The Army’s activation of a new aviation command in Alaska marks the return of local air control over two battalions in the Arctic region after a five-year hiatus, as the service works to cement its footprint in the High North.
It comes as the United States military in general works to counter Russian presence and Chinese interest in the region.
The 11th Airborne Division, also known as the “Arctic Angels,” stood up its Arctic Aviation Command at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, on Thursday, the Army announced.
The move puts two active-duty aviation battalions under direct control of the command and the 11th Airborne.
Previously, the command’s Alaska-based battalions, 1st Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment, and 1st Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment, reported to units based in Washington state and Hawaii.
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Now, the two battalions will exclusively report to the new local command while continuing to support rotary wing operations across the region, Col. Russell Vanderlugt, recently appointed head of the aviation command, told Army Times on Monday.
“The Arctic is obviously a strategically important region in for the United States,” Vanderlugt said. “What’s unique is this is our home, we are not a transient unit, we are stakeholders in the region.”
By living in the region and running aviation operations on site, the colonel said battalion soldiers and crews can work in the extremes of an environment that challenges ground and air assets on a near-daily basis.
“We realize forces can’t just show up in the Arctic and expect to operate here,” Vanderlugt said. “The timing of this thing is critical, there’s a sense of urgency as we continue to transform aviation across the Pacific.”
Th move follows the Pentagon’s release last month an update to the Defense Department’s Arctic strategy, the first since 2019.
Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks said in July that an increased Arctic presence, upgrades to area installations and new equipment — including sensors and space-based technologies — would be crucial.
The Army released its Arctic strategy in 2021, calling for new formations, soldier training and gear for the cold weather climate.
The Army reflagged U.S. Army Alaska as the revived 11th Airborne Division in 2022. In February, more than 8,000 soldiers in Alaska conducted a large-scale exercise across the state.
Two major maneuvers during the training highlighted the critical need for aviation assets.
During the exercise, soldiers conducted a 150-mile Apache-led deep strike on a target and moved a multi-launcher rocket system more than 500 miles to a location above the Arctic Circle.
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“We did a 150-mile deep attack with our Apache division while avoiding air defense emitters that we put out,” Maj. Gen. Brian Eifler, head of the 11th Airborne, said at hte time. “They had to duck and weave over those 150 miles close to the terrain to get to the target and destroy it and get back safely.”
Though aviation control has been run from distant outposts in recent years, Vanderlugt noted that helicopters have been part of the Army’s inventory in Alaska since 1958.
That’s when the first helicopter unit was assigned to U.S. Army Alaska, according to the 11th Airborne.
Those aircraft were CH-21 “Shawnee” helicopters from Fort Riley, Kansas.
In 1961, the Army activated its first aviation battalion, which was stationed at Fort Wainwright. An aviation regiment and various other unit configurations maintained a presence in the state through the mid-2010s.
During that period aviation fell under the Army Alaska Aviation Task Force, which was deactivated in 2018.
Todd South has written about crime, courts, government and the military for multiple publications since 2004 and was named a 2014 Pulitzer finalist for a co-written project on witness intimidation. Todd is a Marine veteran of the Iraq War.
