Results 1 to 7 of 7
Like Tree1Likes

Thread: How — and why — the 11th Airborne Division is being resurrected in Alaska

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

  1. #1
    Senior Member Airbornesapper07's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2018
    Posts
    61,617

    How — and why — the 11th Airborne Division is being resurrected in Alaska

    Russia, Russia, Russia
    How — and why — the 11th Airborne Division is being resurrected in Alaska

    Davis Winkie
    Wednesday, May 25

    Army paratroopers from the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, stage on the flightline prior to boarding an aircraft for a jump at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, May 11, 2021. (Alejandro Peña/Air Force)

    The Army’s newest division is taking shape in Alaska, and its commanding general explained to Army Times last week how a major training exercise is influencing the unit’s form and structure, which is still being finalized.
    Maj. Gen. Brian Eifler, who currently commands Army Alaska and will command the new division, said it will activate on June 6. There’s no D-Day symbolism, though — the 11th Airborne Division only fought in the Pacific during World War II, including combat jumps in the Philippines.

    Soon, Alaska’s soldiers will become “Arctic Angels,” he said, an update to the division’s original “Angels” nickname.
    Army leaders have said that they hope the new division will help address what they perceive as an identity crisis that is compounded by — or perhaps contributing to — a mental health crisis. Eifler agrees.
    “The last couple of years has been very tough, and having an aligned purpose, identity and mission is really important,” the commander said. “Will that fix all [of] our problems? No, but it is a key foundational factor...and this will help unify us together on one purpose, one identity, under a single patch.”

    The new division will operate from its headquarters at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, in Anchorage, under I Corps, Eifler said. It will also remain under the control of U.S. Army Pacific and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
    Building a division headquarters nests well within the Army’s growing focus on large-scale combat against a potential foe like Russia, China or Iran, the general explained.
    “You have an operational headquarters that could...[fight] across the Indo-Pacific,” Eifler said, also noting that their capabilities and expertise could enable them to fight across “the Arctic nations.” Tensions have already flared between Russia and two of Europe’s Arctic nations, Finland and Sweden, which are expected to join NATO this year.
    The 11th Airborne’s structure
    It’s not settled yet what the division’s final form will be, though Eifler has a rough blueprint. “There’s no other formation that’s going to look like it, nor have the same mission,” he said.

    The 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, will remain at Fort Wainwright, in Interior Alaska, and may shed its Strykers as it becomes the new division’s 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team. Eifler hinted at the “decision coming up” regarding whether the Strykers, which don’t reliably work in the extreme cold, would remain.
    Army Secretary Christine Wormuth told lawmakers in May that converting from a Stryker brigade to light infantry format, which has fewer personnel, could free up end-strength. Those personnel slots could then be used to transition Army Alaska headquarters’ into an operational division headquarters.



    The new 11th Airborne Division patch, seen here in the full-color version that soldiers will wear on their Army Green Service Uniform. (Army)

    The 25th Infantry Division’s 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, stationed at JBER, will remain airborne and will become the 11th Airborne Division’s 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
    Eifler also said the Army will begin putting together the division field artillery element and sustainment brigade “over the next year or so.”

    It’s not yet clear whether those changes — or updates to infrastructure and equipment — will remain cost-neutral over time, as Wormuth said during congressional testimony.
    How recent training informs change

    A recent Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center rotation at Fort Greely, Alaska, has informed much of the calculus on force structure and equipment changes. The training exercise also represented a significant shift in symbolism and regional readiness.
    The exercise, which featured the Strykers of 25th ID’s 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, was billed as the first-ever brigade-sized combat training center rotation held in Alaska

    How — and why — the 11th Airborne Division is being resurrected in Alaska (defensenews.com)

    If you're gonna fight, fight like you're the third monkey on the ramp to Noah's Ark... and brother its starting to rain. Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

  2. #2
    Senior Member Airbornesapper07's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2018
    Posts
    61,617
    Little Diomede Island

    little diomede island - Search (bing.com)

    Less than 4 miles from Big Diomede Island (Russian Territory)
    Last edited by Airbornesapper07; 06-17-2022 at 04:51 AM.
    If you're gonna fight, fight like you're the third monkey on the ramp to Noah's Ark... and brother its starting to rain. Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

  3. #3
    Senior Member Airbornesapper07's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2018
    Posts
    61,617
    Greg Hunter & Martin Armstrong: Prepare for War! Higher Energy Prices & Significant Civil Unrest! - Must Video

    Thread: Greg Hunter & Martin Armstrong: Prepare for War! Higher Energy Prices & Significant C


    Last edited by Airbornesapper07; 07-03-2022 at 09:33 AM.
    If you're gonna fight, fight like you're the third monkey on the ramp to Noah's Ark... and brother its starting to rain. Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

  4. #4
    Senior Member Airbornesapper07's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2018
    Posts
    61,617
    bttt
    Last edited by Airbornesapper07; 10-02-2022 at 03:31 AM.
    If you're gonna fight, fight like you're the third monkey on the ramp to Noah's Ark... and brother its starting to rain. Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

  5. #5
    Senior Member Airbornesapper07's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2018
    Posts
    61,617
    Alaska Gets Rid of Strykers as Brigade Shifts to Air Assault


    Soldiers in Alaska ship away the last Stryker. (Provided)
    20 Sep 2022
    Military.com | By Steve Beynon

    Alaska's newly formed 11th Airborne Division has shipped away its fleet of roughly 320 Strykers as it shifts its mechanized brigade to focus on air assault. The last vehicles left last week.
    Military.com was first to report in June on the decision by Alaska's Army units to shed their outdated Strykers as part of several steps to better mold and equip soldiers there for Arctic warfare. That move is part of a larger service strategy to shift from the Global War on Terrorism to gearing up for a conventional conflict, where fighting in freezing temperatures could play a major role.
    Advertisement
    "We'll be doing a lot more air movement now; we're leading the Army in Arctic capability," Maj. Gen. Brian Eifler, the 11th Airborne Division commander, told Military.com. "We keep looking at how to better structure units in this extreme environment."
    Read Next: Space Force Unveiled Its Official Service Song. It's Not a Banger.
    Strykers were not built to operate in the minus-65 degrees Fahrenheit conditions demanded of military gear in the unforgiving region. Alaska units have frequently struggled with breakdowns, and the wheeled vehicles could not properly navigate snow and ice.
    Advertisement
    On top of that, many of the Strykers in Alaska were two decades old and saw extensive service in the early days of the Iraq War. Most of the vehicles are expected to be updated and recycled into use in other units across the service.
    Shipping away the Strykers was the final major phase in the transformation of the Army's presence in Alaska. The 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, was redesignated to the 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 11th Airborne Division, in June when the new division was formed. That new formation will focus on air assault operations, while the other half of the division conducts airborne operations.
    -- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon.
    Related: Breakdowns, Ripped Clothing and Dying Batteries: Army Commits to Arctic But Still Figuring Out What Soldiers Need

    Related Topics: Military Headlines Army Alaska Gear and Equipment

    Alaska Gets Rid of Strykers as Brigade Shifts to Air Assault | Military.com
    If you're gonna fight, fight like you're the third monkey on the ramp to Noah's Ark... and brother its starting to rain. Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

  6. #6
    Senior Member Airbornesapper07's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2018
    Posts
    61,617
    Two Russian Draft-Dodgers Sail Small Boat To Remote Alaskan Island

    FRIDAY, OCT 07, 2022 - 01:05 PM

    Two Russians fleeing conscription for service in the Ukraine war have landed a small boat on a remote Alaskan island in the Bering Sea and requested asylum.

    A spokesperson for Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski told the Associated Press that “the Russian nationals reported that they fled one of the coastal communities on the east coast of Russia to avoid compulsory military service.”



    Gambell, Alaska, on St. Lawrence Island

    In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said the two "were transported to Anchorage for inspection, which includes a screening and vetting process, and then subsequently processed in accordance with applicable U.S. immigration laws under the Immigration and Nationality Act.”
    On Monday, the hardy, draft-dodging duo landed on a St. Lawrence Island beach, near the small community of Gambell -- population 681. Gambell is just 36 miles from Siberia's Chukotka Peninsula, placing it far closer to Russia than mainland Alaska.



    They apparently traveled much farther: Gambell town clerk Curtis Silook told Alaska's News Source that the men said they'd sailed about 300 miles from Egvekinot.
    In September, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a "partial mobilization" of the country's military, pressing into service some 300,000 Russians with previous military training. On Tuesday, Russia's defense minister said 200,000 people have been drafted so far. Tens if not hundreds of thousands of Russians have reportedly fled the country.
    Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan urged federal authorities to prepare for a situation where "more Russians flee to Bering Strait communities in Alaska":
    “This incident makes two things clear: First, the Russian people don’t want to fight Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Second, given Alaska’s proximity to Russia, our state has a vital role to play in securing America’s national security.”
    Murkowski said the incident highlights “the need for a stronger security posture in America’s Arctic.”
    Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy struck a less opportunistic tone: “We don’t anticipate a continual stream of individuals or a flotilla of individuals. We have no indication that’s going to happen."
    Rather than making a risky journey in the unforgiving Bering Sea, most Russians seeking asylum do it like nearly everyone else: through Mexico. To consider one slice of time, 8,600 Russians sought asylum via Mexico between August 2021 and January 2022 -- with 90% doing so via San Diego.




    Garry Kasparov
    @Kasparov63
    ·
    Follow

    Putin's mobilization is going well. The first Russian forces have reached the US!




    alaskasnewssource.com
    Russian nationals detained on St. Lawrence Island after landing in small boat
    The two Russians were taken into local custody and are being held at the local public safety facility pending further response, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.


    12:16 PM · Oct 6, 2022


    Two Russian Draft-Dodgers Sail Small Boat To Remote Alaskan Island | ZeroHedge
    If you're gonna fight, fight like you're the third monkey on the ramp to Noah's Ark... and brother its starting to rain. Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

  7. #7
    Moderator Beezer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Posts
    30,909
    ILLEGAL ALIENS HAVE "BROKEN" OUR IMMIGRATION SYSTEM

    DO NOT REWARD THEM - DEPORT THEM ALL

Similar Threads

  1. Seeking morale boost in Alaska, Army formally re-activates 11th Airborne Division
    By Airbornesapper07 in forum Other Topics News and Issues
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 06-13-2022, 11:26 PM
  2. US Army Activates Alaskan 11th Airborne Division as 'Arctic Fighting Force' Restored
    By Airbornesapper07 in forum Other Topics News and Issues
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 06-08-2022, 03:55 PM
  3. Eligibility Resurrected: Congress Pays Attention
    By kathyet2 in forum General Discussion
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 07-15-2013, 04:05 PM
  4. Doomsday shelter concept resurrected
    By JohnDoe2 in forum Other Topics News and Issues
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 05-17-2010, 08:43 PM
  5. NumbersUSA: DREAM ACT TO BE RESURRECTED (Again) - New Faxes
    By PhredE in forum General Discussion
    Replies: 12
    Last Post: 10-19-2007, 01:24 PM

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •