Army convoys began moving equipment and soldiers from Fort Wainwright this to support an 11-day training exercise that begins Monday on ranges around Fort Greely.
“We’ll have probably more than 1,200 soldiers, all told, between the line units – the infantry, the artillery, and all the support units that have to come in to back those guys up,” says John Pennell, a U.S. Army Alaska spokesperson.
The 11-day training exercise called Arctic Warrior mainly involves the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team Airborne out of Joint Base Elemendorf Richardson. It’ll be supported by Air Force personnel and aircraft based at JBER, and soldiers and equipment from Fort Wainwright and a Canadian air force unit.
Pennell says this is the first time that USARAK has conducted the exercise, called Arctic Warrior. He says it will give soldiers a chance to train in cold weather, and test their readiness, along with their equipment to operate in the extreme enviroment.
“We plan on doing it annually from now on, always as a winter exercise, and hopefully growing in scale,” he said in an interview Friday.
The exercises will be held around Donnelly Training Area south of Fort Greely.
