Two soldiers from the U.S. Army found themselves injured after a brown bear attack during a training exercise in Alaska, according to a recent report.
The soldiers, part of the 11th Airborne Division, were participating in a “land navigation training event” at the Arctic Valley training area of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage when the incident occurred on Thursday, as explained by Lt. Col. Jo Nederhoed, a spokesperson for the division, to the Anchorage Daily News.
“Ensuring the safety and well-being of our personnel is of utmost importance,” Nederhoed stated. “We are currently investigating the incident and collaborating with local wildlife authorities to guarantee the safety of everyone in the vicinity.”
The identities of the soldiers involved are being kept confidential until their families are notified, but Nederhoed assured that they were “receiving appropriate medical care” as of Friday morning.
In September 2021, a brown bear was spotted hunting for salmon in a river at Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska. A similar brown bear was responsible for the attack on the two U.S. Army soldiers in Anchorage on Thursday, April 16, 2026, as confirmed by a military spokesperson. (Photo credit: Lian Law/U.S. National Park Service/Reuters)
Fox News Digital has contacted the 11th Airborne Division for additional comments.
Wildlife officials from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game told the Anchorage Daily News that the incident appeared to have been a defensive attack after the bear recently emerged from its den, and that both soldiers were carrying bear spray and used it.
A sign marks the entrance to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on Aug. 13, 2025. (Mark Thiessen/AP)
“We hope both individuals have a full and quick recovery, and our thoughts are with them during this time,” Fish and Game Regional Supervisor Cyndi Wardlow told the newspaper.
“In this case, having bear spray with them in the field may have saved their lives,” she said.
The 11th Airborne Division is nicknamed the “Arctic Angels.”
Coastal brown bear, also known as Grizzly Bear, Ursus Arcos, and Douglas fir also known as Douglas-fir and Oregon pine, Pseudotsuga menziesii, South Central Alaska. United States of America. (Education Images/Universal Images Group/Getty Images)
“The 11th Airborne Division executes expeditionary operations worldwide, conducts Multi-Domain Operations in the Indo-Pacific theater and the Arctic, and on order decisively defeats any adversary in extreme cold weather, mountainous and high-latitude environments through large scale combat operations,” it says on its website.
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