US troops finish deployment to Alaska island amid spike in Russian military activity

About 130 US soldiers are returning to their bases after being deployed last week to a remote western Alaska island with mobile rocket launchers amid a spike in Russian military activity off the western reaches of the US, a military official said Thursday.

The deployment to Shemya Island involved soldiers from Alaska, Washington and Hawaii with the 11th Airborne Division and the 1st and 3rd Multi Domain Task Forces, Sgt 1st Class Michael Sword, a spokesperson for the 11th Airborne, said in an email to The Associated Press.

In this image released by the U.S. Air Force, 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, as part of a force projection exercise to Shemya Island, Alaska, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Sept. 13, 2024. (Airman 1st Class Hunter Hites/U.S Air Force via AP)

The deployment coincided with eight Russian military planes and four navy vessels, including two submarines, travelling close to Alaska as Russia and China conducted joint military drills. None of the planes breached US airspace.

A Pentagon spokesperson said earlier this week there was no cause for alarm.

Maj Gen Joseph Hilbert, commanding general of the 11th Airborne Division, has told media the deployment to the island 1,200 miles (1,931 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage was done at the right time.

The deployment occurred Sept 12. The North American Aerospace Defense Command said it detected and tracked Russian military planes operating off Alaska over a four-day span. There were two planes each on Sept 11, Sept 13, Sept 14 and Sept 15.

The exercise was a measure of the military’s readiness to deploy troops and equipment, Sword said.

“It’s a great opportunity to test ourselves in real-world conditions, and another benefit to being stationed in a place like Alaska,” Sword said.

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