Land Forces
US Army activates 11th Airborne Division Sustainment Brigade (Arctic) in Alaska
The Army activated the 11th Airborne Division Sustainment Brigade (Arctic) at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on 16 October, with a new sustainment troops battalion and an intelligence and electronic warfare battalion.
The U.S. Army activated the 11th Airborne Division Sustainment Brigade (Arctic) on 16 October at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. The ceremony also activated or reorganised several of its subordinate units.
According to a story from the unit published on the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service, the brigade is commanded by Col. George Plys. The division’s commanding general, Maj. Gen. John Cogbill, took part in the ceremony, at which the unit colors were unfurled.
What was activated
The 106th Intelligence and Electronic Warfare Battalion was re-activated. The 17th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion was re-designated as the 17th Division Sustainment Support Battalion, and the 11th Airborne Division Sustainment Troops Battalion was activated. Plys described the two battalions as complementary: “One sustains the force; the other provides the intelligence and electronic warfare capabilities.”
The 11th Airborne Division was re-activated in 2022 and is the youngest division in the active Army. It has two infantry brigade combat teams, and the new brigade now supports them.
Endurance in the Army’s doctrine
The unit linked the activation to the Army’s new foundational doctrine, “How the Army Fights”, which names endurance as one of four interdependent operational elements, alongside convergence, strike and close battle. Plys said the ceremony “represents much more than the unfurling of our unit colors”. Cogbill pointed to the division’s ability “to endure and sustain ourselves in the crucible of large-scale combat operations”.
On the Arctic policy of a NATO ally, see UK launches updated Arctic Policy Framework, with security and stability among five priorities.