2 soldiers from Alaska's Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson hurt after incident with brown bear during Arctic Valley exercise

Anchorage Daily News on Apr 17, 2026

Published in News & Features

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Two soldiers participating in a Thursday training exercise on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson were injured following a brown bear encounter, military officials said Friday.

The U.S. Army 11th Airborne Division soldiers were hurt while participating a “land navigation training event” at the base’s Arctic Valley training area, Lt. Col. Jo Nederhoed, a public affairs officer for the division, said in an email.

The soldiers were “receiving appropriate medical care” as of late Friday morning, she said. The military was withholding details about their condition pending notification of their next of kin, Nederhoed said.

Both soldiers were carrying bear spray and used it during the encounter, she said.

Other details about the encounter or what led to it weren’t available, as the incident was still under investigation, officials said.

“The safety and well-being of our personnel is our highest priority,” Nederhoed said. “The incident is under investigation, and we are coordinating with local wildlife authorities to ensure the safety of all personnel in the area.”