US army recruits to be offered the Arctic option

A Second World War airborne division which fought in the heat of the Pacific theatre has been reactivated to become America’s frontline unit in the Arctic where temperatures can drop to minus 65 degrees Fahrenheit (-54 Celsius). The US Army’s 11th Airborne Division which was deactivated in 1965 is now dedicated to fighting in the extreme cold and will take on the challenge of confronting an expanding Chinese and Russian military presence in the region. After years of US troop reductions in Alaska, the new division represents a significant change in Pentagon strategy, aimed at meeting the global-warming changes in the Arctic where melting ice caps are opening up critical sea lanes. The full division of around 12,000 troops, headquartered at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, has been given the task of denying China and Russia dominance of the Arctic sea lanes. It is the first time a US airborne division has been stood up in nearly 70 years. “Wherever you go, you will be the most highly trained, disciplined and fit Arctic warfighting unit in the world, “ General James McConville, army chief of staff, told troops at a formal ceremony. Because of the freezing conditions, US army chiefs are hoping to recruit new soldiers who will volunteer to serve in the Arctic when they enlist. The new 11th Airborne Division whose soldiers are known as Arctic Angels will focus on having light infantry units. As part of the revamping of the Alaska-based military presence, an existing brigade based in the region and equipped with heavy, eight-wheeled Stryker armoured vehicles will be replaced. The Strykers have not performed well in the Arctic and will be switched to units in warmer regions or scrapped. The Pentagon has been warning for some years that the army had to be prepared for potential war in the Arctic. The warming climate has not only opened sea lanes for trade but it is also a region rich in natural resources which will become easier to exploit. The 11th Airborne Division which was first activated in February, 1943 won its spurs in operations in New Guinea and the Philippines in the Second World War. The division participated in the liberation of Manila, the capital of the Philippines, from February-March, 1945. The operation involved thousands of US and Philippine troops against the Imperial Japanese Army which had occupied the Philippines from 1942 to 1945.