Two Alaska soldiers injured in brown bear attack during training

The collision between Army training and Alaska’s spring bear country turned violent in Arctic Valley, where two soldiers from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson were injured during a land-navigation exercise and later treated after what wildlife officials said appeared to be a defensive brown bear attack.

The attack happened Thursday, April 16, in a remote training area on the west side of the Glenn Highway, part of JBER’s Arctic Valley complex. Both soldiers reported carrying bear spray and used it during the encounter, and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game said that response may have saved their lives. The two were members of the U.S. Army’s 11th Airborne Division, the unit reactivated at JBER and Fort Wainwright on June 6, 2022, to operate in extreme cold weather, mountainous terrain and the Arctic.

Fish and Game said the bear likely had recently emerged from its den, a pattern that fits spring conditions in which bears become more active and defensive encounters are more likely. Officials said no bears were seen by first responders or Fish and Game staff during the investigation, and DNA analysis of collected samples will be used to try to identify the species and sex of the animal involved. The agency said the remote location made it unlikely that the incident signaled an elevated risk to the public.

JBER closed the area near the attack to all recreational activity after the incident. The closure reflects how quickly a military training zone can become a wildlife hazard zone when soldiers move through terrain that is also home to brown bears, especially in the shoulder season when both people and animals are traversing the same ground.

The episode also revived painful memory on the base. In May 2022, a fatal bear attack in a JBER training area killed Staff Sgt. Seth Michael Plant and injured another soldier in the same general environment. That attack, like the latest one, drew Army and wildlife scrutiny over how troops are prepared to operate in bear country.

Alaska wildlife officials said they will continue investigating to learn more about what happened and improve public safety around wildlife in Alaska. For soldiers training in the state’s backcountry, the message is stark: bear spray, spacing, situational awareness and rapid response are not optional extras. They are part of the survival plan.