness for combat in the Arctic. It has become.
In February, USARPAC led the third annual Pacific Multinational Integration Readiness Center exercise near Fairbanks, Alaska, which Business Insider had the opportunity to observe. Throughout the exercise, soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 11th Airborne Division and militaries from more than a dozen international allies and partner nations will train for Arctic warfare, adapting essential equipment, kits, and equipment to frigid conditions while performing combat scenarios. was executed.
The training, conducted during what many describe as the harshest period of the Alaskan winter, saw more than 8,000 soldiers challenge themselves, innovate, fight, survive and thrive in an unpredictable environment. Army leaders said they urged them to learn how. It came at a time when the U.S. military recognized that combat readiness in the Arctic and broader Pacific region was essential for the U.S. military.
For the past 20 years, Maj. Gen. Brian S. Eifler told Business Insider during training: We come here for deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and for purposes other than moving to Iraq and Afghanistan. ”
During the Cold War, the Army in Alaska focused on cold-weather combat, but the JPMRC represents a new and unprecedented investment. The military told BI that it feels like they are writing history with these exercises, doing things not seen in the Army or other branches of the U.S. military.
Army leaders conduct JPMRC training in the middle of winter when the weather is particularly harsh. Meanwhile, JPMRC also conducts annual rotations in Hawaii, training soldiers to fight in the humid jungle.
USARPAC leaders have identified these as the environments in which the Army in the Indo-Pacific region needs to be able to fight effectively. Last fall, USARPAC commander Gen. Charles Flynn said the vast Pacific Ocean “is likely to remain a geostrategic center of gravity.” To the 21st century. ”
Regional tensions require preparation. Mr. Flynn noted that aggression, particularly from China, has increased the focus on both maintaining readiness and deterring potential conflict in the region.
To do that specifically in the Arctic, the Army realigned its forces in Alaska in 2022. The U.S. Army Alaska officially became the 11th Airborne Division, a newly reactivated force focused on combat in the Pacific and the Arctic.
“Our mission is to deter threats and be ready to fight and win in both the Indo-Pacific and the Arctic,” Eifler said. said at the time. “And yes, it’s a unique and difficult mission.” The general told reporters that the U.S. military in Alaska “seems to have lost its Arctic spirit” as it focuses on counterinsurgency in the Middle East. Ta.
“We were a brigade, we had an airborne battalion, and that went away,” he said. “Then it was the Strikers; [we were] Currently deployed to Iraq. You know, over the years we were all over the place. ”
After announcing the Army’s new Arctic strategy, Eilfer, along with another Army officer, outlined a plan for how best to recapture that “Arctic spirit.” A 2022 paper called “The Forge of the Arctic Warrior.” Throughout, they reiterate the need to reprioritize the Army’s ability to fight in cold weather conditions to counter regional threats in the Pacific such as Russia and China.
They said the Army has already “embarked on this path and continues to strive for success.”
“We must continue to adjust and adapt to ensure the Army is ready to grow, fight, and win in the most challenging environments on Earth,” they wrote.
Now, with a renewed focus on the Arctic, USARPAC is improving cold-weather combat skills, which had atrophied across the entire spectrum, from operations and capabilities to training, command, and combat capabilities, as Eifler told BI. I’m thinking of getting it back.
Ailfer said the skills lost included the ability to engage in combat with appropriate gear and equipment under a variety of cold weather conditions, including sub-zero temperatures and heavy snow. He added that the Army’s presence in the region, especially its relations with local communities, has also declined.
At this year’s JPMRC, the military told BI that progress was evident. Some of the exercises conducted during the exercise, including a 150-mile deep helicopter attack, were the largest and most complex in the exercise’s short history.
Soldiers also drove five new cold-weather all-terrain vehicles, tested new kit and equipment, and conducted simulated missions involving numerous air defense threats, jamming and firefighting equipment.
Eifler explained that these exercises demonstrated movement in the right direction. “Every year we take a step forward, [a] “Get your arctic skills and take a step back. Now we’re taking about four steps forward and about one step back every year,” he said.