A Light Medium Tactical Vehicle and a High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle leave the Alaska National Guard Armory on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Jan. 5, 2022. (Victoria Granado/U.S. Army National Guard)
Two Army soldiers were killed and a dozen more were injured when the tactical vehicle that they were riding in overturned on a dirt road 30 miles south of Fairbanks, Alaska.
The Light Medium Tactical Vehicle was transporting 17 soldiers of the 11th Airborne Division from Fort Wainwright to the Yukon Training Area near Salcha when it skidded and flipped, according to John Pennell, a U.S. Army Alaska spokesman. No other vehicles were involved in the crash.
About 7,200 soldiers are based at Fort Wainwright, which is near Fairbanks and the northernmost active-duty military installation in the United States.
It is often the site for cold weather training and weapons testing in harsh conditions. The base is home to the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 11th Airborne Division, nicknamed “Arctic Angels.” The base is also home to the Arctic Aviation Command.
The Yukon Training Center, part of the Fort Wainwright complex of military installations in the area, has nearly 270,000 acres for military maneuvers. It is bordered on the north by Eielson Air Force Base, home of the 354th Fighter Wing.
The wing is part of the 11th Air Force, headquartered at Elmendorf Air Force Base near Anchorage.
Emergency fire and medical providers arrived at the scene and were able to give first aid to the injured soldiers, who were taken by vehicle or helicopter to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital.
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