Close X
Monday, November 11, 2024
ADVT 
National

US, Canadian Soldiers Train In Interior Alaska

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 05 Aug, 2016 01:30 PM
    ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Soldiers from U.S. and Canada have spent much of the last few weeks engaging in war games in expansive interior Alaska, with Iowa National Guard personnel playing the role of the enemy.
     
    Arctic Anvil, which ended this week for about 5,000 soldiers and support personnel, was the largest training held in Alaska in the last 15 or so years, said Brig. Gen. Martin Frank, a member of the Canadian Army and the deputy commanding general for U.S. Army Alaska. He is the first foreign officer to serve on the U.S. Army Alaska staff.
     
    Among those training were 140 soldiers from the Third Canadian Division, a light armoured vehicle company, Frank said.
     
    "We've also got about 800 folks from the Iowa National Guard that are participating in the exercise who are playing the role of opposing forces," he said.
     
    Also on hand were observers from partner nations Japan and Singapore.
     
    The exercise tested the soldiers against two kinds of opponents, insurgents similar to what the forces faced in Iraq and Afghanistan and more traditional foes.
     
     
    Frank said the troops have to maintain their skills with fighting insurgent forces.
     
    "But we also have to be capable of defeating a near-peer enemy who might be equipped with tanks, with unmanned aerial vehicles, with aircraft, with all the things that we have so that we are ready to fight and ready to win regardless of what kind of opposing force or kind of adversary we come against," Frank said.
     
    The exercise was intended to prepare the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division at Fort Wainwright, near Fairbanks, for an upcoming rotation at the National Training Center at Fort Lewis, California. The training also included soldiers from the 52nd Aviation Regiment.
     
    Frank called the exercise a success. "I've seen an exponential increase in the capability and the readiness of the 1st Stryker Brigade, and in large part this is due to the command climate, the perspective of the commanders on the ground, and the soldiers on the ground, wanting to learn, wanting to become better," he said.
     
    The training scenario, equipment and technical expertise were provided by the 196th Infantry Brigade's Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Capability, and this was the first time they have provided the training outside its home base in Hawaii.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Spike In Drug Overdoses In Surrey, B.C., Fraser Health Urges Caution

    Spike In Drug Overdoses In Surrey, B.C., Fraser Health Urges Caution
    Two weekends ago, the city saw 43 overdoses between Friday and Monday and an average of three a day to the hospital since then.

    Spike In Drug Overdoses In Surrey, B.C., Fraser Health Urges Caution

    'Accidental' Shooting In Whalley, 2 People In Hospital

    'Accidental' Shooting In Whalley, 2 People In Hospital
    RCMP were called to the 10700-block of 135A Street at about 3:10 a.m. They found a man suffering from a gunshot wound and a second victim nearby.

    'Accidental' Shooting In Whalley, 2 People In Hospital

    'Balaclava Rapist' Gets Day Parole After More Than 30 Years In Jail

    'Balaclava Rapist' Gets Day Parole After More Than 30 Years In Jail
      Larry Takahashi, 63, was serving three life sentences after admitting to raping at least 30 women in Edmonton in the 1970s and 1980s.

    'Balaclava Rapist' Gets Day Parole After More Than 30 Years In Jail

    Smoke In Ottawa Data Centre Shuts Down Blackberry Email, Phoenix Pay System

    Smoke In Ottawa Data Centre Shuts Down Blackberry Email, Phoenix Pay System
    OTTAWA — Smoke inside a federal data centre this morning has shut down email, some government websites and even the maligned Phoenix payroll system.

    Smoke In Ottawa Data Centre Shuts Down Blackberry Email, Phoenix Pay System

    WestJet Passenger Wants Airline To Change Policy After Loss Of Tiny Gecko

    WestJet Passenger Wants Airline To Change Policy After Loss Of Tiny Gecko
    Meryl Bishop says on Facebook she was required to send the gargoyle gecko to the cargo hold of a WestJet flight during her trip on Sunday.  

    WestJet Passenger Wants Airline To Change Policy After Loss Of Tiny Gecko

    Body Of Missing Calgary Youngster Recovered In Yoho National Park

    Body Of Missing Calgary Youngster Recovered In Yoho National Park
    Parks Canada spokesman Lisa Paulson says the 11-year-old and his nine-year-old brother were jumping on rocks at the edge of the fast-moving river on Friday evening when both youngsters tumbled into the water.

    Body Of Missing Calgary Youngster Recovered In Yoho National Park