Army promotes Reginald Harper to brigadier general at Fort Wainwright

The Army’s promotion of Col. Reginald “Reggie” Harper to brigadier general at Fort Wainwright put a senior Arctic leader in place at one of Alaska’s most important military posts. Harper was elevated on June 3 and assumed duty as the 11th Airborne Division’s deputy commanding general for support, a role tied directly to the division the Army reactivated at Fort Wainwright on June 6, 2022, as part of its Arctic strategy.

The ceremony carried the kind of weight Fort Wainwright has long represented in Alaska: family members, friends and fellow soldiers gathered as Harper took on a rank that carries broader responsibility for readiness, logistics and future operations. Fort Wainwright is home to U.S. Army Garrison Alaska and units including the 11th Airborne Division, the 1st Battalion, 52nd General Support Aviation Battalion, the 1-25th Attack Battalion and the Medical Department Activity-Alaska. The post has grown from a cold-weather test station into one of the Army’s premier training areas, covering more than a million acres.

That scale matters for communities across interior and northern Alaska, including North Slope residents who watch Army decisions for signs of how seriously Washington is treating Arctic access, mobility and support. The Army says its presence in Alaska dates to 1867, and that the force at Fort Wainwright grew from a 50-soldier detachment in 1940 to about 7,700 soldiers today. In Army terms, Alaska is not a remote outpost. It is a significant national asset and a world-class power projection platform.

Harper’s own career suggests why the Army placed him in the job. He graduated from Texas A&M University and was commissioned as an aviation officer. He previously led the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas, and commanded Task Force 1-160 and A Company, Task Force 1-160, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He also commanded 3rd Battalion, 160th SOAR at Hunter Army Airfield in Georgia and Headquarters Troop, 2nd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell.

He later served as executive officer to the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, executive officer to the Director of the Joint Staff and as Joint Operations Division chief on the Joint Staff in Washington, D.C. The Army says he deployed in support of combat operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Africa, and also took part in missions in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Germany, Poland and South America.

At the promotion ceremony, Harper thanked his family, including Jenny, Walter and Hannah, for standing through moves, deployments and late nights. For Fort Wainwright, the promotion was also a signal: the Army is continuing to place senior leaders over the Alaska mission with Arctic readiness, training and rapid deployment in mind.