Alaska paratroopers fly nearly 3,000 miles nonstop and jump into Hawaii

Paratroopers from the Alaska-based 11th Airborne Division flew nearly 3,000 miles nonstop from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, put on their parachutes in midair and jumped into Hawaii, the division said Friday.

On the way, they linked up in the air with one of their infantry companies flying from Japan after taking part in Operation Keen Sword. The two jumped together as a single battalion task force, according to a division release.

Instead of putting on and checking their parachutes and combat gear on the ground before takeoff, they did it inside the aircraft, which the Army calls an in-flight rig. That spared them carrying the weight for nearly eight hours, so they could land fresh, the division said.

The division said the exercise, called "Arctic Aloha," validates its role as the Army's only Arctic and Pacific airborne division.

"Because we are the Arctic Airborne division, we can operate in the Pacific AOR, or we can fly over the pole and be in Northern Europe in eight to nine hours," said Col. Matthew Adamczyk, the division's deputy commanding officer for operations. AOR is military shorthand for area of responsibility.

The jump was part of a training rotation at the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center that brought together about 10,000 personnel from the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, along with allies and partners. In the scenario, other forces, including the 25th Infantry Division, first struck simulated enemy air defenses. Then the paratroopers jumped in to seize key infrastructure.

The paratroopers will fly back to Alaska and jump straight into brigade field training in the Richardson Training Area, the division said. The next rotation is in February at Donnelly Training Area in Interior Alaska, where the 2nd Mobile Brigade Combat Team (Airborne) will face temperatures the Army says often drop to 40 below.