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United States
Aug 14, 2024 The 11th Airborne Division, also known as the “Arctic Angels,” stood up its Arctic Aviation Command at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, on Thursday. The move puts two active-duty aviation battalions under direct control of the command and the 11th Airborne. Previously, the command’s Alaska-based battalions reported to units based in Washington state and Hawaii. It comes as the United States military in general works to counter Russian presence and Chinese interest in the region. In 1961, the Army activated its first aviation battalion, which was stationed at Fort Wainwright. An aviation regiment and various other unit configurations maintained a presence in the state through the mid-2010s. During that period aviation fell under the Army Alaska Aviation Task Force, which was deactivated in 2018. The Army reflagged U.S. Army Alaska as the revived 11th Airborne Division in 2022. In February, more than 8,000 soldiers in Alaska conducted a large-scale exercise across the state. During the exercise, soldiers conducted a 150-mile Apache-led deep strike on a target and moved a multi-launcher rocket system more than 500 miles to a location above the Arctic Circle. “The Arctic is obviously a strategically important region in for the United States,” Col. Vanderlugt, recently appointed head of the aviation command said. By living in the region and running aviation operations on site, the colonel said battalion soldiers and crews can work in the extremes of an environment that challenges ground and air assets on a near-daily basis. The move follows the Pentagon’s release last month an update to the Defense Department’s Arctic strategy, the first since 2019. Deputy Defense Secretary Hicks said in July that an increased Arctic presence, upgrades to area installations and new equipment - including sensors and space-based technologies - would be crucial. (Source: Military Times)
by South, who was named a 2014 Pulitzer finalist for a co-written project on witness intimidation. He is a Marine veteran of the Iraq War.
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