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U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to Comanche Company, 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 11th Airborne Division, load a Q-53 radar system onto a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III assigned to the 176th Wing, Alaska Air National Guard, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Sept. 11, 2024. The radar system was loaded ahead of a force projection operation to Shemya Island, Alaska, in the North Pacific Ocean, demonstrating the division’s ability to place combat credible forces anywhere to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific.
(Photo Credit: U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Hunter Hites)VIEW ORIGINAL2 / 4Show Caption +Hide Caption –
A U.S. Air Force Airman assigned to the 176th Wing, Alaska Air National Guard, guides a M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) from the back of a C-17 Globemaster III on after landing on Shemya Island, Alaska, as part of a force projection operation, Sept. 12, 2024. The operation requires the 11th Airborne Division’s soldiers and staff to work alongside the Army’s 1st Multi-Domain Task Force, and Air Force units to plan and execute the operation across 1,000 miles, improving the division's interoperability with the joint force, and capability to move paratroopers and soldiers throughout the Indo-Pacific and across the globe.
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by Spc. Brandon Vasquez)VIEW ORIGINAL3 / 4Show Caption +Hide Caption –
U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to Comanche Company, 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 11th Airborne Division, load a Q-53 radar system onto a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III assigned to the 176th Wing, Alaska Air National Guard, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Sept. 11, 2024. The radar system was being loaded ahead of a force projection operation to Shemya Island in the North Pacific Ocean, demonstrating the division’s ability to place combat credible forces anywhere in the Indo-Pacific.
(Photo Credit: U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Hunter Hites)VIEW ORIGINAL4 / 4Show Caption +Hide Caption –
U.S. Army soldiers assigned to Radar Platoon, 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 11th Airborne Division, orient a Q-53 Radar on Shemya Island, Alaska as part of a force projection operation, Sept. 13, 2024. The operation to the remote island in the North Pacific Ocean demonstrates the division’s ability to project power quickly and effectively, throughout the Indo-Pacific, assuring allies and partner nations in the region.
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by Spc. Brandon Vasquez)VIEW ORIGINAL
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Elements of the 11th Airborne Division, and the 1st and 3rd Multi Domain Task Forces landed on Shemya Island, Alaska, Sept. 12, 2024.
The Soldiers were deployed to the island as part of a force projection operation, working with the U.S. Air Force to move Soldiers and equipment to the remote location in the North Pacific Ocean.
“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 Maj. Gen. Joseph Hilbert, commanding general of the 11th Airborne Division.
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U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 11th Airborne Division, board a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III assigned to the 176th Wing, Alaska Air National Guard, ahead of a force projection operation to Shemya Island in the North Pacific Ocean, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Sept. 11, 2024. Conducting operations across the varied terrain of Alaska makes 11th Airborne Division soldiers experts in adjusting to ever-changing conditions, a key capability in a region like the Indo-Pacific.
(Photo Credit: U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Hunter Hites)VIEW ORIGINAL2 / 4Show Caption +Hide Caption –
U.S. Army soldiers assigned to Radar Platoon, 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 11th Airborne Division, prepare a Light Mobile Terrain Vehicle (LMTV) carrying a Q-53 radar for movement after arriving on Shemya Island as part a force projection operation, Sept. 13, 2024. The operation demonstrates the division’s ability to deploy a ready, lethal force anywhere in the Indo-Pacific, or across the globe, no matter how challenging or remote the location. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Brandon Vasquez)
(Photo Credit: Spc. Brandon Vasquez)VIEW ORIGINAL3 / 4Show Caption +Hide Caption –
A U.S. Army soldier assigned to Radar Platoon, 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 11th Airborne Division, connects an antenna to a Light Mobile Terrain Vehicle (LMTV) on Shemya Island, Alaska, as part of a force projection operation, Sept. 13, 2024. The operation to the remote island in the North Pacific Ocean is an opportunity for the division to demonstrate the rapid deployment of a ready, lethal force able to survive and thrive in any environment, a key capability in a region like the Indo-Pacific.
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by Spc. Brandon Vasquez)VIEW ORIGINAL4 / 4Show Caption +Hide Caption –
U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to Alpha Battery, 5th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment (Long Range Fires Battalion), 1st Multi-Domain Task Force, based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, setup communication systems for the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) as part of the 11th Airborne Division’s force projection operation to Shemya Island, Alaska Sept. 12, 2024. The division’s ability to project power quickly and effectively assures allies and partner nations in the Indo-Pacific, and is the key to the strength of partnerships and relationships in the region. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Brandon Vasquez)
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by Spc. Brandon Vasquez)VIEW ORIGINAL
The division, stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and Fort Wainwright in Alaska, not only defends the northern and western-most reaches of the U.S., but also the Arctic, an increasingly competitive space as it becomes more accessible with the accelerating impacts of climate change.
In addition, the 11th Airborne Division is also assigned to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, the Department of Defense’s priority theater and an area representing more than 50 percent of the world’s population.
“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 Hilbert. “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.”
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