Strykers above the Arctic Circle

Photo By Capt. Richard Packer | U.S. Army Alaska Soldiers with Bravo Company, 3-21 Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade scan the Arctic tundra outside Deadhorse, Alaska, during Operation Arctic Pegasus, Nov. 4, 2015. Arctic Pegasus is U.S. Army Alaska's annual joint exercise designed to test rapid-deployment and readiness in the Arctic. The exercise marks the first time Strykers have deployed above the Arctic Circle. 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team is the Army's northernmost unit and has the unique capability to deploy and operate in extreme cold regions. (Photo by Capt. Richard Packer, U.S. Army Alaska Public Affairs)  

DEADHORSE, AK, UNITED STATES

11.04.2015

Story by Sgt. 1st Class Joel Gibson 

United States Army Alaska

DEADHORSE, Alaska – In a first for the 1st, a Stryker platoon from B Company, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, U.S. Army Alaska, based in Fairbanks, Alaska, conducted an Emergency Deployment Readiness Exercise to Deadhorse, Alaska, Nov. 3 as part of Operation Arctic Pegasus.

The EDRE, wherein two U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemasters airlifted the platoon to a location north of the Arctic Circle for the first time in the history of the Stryker Interim Armored Vehicle, involved mounted security drills, and dismounted patrol training over the course of two days.

The platoon included four Strykers and more than 40 soldiers who traveled from Fort Wainwright and Eielson Air Force Base aboard the USAF transport planes.

Staff Sgt. Christopher Ferguson, a squad leader with 1st SBCT, who was the unit movement officer for the EDRE, said getting the Strykers into and out of the aircraft was the simplest part of the move.

This EDRE was not the first time 1st SBCT planned to send Strykers to the Arctic, but it was the first time the plans came to fruition, Ferguson said.

“We have the vehicles that can make the movement and are ready for Arctic conditions, and we have strategic airlift capabilities close by to Fort Wainwright that can get us up here in a quick fashion, as well as having the manning and the gear to survive up here,” said Capt. Kevin Joyce, the commander of B Company and a native of Walkertown, North Carolina.

When the aircraft and soldiers arrived at Deadhorse, they quickly debarked the Strykers from the cargo holds of the Globemasters and formed a convoy through the streets.

After securing the Strykers and their gear, the Soldiers of B Company trained on dismounted tactics under an Aurora Borealis-filled sky.

With sunrise near 10 a.m. and sunset just after 3 p.m., and their arrival after dark, the 1st SBCT soldiers only spent about two hours of the second day in daylight conditions.

“It’s very difficult operating in an Arctic environment because of the climate, daylight hours, and gear required,” said 2nd Lt. Nicholas Longaker, a platoon leader with 1st SBCT.

On the second day of training, with the soldiers dressed in their winter over-whites, Strykers rolled out and set up security points next to the frozen tundra, and practiced mounting and dismounting while performing security.

“[The exercise] demonstrates that we are an expeditionary force, and we are not restricted by weather or longitude or latitude,” Joyce said.

The 1st SBCT is especially suited for performing in cold weather, being based in Fairbanks, where the temperature can get to 60 degrees below zero.

“We can come up here and we can conduct operations successfully, and I would argue that probably no other Army unit could accomplish this to the level of success and still be able to conduct operations after coming north of the Arctic Circle,” Joyce said.

• Date Taken: 11.04.2015
• Date Posted: 11.09.2015 14:02
• Story ID: 181437
• Location: DEADHORSE, AK, US
• Hometown: WALKERTOWN, NC, US