Tag Archives: 11th Airborne Division

Oh, JPMRC 26-02, you look frozen

Posted on by Leave a comment

You have to admit, since reforming as the 11th Airborne, the Army Alaska has really upped its game when it comes to getting the word out about what it does and how they train to fight and win in the frozen region just north of Hoth.

Check out these images and videos of U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Air Assault), 11th Airborne Division engaging a simulated opposing force during Joint Pacific Multi-National Readiness Center 26-02 on the Yukon Training Area, Alaska, Feb. 22, 2026.

“The 11th Airborne Division is setting the standard for Arctic readiness, demonstrating the skills and capabilities needed to succeed in this challenging environment.”

Photos by Spc Brandon Vasquez, video by Sgt. Christopher Nicely, 982nd (Airborne) Combat Camera Company.

Snow and paracord, by the Northern Lights

Posted on by Leave a comment

Breathtaking.

U.S. Army paratroopers assigned to the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 11th Airborne “Arctic Angels” Division, executed a low-light tactical airborne insertion as the opposing force during Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center 26-02 on Husky Drop Zone at Yukon Training Area, Alaska, Feb. 11, 2026.

These paratroopers descended into the frozen terrain to replicate a thinking, adaptive threat, forcing rotational training units to fight for every movement across Alaska’s unforgiving battlefield while reinforcing the division’s focus on Arctic lethality and expeditionary readiness.

Photo by Spc. Brandon Vasquez

Photo by Spc. Brandon Vasquez

Photo by Spc. Brandon Vasquez

Photo by Spc. Brandon Vasquez

Remember to remember today

Posted on by Leave a comment

80 years ago. Memorial Day 1945 – “After four months of fierce fighting on Luzon, these 11th Airborne Division ‘Angels’ attend a Memorial Day Service for their fallen brothers held in Batangas. Their faces say it all.”

Photo via the 11th Airborne Division Association – “Angels”

Activated on 25 February 1943, the 11th entered combat in the PTO on 25 May 1944 and suffered 2,431 casualties in 204 days of combat.

Aleutian Games

Posted on by Leave a comment

Yup, that’s a Russian sub.

The U.S. Coast Guard spotted four Russian Navy warships on Sunday, 57 miles northwest of Point Hope, Alaska.

The crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stratton (WMSL 752) encountered and shadowed four Russian Federation Navy (RFN) vessels 57 miles northwest of Point Hope, Alaska, on Sept. 15, 2024. The Russian Surface Action Group consisted of a Severodvinsk-class submarine, a Dolgorukiy-class submarine, a Steregushchiy–class Frigate, and a Seliva-class tug. Stratton patrolled under Operation Frontier Sentinel, a Coast Guard operation designed to meet presence with presence when strategic competitors operate in and around U.S. waters. (U.S. Coast Guard courtesy photo)

From USCG PAO:

While on a routine patrol in the Chukchi Sea, the crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stratton (WMSL 752) observed the RFN vessels transiting southeast along the Russian side of the Maritime Boundary Line (MBL).

The crew of the Stratton witnessed the RFN vessels cross the MBL into the U.S. Arctic and moved to observe the vessels. The Russian vessels were assessed to avoid sea ice on the Russian side of the MBL and operated according to international rules and customs as they transited approximately 30 miles into the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone.

“We are actively patrolling our maritime border in the Bering Sea, Bering Strait, and the Chukchi Sea, with our largest and most capable cutters and aircraft, to protect U.S. sovereign interests, U.S. fish stocks, and to promote international maritime norms,” said Rear Adm. Megan Dean, Commander of Coast Guard District Seventeen. “Coast Guard Cutter Stratton ensured there were no disruptions to U.S. interests.”

The Russian Surface Action Group consisted of a Severodvinsk-class submarine, a Dolgorukiy-class submarine, a Steregushchiy–class Frigate, and a Seliva-class tug.

The Stratton is patrolling under Operation Frontier Sentinel, designed to meet presence with presence when strategic competitors operate in and around U.S. waters. The Coast Guard’s presence strengthens the international rules-based order and promotes the conduct of operations in a manner that follows international law and norms.

Coast Guard Cutter Stratton is a 418-foot legend class national security cutter homeported in Alameda, Calif.

Meanwhile on Shemya Island…

The Russian naval group was spotted just after elements of the Alaska-based 11th Airborne Division surged a force projection task force to Shemya Island in the Western Aleutians.

The airmailed group included a HIMARS and AN/TPQ-53 (Q-53) Multi-Mission Radar, delivered via C-17 Globemaster.

HIMARS has a published range of 130 or so miles while the Q-53 is limited to closer to 30-40. 

Still, it sends a message. 

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)

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)

Jack Frost Biting More Than Your Nose

Posted on by Leave a comment

The recently reformed (and very understrength, with only six combat battalions/squadrons compared to 12 in the 82nd ABN) 11th Airborne Divison, now nicknamed the “Arctic Angels” due to their location in Alaska, recently got some snow on their wings with a little help from the Marines.

Official caption: “Soldiers assigned to the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 11th Airborne Division conducted jumps from a Marine Corps KC-130J Super Hercules during airborne operations at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. The training was designed to ensure mission readiness in an Arctic environment.” Photos by Air Force Airman Raina Dale, and Senior Airman Julia Lebens.

Meanwhile, the COLA for Alaska is being reduced, because F the troops, especially the ones in pricy Alaska, particularly when the Army is tanking its recruitment and retention numbers, right?

This brings us to this, very valid, article:

U.S. Military Can’t Sustain Arctic Operations, ‘Let Alone Dominate,’ Experts Say

This over at The Warhorse:

“We don’t have the capability to sustain forces up there,” says Ryan Burke, an affiliate professor at University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Center for Arctic Security and Resilience. “We don’t have the infrastructure, we don’t have the know-how, we don’t have the institutional knowledge. We don’t have any of what we need to be present, let alone to actually dominate the damn thing.”

As interest in the region grows, the military has begun to make some changes. In 2022, Eielson Air Force Base, just over 100 miles south of the Arctic Circle, stood up a full complement of F-35s. Marine units now rotate through cold-weather training with their Norwegian counterparts, and during the past several years, U.S. forces have participated in trainings like Arctic Edge or Arctic Challenge, a Nordic-led joint military exercise. The military points to efforts like this as evidence of its commitment to Arctic operations.

But much of the necessary communication systems, general infrastructure, and sustained presence and training needed to understand and operate in such a complex environment has yet to materialize. The lofty visions promised in recent strategies don’t always match the realities on the ground.

“The Army has a strategy, the Navy has a strategy, the Air Force has a strategy,” Burke says. “Congratulations. We can’t do any of it.”

More here.

Christmas in Rayon City

Posted on by Leave a comment

Starting 30 November and running through the first week of December 1944, the “Angels” from the 11th Airborne Division made their first combat jump– Operation King II, better known later as “Operation Table Top,” for reasons that will be obvious. 

Unlike the huge brigade, division, and even corps-sized jumps seen in Europe from the Allied airborne forces already in the war, Table Top– targeting a short airstrip near Manawarat on Leyte in the Philippines to cut off a Japanese withdrawal– was a more pin-point operation. Rather than squadrons of C-46s/47s, each dropping sticks of a dozen men at once, Table Top came down to one Paratrooper at a time from grasshopper single-engined liaison aircraft, L4/L5 Cubs/Stinsons. Anything larger would have left men hanging in coconut trees.

Those dropped amounted to 241 Paratroopers drawn from across the Division with the 11th Abn. Div. RECON platoon going in first followed by a platoon of “Sky Beaver” engineers of Co.C, 127th Airborne Engineer Battalion; followed by one platoon element each from Co.C., 187th Glider (Parachute) Infantry Regiment, 221st Airborne Medical Company, 457th Parachute Field Artillery Bn, and HQs Grp 511th Parachute Signal Company.

In his book “Love in an Altered State” about his father, SSG Bill Potoka, Platoon Sergeant of 3rd Platoon, Co C, 127th AEB, Mr. William Potoka describes Sky Beaver actions: 
 
“Named Operation Table Top, the drop zone was 600′ x 200′ and fringed with coconut trees. Manarawat was to become the hub of all operations of the Division in Leyte Mountains. 1st Platoon supported C Co, 511th PIR. The jump was made one paratrooper at a time from L4 and L5 Cub airplanes. The cub planes zoomed the drop zone and pushed out a paratrooper on each zoom.”
 
In his book “When Angels Fall” about his Grandfather, 1LT Andrew Carrico III, of the 511th PIR, 11th A/B, Jeremy Holm describes Sky Beaver actions: 
 
“Engineers from the 127th AEB soon jumped on Manawarat to clear a larger landing with explosives which increased the range of the Division’s L-4s (L-5s couldn’t handle landing there) for artillery spotting, unit locating and casualty evacuation. Medical staff from 221st Airborne Medical Company airdropped soon after along with equipment for a Portable Surgical Hospital that further enlarged “Rayon City”. 
 
Casualties carried to Manawarat were cared for by three surgeons, ten surgical technicians and other medical staff working out of a thatched and parachute-covered bamboo structure.  Once the wounded were stabilized, they either recuperated on Manawarat then went back to their units or were flown to San Pablo then on to larger hospitals at Dulag (or back to the states).

With such a shoestring op, as the paratroopers remained on the ground at Manawarat, they had to make do with what they had for the rest of the month and “Rayon City” was born. After all, what would you make from hundreds of yards of parachute shrouds and thousands of feet of paracord?

December 1944. Official caption: “Rayon City,” the camp at Manawarat on Leyte Island in the Philippines. Shown here are men of the 11th Airborne Division, preparing for evening chow. House in the background is a native hut, now used as a radio shack and Command Post.

(U.S. Air Force Number 58643AC) National Archives Identifier: 204950331

“A shortwave radio being used in the Manawarat mission against the Japs on Leyte Island in the Philippines. Here, T/4 Warren Scott of Portland, Oregon repairs the set. [Note, he is likely from HQs Grp 511th PSig Co.]”

(U.S. Air Force Number 58644AC). National Archives Identifier: 204950127

“The Manawarat strip on Leyte Island in the Philippines is named ‘Randolph Field’ because many of the pilots there were trained at Randolph Field, Texas. The perimeter of the strip is marked with discarded parachutes. When large para-packs full of supplies, dropped on Randolph Field on Leyte Island in the Philippines, they made large holes in the strip, so the Engineers stand by to fill in the holes as soon as the pack is carried away.”

(U.S. Air Force Number 58641AC) National Archives Identifier:204950327

“The 11th Airborne Division Spends Christmas At Manawarat On Leyte Island In The Philippines And To Properly Celebrate The Occasion, Turkey Was Flown In And Shown Here Is A Vultee L-5 Dropping Fresh Bread Packed In Barracks Bags.”

(U.S. Air Force Number A58653AC) National Archives Identifier:204951950

“The 11Th Airborne Division Spends Christmas At Manawarat On Leyte Island In The Philippines And To Properly Celebrate The Occasion, Turkey Was Flown In. Shown Here Are A Group Of Men Carrying The Cases Of The Tinned Bird To The Food Dump.”

(U.S. Air Force Number 58653AC) National Archives Identifier: 204951948

This included a drop of five gallons of ice cream especially for those “Angels” that had been hurt on landing or taken sick due to assorted jungle malaise and had been laid up in the strip “hospital” where apparently making grass skirts was a thing.

“The Recuperation Ward of the hospital at Manawarat on Leyte Island in the Philippines. Here the men with less serious wounds or sicknesses are hospitalized until they are well enough to return to duty. The man at left is making a ‘grass skirt’ from rayon shrouds of discarded parachutes. (U.S. Air Force Number 58648AC)

Contract tea leaves

Posted on by Leave a comment

Last Friday had a bunch of interesting contract announcements including $450M from the Army to General Atomics for a kind of undetailed drone award (Predator, Gray Eagle, or something better?), while the Navy dropped over $70 million split between Ingalls, Lockheed, Martin-Marietta, Bollinger, Austal, Gibbs, and Hadal to keep working on drone boats. Interesting, the latter of these is specifically for “using spiral winding technology to lower the cost of high-quality carbon fiber composite unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) hulls.”

This comes after at least four large unmanned surface vessels were used in the latest RIMPAC exercises this summer and the Royal Navy just welcomed a similar vessel– XV Patrick Blackett— into their fleet.

USV Sea Hunter at RIMPAC 2022

The announcements, should you be curious:

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., Poway, California, was awarded a $456,246,389 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for engineering and technical services required to accomplish research, development, integration, test, sustainment and operation for unmanned aircraft systems. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of July 27, 2027. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-22-D-0025).

Huntington Ingalls Inc., Pascagoula, Mississippi, is awarded a $13,071,106 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract N00024-20-C-6319 for continued studies of a large unmanned surface vessel. This contract modification includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract modification to $ 15,071,106. Work will be performed in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and is expected to be completed by September 2024. If all options are exercised, work will continue through September 2024. Fiscal 2022 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $149,998 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

Lockheed Martin Corp., Baltimore, Maryland, is awarded an $11,320,904 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract N00024-20-C-6320 for continued studies of a large unmanned surface vessel. This contract modification includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract modification to $15,070,904. Work will be performed in Moorestown New Jersey, and is expected to be completed by September 2024. If all options are exercised, work will continue through September 2024. Fiscal 2022 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $149,941 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

Marinette Marine Corp., Marinette, Wisconsin, is awarded a $10,212,620 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract N00024-20-C-6317 for continued studies of a large unmanned surface vessel. Work will be performed in Marinette, Wisconsin, and is expected to be completed by September 2024. Fiscal 2022 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $149,841 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

Bollinger Shipyards Lockport LLC, Lockport, Louisiana, is awarded a $9,428,770 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract N00024-20-C-6316 for continued studies of a large unmanned surface vessel. This contract modification includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract modification to $13,958,770. Work will be performed in Lockport, Louisiana, and is expected to be completed by September 2024. If all options are exercised, work will continue through September 2024. Fiscal 2022 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $149,933 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

Austal USA LLC, Mobile, Alabama, is awarded a $9,115,310 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract N00024-20-C-6315 for continued studies of a large unmanned surface vessel. This contract modification includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract modification to $13,285,309. Work will be performed in Mobile, Alabama, and is expected to be completed by September 2024. If all options are exercised, work will continue through September, 2024. Fiscal 2022 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $149,878 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

Gibbs & Cox Inc., Arlington, Virginia, is awarded an $8,981,231 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract N00024-20-C-6318 for continued studies of a large unmanned surface vessel. This contract modification includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract modification to $15,071,231. Work will be performed in Arlington, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by September 2024. If all options are exercised, work will continue through September 2024. Fiscal 2022 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $149,899 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

Hadal Inc.,* Oakland, California, is awarded an $8,222,536 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the Low Cost Spiral Wound Hull that supports multiple payloads. This contract provides for using spiral winding technology to lower the cost of high-quality carbon fiber composite unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) hulls. The contractor shall develop UUV hull designs and components suitable for spiral winding. In the base effort, the contractor shall develop and prototype the first generation spiral wound hulls, associated internal housings and payload deployment systems to assess the technology maturity. The contract also contains three unexercised options, which if exercised would increase cumulative contract value to $23,604,065. Work will be performed in Oakland, California, and is expected to be completed by July 28, 2026. Fiscal 2022 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $8,222,536 are obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured under N00014-22-S-B001 long range broad agency announcement (BAA) for Navy and Marine Corps Science and Technology dated Oct. 1, 2021. Since proposals are received throughout the year under the long range BAA, the number of proposals received in response to the solicitation is unknown. The Office of Naval Research, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N00014-22-C-2023).

Outfitting the Angels

Also, with the 11th “Arctic Angels” Airborne Division being stood up in Alaska, there is lots of cold weather kit being ordered, which would seem to point to the U.S. Army getting serious about fighting in polar regions. This included $10M for CTAPS suits and another $9M for canteens that won’t freeze. Of note, the completion date on both is in next year rather than the more traditional five years. Take what you will from that:

SourceAmerica, Vienna, Virginia, was awarded a $10,622,966 firm-fixed-price contract for Cold Temperature and Arctic Protection System extreme cold weather suits. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Vienna, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of April 28, 2023. Fiscal 2022 operation and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $10,622,966 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W911QY-22-C-0038).

SourceAmerica, Vienna, Virginia, was awarded a $9,099,930 firm-fixed-price contract for cold weather canteens. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Vienna, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 30, 2023. Fiscal 2022 operation and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $9,099,930 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W911QY-22-C-0036).

‘Down from Heaven Came Eleven’

Posted on by One comment

The first combat jump made by paratroopers of the WWII-era 11th Airborne Division was on 29 November 1944 when a mixed group of some 241 men dropped on Manarawat in Leyte, making a series of a half-dozen other jumps in early December.

11th Airborne Division jungle field camp, 1945. Note repurposed parachutes

On 3 February 1945, some 1,830 men of the 11th, primarily from the division’s 511thd Parachute Infantry Regiment (511th PIR), would jump outside of Manila at Tagaytay in Operation Shoestring– where a young paratrooper by the name of Rod Serling would be wounded.

“First Lift” The first of three lifts make the first combat jump in 11th Airborne Division history at Tagaytay Ridge, Luzon, P.I. Mt Batulao to the left (Photo: 11th Airborne Assoc)

A week later came a combat drop at Los Banos where 130 men of B Co., 511th PIR would rescue 2,147 POWs.

As noted by the CMH: 

In February 1945, the 11th U.S. Airborne Division and six Philippine guerrilla units operating on Luzon devised a plan to liberate the camp and for that purpose formed the Los Banos Task Force under Col. Robert H. Soule. The group consisted of approximately two thousand paratroopers, amphibious tractor battalion units, and ground forces as well as some three hundred guerrillas. The key to the rescue was an assault force consisting of a reinforced airborne company who were to jump on the camp while a reconnaissance force of approximately ninety selected guerrillas, thirty-two U. S. Army enlisted men, and one officer pinned the guards down. The remainder of the force was to launch a diversionary attack, send in amphibious reinforcements, and be prepared to evacuate the internees either overland or across the lake. The bulk of the Philippine guerrillas were to assist by providing guides and marking both the drop zone and beach landing site. This plan was based on intelligence provided by guerrilla observations of the camp guard locations and routines, supplemented by a detailed map of the Los Banos Camp which had been drawn by a civilian internee who had managed to escape.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Colin Powell: “I doubt that any airborne unit in the world will ever be able to rival the Los Banos prison raid. It is the textbook operation for all ages and all armies.”

June saw Task Force Gypsy, some 1,030 men of the 511th, land on Aparri in Luzon as a blocking force to keep the Japanese from falling back further inland– the last major American combat drop of WWII.

The division would be airlifted to Japan immediately after D-Day and would be the first large U.S. Army combat unit sent to occupation duty in the home islands. They would remain there for four years. 

On 30 August 1945, the 11th Airborne Division was sent to Southern Japan as part of the occupation force. Here in this photo, 11th Airborne troopers stood guard at MacArthur’s General Headquarters in the Grant Hotel in Yokohama, Japan.

Korea

Fast forward to the Korean War and 1,800 men of the division’s 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team (“Rakkasans,” now part of the 101st Abn Div) famously made combat jumps near Sunchon–north of Pyongyang– in October 1950 to block retreating Nork units, a feat they would repeat in Operation Tomahawk six months later outside of Musan along the 38th parallel.

Post-Korea, the unit was stationed in West Germany and included a number of former Eastern European residents in U.S service– such as Larry Thorne– and was inactivated in Augsburg on 1 July 1958, being reorganized and reflagged as the 24th Infantry Division.

Their last formal peacetime jump was in the summer of 1957.

Well, that is until this week.

Rebirth

Sticks of the 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry (Airborne)– a unit that historically made four combat jumps during World War II: two into North Africa, one into Italy, and one into France— is now in the reformed 11th Airborne (“Arctic Airborne”) and made jumps in Alaska this week while wearing their new patches.

Welcome Back, 11th Abn Div

Posted on by 8 comments

Early last month, U.S. Army Secretary Christine Wormuth announced that U.S. Army Alaska– generally consisting of the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne) “Spartan” and 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team “Arctic Wolves” of the 25th Infantry “Tropic Lightning” Division– will be redesignated as the 11th Airborne Division (“Arctic Angels”), constituting the nation’s third airborne division and second paratrooper (not “airmobile”) division.

Of course, it will still just be two brigade-sized, with the 4/25 IBCT(A) reflagging to 2nd Brigade, 11th Airborne Division, and 1/25 SBCT becoming 1st Brigade, 11th Airborne. The latter is expected to lose its Strykers and become light infantry, if not airmobile at some point. It should be noted that the only current “airborne” capable units of U.S. Army Alaska are two battalions of the 4th IBCT (A): 1/501st and 1/509th Airborne Infantry.

The 11th Airborne Division originally operated between 25 February 1943 and 20 June 1958 (then again briefly in the 1960s as an airmobile experiment that became the 1st Air Cav), first activated during World War II in the Pacific Theater for the liberation of the Philippines and the occupation of Japan.

General Kruger Discussing Plans For A Paratroop Drop With Officers Of The 11Th Airborne Division, 511Th Parachute Infantry Regiment. 4:30Am, 23 June 1945 At Lipa Airstrip, Luzon, In The Philippine Islands. (U.S. Air Force Number A60741AC)

They earned two MoHs, 13 Distinguished Unit Citations, 9 DSCs, 432 Silver Stars, and 1,515 Bronze Stars in combat through New Guinea, and Luzon, distinguishing themselves in the Raid at Los Baños. In all, the “Angels” of the 11th suffered 2,431 battle casualties between Nov 1944 and Aug. 1945.

One of its members was a young Rod Serling.

During the Cold War, the 11th Airborne visited Alaska several times in semi-annual Snowbird exercises, solidifying the relationship and lineage.

11th Airborne Paratrooper preparing to board an L4 Piper Cub for snow jump 1950s, via the 11th ABN Assoc

The activation ceremony for the 11th Airborne Division will be live on Facebook on USARAK’s page, at 0955 AKDT,  Monday, June 6th. 

11th Airborne Division “Arctic Angels” Activation & 1/25 Reflagging:

https://fb.me/e/3oCovmk9T

4/25 Reflagging to 2/11;

https://fb.me/e/1xTh5r7Zc