Army
GalleryArctic Angels execute nighttime air assault at Yukon Training Area
Stars and Stripes
February 17, 2026
U.S. Army paratroopers assigned to the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 11th Airborne Division, executed a 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. (Brandon Vasquez/U.S. Army)
Soldiers assigned to the 11th Airborne Division executed a nighttime air assault last week at Yukon Training Area, Alaska, during Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center 26-02.
The operation was conducted to counter an opposing force airborne insertion, according to a service news release.
Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center rotations provide realistic, force-on-force training designed to test units against capable opponents in complex terrain, the release said. During the exercise, the soldiers, also known as “Arctic Angels,” established defensive positions to deny the enemy freedom of maneuver while preparing for follow-on operations.
The coordinated response, according to the release, reinforced the 11th Airborne Division’s role as the Army’s premier Arctic-focused formation that is capable of rapid deployment and sustained operations in extreme cold-weather conditions.
The 1st Brigade of the 11th Airborne Division is the air-assault infantry nicknamed the “Arctic Wolves.” The parachute-qualified 2nd Infantry Brigade is nicknamed “The Spartans.”
A U.S. Army paratrooper assigned to the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 11th Airborne Division, packs his parachute as the opposing force during Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center 26-02 on Husky Drop Zone at Yukon Training Area, Alaska Feb. 11, 2026. (Brandon Vasquez/U.S. Army)
U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 11th Airborne Division, prepare to observe a tactical airborne insertion during Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center 26-02 on Husky Drop Zone at Yukon Training Area, Alaska Feb. 11, 2026. (Brandon Vasquez/U.S. Army)
U.S. Army paratroopers assigned to the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 11th Airborne Division, executed a 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. (Brandon Vasquez/U.S. Army)
U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Air Assault), 11th Airborne Division, conduct a nighttime air assault during Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center 26-02 in Yukon Training Area, Alaska, Feb. 13, 2026. (Kylee Marshall/U.S. Army)
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. John P. Cogbill, commanding general of the 11th Airborne Division, and U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. David P. Hanson, the division’s senior enlisted adviser, observe 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team’s lowlight airborne insertion during Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center 26-02 on Husky Drop Zone at Yukon Training Area, Alaska Feb. 11, 2026. (Brandon Vasquez/U.S. Army)
U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Air Assault), 11th Airborne Division, move toward a Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopter during a nighttime air assault for Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center 26-02 in Yukon Training Area, Alaska, Feb. 13, 2026. (Evan Cain/U.S. Army)
U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 11th Airborne Division, observe a heavy drop during a lowlight 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. (Brandon Vasquez/U.S. Army)
U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Air Assault), 11th Airborne Division, maneuver to establish security in the snow during a nighttime air assault for Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center 26-02 in Yukon Training Area, Alaska, Feb. 13, 2026. (Evan Cain/U.S. Army)
U.S. Army paratroopers assigned to the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 11th Airborne Division, executed a 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. (Kylee Marshall/U.S. Army)