Current:Home > reviewsUS Army conducts training exercise on Alaskan island less than 300 miles from Russia -Wealth Legacy Solutions
US Army conducts training exercise on Alaskan island less than 300 miles from Russia
Ethermac View
Date:2025-03-11 10:09:11
U.S. Army soldiers were deployed to the remote Shemya Island in Alaska last week, as part of a training exercise that follows recent flights of Russian and Chinese aircraft near American airspace in the region.
Soldiers of the 11th Airborne Division, as well as the 1st and 3rd Multi Domain Task Forces, deployed to Shemya Island, part of the vast Aleutian Islands archipelago, on September 12. Shemya Island, located 1,200 miles west of Anchorage and less than 300 miles from the Russian coast, is home the Eareckson Air Station, an early-warning radar installation that can track ballistic missiles and other objects.
“As the number of adversarial exercises increases around Alaska and throughout the region, including June’s joint Russian-Chinese bomber patrol, the operation to Shemya Island demonstrates the division’s ability to respond to events in the Indo-Pacific or across the globe, with a ready, lethal force within hours,” Maj. Gen. Joseph Hilbert, the commanding general of the 11th Airborne Division, said in a statement.
Watch:Army Ranger rescues fellow soldier trapped in car as it becomes engulfed in flames
A summer of close calls with Russian and Chinese aircraft
In July, U.S. and Canadian jets intercepted two Russian and two Chinese bomber aircraft that were flying within the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), an area of international airspace where aircraft are required to identify themselves to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
The training exercise also came just a day after NORAD reportedly “detected and tracked two Russian military aircraft” operating in the ADIZ.
As reported by Stars and Stripes, this summer has also seen numerous flights by Russian and Chinese military aircraft around the Pacific, including an incident last week in which a Russian military aircraft circled the island of Okinawa, where the U.S. maintains a large military presence, a flight by Chinese military aircraft into Japanese airspace on August 26, and a July flight by two Russian military bomber aircraft between Japan and South Korea.
The U.S. training exercise, which was expected to last several days, involved paratroopers, artillery, and radars based in Alaska, Hawaii, and Washington. An Army press release also described it as an important step in maintaining a U.S. presence in the Arctic, “as it becomes more accessible with the accelerating impacts of climate change.”
Max Hauptman is a Trending Reporter for USA TODAY. He can be reached at [email protected]
veryGood! (6716)
Related
- Meta releases AI model to enhance Metaverse experience
- DeSantis reaches Iowa campaign milestone as Trump turns his focus to Biden
- Right Here, Right Now Relive Vanessa Hudgens and Cole Tucker’s Love Story
- Taylor Swift Cheers on Travis Kelce at Kansas City Chiefs Game Against Green Bay Packers
- As Trump Enters Office, a Ripe Oil and Gas Target Appears: An Alabama National Forest
- Alaska Airlines to buy Hawaiian Airlines in deal that may attract regulator scrutiny
- Alaska Airlines to buy Hawaiian Airlines in $1.9 billion deal
- Taylor Swift Cheers on Travis Kelce at Kansas City Chiefs Game Against Green Bay Packers
- DoorDash steps up driver ID checks after traffic safety complaints
- Israel orders mass evacuations as it widens offensive; Palestinians are running out of places to go
Ranking
- Tree trimmer dead after getting caught in wood chipper at Florida town hall
- Billie Eilish Confirms She Came Out in Interview and Says She Didn't Realize People Didn't Know
- 'We do not have insurance. We have an insurance bill': Condos hit with 563% rate increase
- KISS delivers explosive final concert in New York, debuts digital avatars in 'new era'
- Dick Vitale announces he is cancer free: 'Santa Claus came early'
- Plan to add teaching of Holocaust, genocide to science education draws questions from Maine teachers
- Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Spotted at Kansas City Christmas Bar With Patrick and Brittany Mahomes
- Rogue ATV, dirt bikers terrorize communities, vex police across US
Recommendation
NFL Week 15 picks straight up and against spread: Bills, Lions put No. 1 seed hopes on line
South Africa intercepts buses carrying more than 400 unaccompanied children from Zimbabwe
Julianna Margulies apologizes for statements about Black, LGBTQ+ solidarity with Palestinians
Taylor Swift Cheers on Travis Kelce at Kansas City Chiefs Game Against Green Bay Packers
The White House is cracking down on overdraft fees
'I did not write it to titillate a reader': Authors of books banned in Iowa speak out
Father of slain 6-year-old Palestinian American boy files wrongful death lawsuit
White House warns Congress the US is out of money, nearly out of time to avoid ‘kneecap’ to Ukraine