A U.S. Army solider of the 11th Airborne Division fires an M249 Squad Automatic Weapon during a combined arms live-fire exercise at Rodriguez Live Fire Complex, South Korea, March 24, 2026. (Tyler Wassmer/U.S. Army)
The U.S. Army’s 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment, 11th Airborne Division, recently wrapped up its final major training event, a live-fire exercise in South Korea, before it officially becomes a paratroop battalion.
The exercise teamed the squadron troopers with U.S. Marines and South Korean soldiers and marines at Yeongpyeong Training Area, 35 miles east of Seoul, on March 23 and 24, according to an Army news release and information posted on the Defense Visual Information Distribution System.
The exercise was the culminating event of Freedom Shield, the annual large-scale combined exercise by the U.S. and South Korea, 2nd Infantry Division spokesman Maj. Steven Modugno said in an email to Stars and Stripes Thursday.
A U.S.. Army soldier of the 11th Airborne Division reloads his M4 carbine during a combined arms live-fire exercise at Rodriguez Live Fire Complex, South Korea, March 24, 2026. (Tyler Wassmer/U.S. Army)
The “Arctic-specialized” squadron trained in a different environment to increase adaptability and practice force projection, Modugno said.
“We need to be able to go anywhere, and we’ve got a lot we can learn from our allies here, too,” battalion commander Lt. Col. Craig Nelson said in the email from Modugno.
In July, the unit becomes the 1st Battalion, 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment as part of the restructuring of Army Alaska announced in May 2022 by then-Army Secretary Christine Wormuth.
U.S. Army Pvt. Troy Odekirk, an infantryman assigned to 11th Airborne Division, calls for more ammo during a combined arms live-fire exercise at Rodriguez Live Fire Complex, South Korea, March 23, 2026. (Alexander Knight/U.S. Army)
The change includes reflagging the 25th Division in Alaska as the 11th Airborne Division, emphasizing its Arctic mission and U.S. strategy in the region, according to Gen. James McConville, at the time the Army chief of staff.
“One goal of the redesignation is to give the Army’s Alaska-based forces a greater sense of purpose and identity amid a tragic spike in suicides,” according to McConville and Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, in a May 2022 news release from Sullivan’s office.
About 900 service members from both countries, including the Army’s 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 4-2 Attack Battalion and 9th Engineer Support Battalion, the Marines’ 6th Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, the South Korean army’s 122nd Mechanized Battalion and marines’ 73rd Airborne Battalion participated in the combined live-fire exercise, or CALFEX.
U.S. Army soldiers of the 11th Airborne Division fire a M240 machine gun during a combined arms live-fire exercise at Rodriguez Live Fire Complex, South Korea, March 24, 2026. (Alexander Knight/U.S. Army)
“We were able to conduct practical training on the key tasks that enable a mechanized unit to maneuver, survive, and innovate alongside combined assets,” South Korea army Duko Battalion commander Lt. Col. Kim Ye-seong said in the Army news release March 26.
The troops employed reconnaissance drones, U.S. 60 mm mortars and Apache attack helicopters and South Korean 81 mm mortars, K2 tanks and K21 infantry fighting vehicles to support the operation.
The U.S. Army is committed to realistic, large-scale training with South Korea and looks for opportunities for future combined arms training exercises to “ensure the U.S.- [South Korea] alliance remains ready to ‘Fight Tonight’ and is prepared for any future challenges,” Modugno said.
