Hundreds of Miles, One Division: Sustaining the Arctic Fight

JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska. More than 350 miles of highway separate the 11th Airborne Division's two primary installations in Alaska. Anoth… JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska. More than 350 miles of highway separate the 11th Airborne Division's two primary installations in Alaska. Another 100 miles separate Fort Wainwright from Donnelly Training Area, where Soldiers conduct large-scale combat training. Across this vast operational environment, equivalent of driving from New York City to Richmond, Va, the Arctic Angels have made distance, extreme weather and unforgiving terrain part of how they train, move and sustain lethal combat power. The 11th Airborne Division operates across a geographically dispersed footprint, with formations stationed in southern Alaska at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) to interior Alaska at Fort Wainwright.

Moving equipment, supplies and personnel between these locations requires coordination across hundreds of miles of isolated highways. While other formations may encounter extreme and austere conditions during deployments, the Arctic Angels operate in them year-round, building the experience and logistical capabilities necessary to fight and win in the world's most demanding environments. Even the approximately 100-mile movement between Fort Wainwright and Donnelly Training Area demonstrates the demands of Arctic operations. During winter, a drive that would otherwise be routine can take more than three hours as Soldiers navigate snow covered highways, limited visibility and temperatures falling below minus 40