DEADHORSE, Alaska –
Paratroopers with U.S. Army Alaska's 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team
(Airborne), 25th Infantry Division performed the largest U.S. airborne mission
north of the Arctic Circle in more than a decade Feb. 24 during Spartan Pegasus
15.
The exercise demonstrated their unique ability to rapidly mass power
on an objective in an extremely cold, austere environment.
The airborne
operation, spearheaded by the Spartan Brigade's 6th Brigade Engineer Battalion,
inserted nearly 150 paratroopers, along with arctic-mobility equipment including
a Small-Unit Support Vehicle and arctic sustainment gear.
The large-scale
exercise involved intricate planning and coordination among several military
components, including U.S. Army Alaska, the Air Force and the Alaska Air
National Guard.
The exercise validated Soldier mobility across frozen
terrain - a key fundamental of USARAK's mission as the Army's northernmost
command.
The air support package included two Air Force C-17 Globemaster
III aircraft and two Alaska Air National Guard C-130 Hercules aircraft to fly
the task force more than 800 miles north of Joint Base
Elmendorf-Richardson.
Pegasus was a joint operation. Maj. Kirby Chacon,
with the Alaska Air National Guard at JBER, said working closely with the Army
for Spartan Pegasus helped further relations, and that just being able to
practice for real-world applications is important for both branches.
Army
Capt. John Kline, commander of B Company, 6th BEB, said Spartan Pegasus
demonstrated USARAK's unique airborne and arctic skill sets as well as the
unit's ability to work closely with joint military partners.
"We do a lot
of joint partnership missions," Kline said. "We work with our Air Force brethren
out of JBER and the Alaska National Guard as well as many other partners from
across Alaska."
"This exercise showcases the rapidly-deployable
capabilities of the paratroopers," Kline continued. "The arctic paratrooper can
really survive in extreme conditions and can [deploy] in very short response
time."
USARAK is the Army's proponent for extreme cold-weather
training.
As home to the Northern Warfare Training Center, USARAK
validates the training concepts taught there through operations across the state
- including within the Arctic Circle and even at the top of Mount
McKinley.
Staff Sgt. Nathaniel Wallace, who trained for the extreme cold
at the NWTC in Black Rapids, said the training was beneficial because it taught
him key arctic skills that he uses while training across Alaska.
"The
Northern Warfare Training Center can get a little cold," joked Wallace. "But it
was a good experience. Our equipment allows us to operate down to about negative
40 [Fahrenheit], and coming up here [to Alaska] gave me the unique opportunity
to get on skis for the first time in my life. Learning how to ski and how to
snowshoe allows us to be more mobile while on the ground."
Adding to the
exercise's success were the command-and-control communications provided by the
307th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, 516th Signal Brigade.
The mission
marked the farthest north a command post node has been established by the unit -
a key factor in the success of the overall mission.
The various military
components were able to maintain constant contact with each other allowing for
efficient order issue and receipt during the entire exercise.
Though the
mission was at the top of Alaska, it was tracked by the Department of the Army
as an emergency deployment readiness exercise.
With all jumpers and gear
safely on the tundra, the airborne team once again demonstrated USARAK's ability
to work closely with joint military partners to respond to emergencies and
contingencies in the harsh arctic environment of Alaska and other parts of the
Asia-Pacific region.