00:00 U.S. Army Pacific hosted its training exercise in February near Fairbanks, Alaska.
00:05 It's a multi-week training exercise involving over 8,000 troops.
00:11 Hi, I'm Chris Pennella and I'm a defense reporter with Business Insider.
00:14 I was invited to come and oversee the training for a couple of days,
00:18 talk to troops in bed with the Army,
00:20 and get a good sense of what the 11th Airborne Division was doing up there.
00:23 Soldiers throughout the training told me how this was like,
00:28 unlike anything else they had ever experienced,
00:31 an environment that they had not fought in before,
00:35 an environment that they felt like was trying to kill them.
00:38 When I was in an interview with Major General Brian Eifler,
00:41 who's the commander of the 11th Airborne Division,
00:44 he was telling me that the reprioritization of the Arctic as an environment to prepare in
00:49 was because they were identifying that Russia had a lot of strategic interests in the Arctic,
00:56 especially in the next 20 to 30 years,
00:59 involving commerce, trade routes, potential natural resources and minerals,
01:05 and that the Arctic could be a place for strategic competition because of that.
01:10 So the JPMRC training hosts a variety of exercises,
01:16 from paratrooper jumps to attack helicopter runs.
01:20 On the ground, they're doing artillery runs and
01:23 also working on larger wargaming between the two brigades within the 11th Airborne Division.
01:30 Just before I arrived at the training,
01:32 they had done what was described to me as the largest attack helicopter run and training
01:37 in 11th Airborne Division history.
01:40 The size of the fleet that was flying, as well as the run that they did,
01:45 it was 150-mile deep strike,
01:47 which basically means that they were given coordinates to go target and strike
01:52 that were 150 miles away from where they were taking off,
01:56 and that required maneuvering through the environment,
01:59 through the forest, through the open terrain and mountains,
02:03 as well as simulated enemy air defenses and enemy fire as well.
02:10 One skill set that troops really needed to have was the ability to land the helicopter in the snow.
02:15 The snow starts to furl up and surround the attack helicopter,
02:19 and that can cause what troops described to me as whiteout.
02:22 You can't see beyond the snow,
02:24 and it can be really difficult to safely land the attack helicopter in that moment.
02:30 So troops need to be prepared to navigate that whiteout
02:34 and have the skill set to land it safely, regardless of their visibility or not visibility.
02:39 So during this training, paratroopers from the 11th Airborne Division
02:43 were conducting various missions involving loading into aircraft and jumping into enemy territory.
02:51 It sounds terrifying to those of us who are not paratroopers.
02:54 Once they've landed safely, claim the area.
02:58 So they make sure that there's no enemy forces there.
03:01 They make sure that they have secured the land that they need to secure,
03:04 and then they stake out and wait until they're reinforced with other troops.
03:10 So it's a really complex process for paratroopers.
03:13 They described it as exhilarating, exciting,
03:16 but also kind of a stressful situation
03:18 because there's multiple steps to making sure that it goes successful.
03:22 And then on the ground, troops were running artillery
03:26 and also conducting a larger sort of wargaming exercise
03:30 with no live ammunition, no live guns, anything like that.
03:33 They're not firing at each other.
03:35 It's basically larger, kind of like fancier army laser tag,
03:39 where they're navigating the territory, trying to take enemy land
03:44 while not giving up their land and having missions and objectives throughout that.
03:50 The soldiers who are manning artillery or hauling artillery,
03:52 that's their only job, right?
03:54 They're maneuvering the large, heavy, hefty pieces of artillery,
03:59 these large guns, all around the battlefield.
04:03 A lot of their job, at first, troops told me,
04:05 was waiting for coordinates or a position that they could go place artillery in.
04:11 And then once they got that coordinate, they would swiftly move over there,
04:15 find the place that they're supposed to be, and then start to set up the gun.
04:19 The biggest risk that soldiers face in the forest is uneven ground.
04:24 They could easily step into an unsuspecting hole.
04:28 The ground could be hard in one area, soft in one area.
04:31 And if you're maneuvering yourself, your gear,
04:33 maybe other things, other equipment, through the forest,
04:37 it can be really difficult to navigate if the ground is uneven.
04:41 The clothing that soldiers were wearing in the Arctic
04:44 really depends on what their preference is.
04:48 A lot of troops told me that they prefer to be comfortably cold
04:51 because in the heat of the moment, in the heat of battle,
04:54 adrenaline's rushing, they're sweating, they're moving a lot.
04:57 They didn't want to have to remove a layer or overheat in their various layers.
05:03 A lot of this training appeared to me to be about innovation,
05:08 about figuring out what works in real time.
05:10 A lot of equipment can't survive these sub-zero temperatures.
05:14 A lot of equipment drains batteries, drains fuel,
05:17 and that can alter what is being used on the battlefield,
05:22 what's being prioritized, and it can also lead to new technological developments.
05:26 The Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center training in Alaska
05:32 allows the Army to prepare for potential conflict
05:35 with any of its adversaries in the Indo-Pacific region,
05:38 whether that be China or Russia or North Korea.
05:41 So the Pentagon has long identified China as the U.S.'s pacing challenge,
05:46 meaning that its military buildup and its ability to control
05:51 or potentially control territory in a combat scenario
05:54 is starting to pace or get close to pacing the U.S.'s ability.
05:59 Every year, the U.S. releases a China military power report
06:03 basically detailing what's going on in China's military,
06:07 any capabilities that should be concerning.
06:09 And this past year's power report was really clear on
06:15 the buildup of China's rocket force.
06:17 Some of their stockpiles were doubled.
06:19 Some of their launcher numbers were doubled,
06:21 specifically related to missiles, long-range missiles,
06:24 missiles with estimated ranges that could go across the Indo-Pacific region
06:28 and target U.S. forces in Guam or Japan.
06:30 And I think the U.S. is very concerned.
06:35 That means that the U.S. wants to prepare to not only deter China
06:39 from any sort of military activity or combat in the Indo-Pacific region,
06:43 but also wants to be prepared to fight in case war does arise in that area.
06:48 [Gunfire]
06:51 [Indistinct chatter]
06:53 (upbeat music)
06:56 (upbeat music)
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