After the Army deployed 130 airborne soldiers to a far-flung Aleutian Islands base amid joint Russian-Chinese military tests offshore, Alaskan leaders warned the only response should be American strength.
The Army sent the soldiers to Eareckson Air Station on Shemya Island, less than 300 miles from Kamchatka, Russia. The deployment occurred amid the “Ocean 2024” joint military exercises between two of the U.S.’s largest geographic foes.
Russian state media said more than 15 warships in the region practiced missile launches, among other activities. The news follows a July incident in which U.S. F-16s and Canadian CF-18s were dispatched to intercept two Russian and two Chinese bombers off Alaska.
Maj. Gen. Joseph Hilbert, commander of the 11th Airborne based out of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) in Anchorage, said in a statement reported by the Alaska Beacon that the U.S. response ensured Army capabilities.
“[It] is critical to our nation’s defense and the preservation of a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Hilbert said. “Our ability …