The U.S. Army and Air Force teamed up Nov. 3-4, to
deploy Stryker vehicles north of the Arctic Circle for the first time ever,
according to a U.S. Army Alaska news release issued today.
Operation Arctic Pegasus, a joint, multi-agency exercise
tested the rapid deployment capability of the Army’s 1st Stryker Brigade Combat
Team, with Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft delivering four Stryker
vehicles and approximately 40 soldiers to Deadhorse, Alaska.
The brigade regularly trains to rapidly deploy in
support of contingencies across U.S. Army Alaska’s unique area of operation,
stretching from the Arctic Circle to the southern reaches of the Asia-Pacific
region, and elsewhere as directed.
The Stryker platoon deployment took place in
coordination with the Air Force, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources and
the North Slope Borough. The average winter temperatures in the area range from
23 degrees below zero to minus 11.
The record for February low temperature is minus 57
degrees, but in January 1989 nearby Prudhoe Bay hit a wind-chill of minus 96
degrees.