Arctic Survival

Representatives from the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Alaska National Guard, and Canada met at JB Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, this month for the Arctic general officer/flag officer conference. “The purpose of this GO/FO is to increase capabilities, bringing forces together from a variety of different components, joint and coalition, and to increase our collective capability,” said Lt. Gen. Russ Handy, commander of the Alaskan Command and Joint Task Force-Alaska, in a Jan. 27 release. During the conference, held Jan. 7-11, attendees toured JBER’s 176th Operations Group to learn about its combat search and rescue, tactical and strategic airlift, and air defense mission; viewed types of Arctic sustainment packages used by SAR forces in crisis scenarios; flew to Deadhorse, Alaska, for a tour of the Alaska Clean Seas oil spill response cooperative; and toured the US Army’s Northern Warfare Training Center’s black rapids training site for briefings and classes on Arctic resources and survival.