Soldiers deploy to Aleutian Island Amid Russian-Chinese joint training

Soldiers from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and Fort Wainwright were deployed last week in a show of force following recent Russian and Chinese military activity in the Arctic Ocean.

Over 100 soldiers from the 11th Airborne Division and the 1st and 3rd Multi Domain Task Forces landed on Shemya Island last Thursday. They brought with them equipment such as radars for target acquisition.

Shemya Island is a military radar station and an aircraft refueling station. The island has been used since the Cold War for multiple intelligence tracking operations.

“Testing ourselves with this operation and others like it is critical to our nation’s defense and the preservation of a free and open Indo-Pacific,” said Maj. Gen. Joseph Hilbert, commanding general of the 11th Airborne Division, in a statement last week. “Our ability to deploy combat-credible forces quickly and effectively to any location, no matter how remote, is critical to supporting the nation and our strong relationships with allies and partner nations.”

Last week Russia and China held several military exercises and joint patrols in the Pacific ocean. There were 90,000 Russian troops and more than 500 ships and aircraft mobilized for the exercises, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense. This is the largest military exercise Russia has had in 30 years. China sent several warships and 15 aircraft to waters off Russia’s Far East coast for Ocean-2024, according to the Russian military.

According to the 11th Airbone Division statement released last week, this recent operation is just one example of the increasing presence of Russia and China in the Arctic has as climate change has opened sea lanes in the far north.

“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,” said Hilbert.

Multiple Russian military aircraft were tracked operating in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) last weekend, according to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace.

Governor Mike Dunleavy released a statement on Tuesday evening saying that the Russian and Chinese “incursions” by flying off Alaska’s coast have become an “increasingly frequent occurrence.”

“Alaska's strategic position on the globe gives the United States an advantage in the Arctic and the Pan Pacific, but we need leaders in Washington to recognize that Russia and China are increasing their military presence in the region, and the U.S. must increase its military investment in Alaska if we are to continue to ensure protection of our people and resources,” Dunleavy said in the statement.

Senator Lisa Murkowski says that in all instances, the aircraft were identified, tracked, or “intercepted by our highly skilled servicemembers from Alaska.”

“Whether it be the Air Force’s detection and interception of aircrafts, the Coast Guard’s efforts to track vessels in the vast waters that surround Alaska, or the Army’s agile deployment of personnel and assets to Shemya to exercise and showcase rapid capabilities, Alaska stands ready to answer the call,” Murkowski said.