U.S. military and U.S. Coast Guard personnel are conducting coordinated training exercises in Nome and the surrounding waters through Friday. It’s part of a statewide exercise called Arctic Edge, which is in its fifth year operating out of Alaska.
A gray C-130J Super Hercules could be seen ferrying personnel and equipment to Nome Wednesday as the exercise ramped up its Nome component. A UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter could also be seen in Savoonga on St. Lawrence Island and a C-17 Globemaster III performed a low pass over Stebbins Thursday.
Lt. Rachel Maul, a spokesperson for Special Operations Command North, said the western Alaska portion of the exercise would involve a U.S. Coast Guard cutter and small boats operating primarily in the waters off Nome.
“The exercises, which are conducted routinely throughout the U.S., are designed to provide U.S. military forces with a variety of realistic maritime and land training scenarios,” Maul said.
Despite the heightened military presence, residents of the region should expect free access to public lands.
“No access to public use areas will be restricted, and operations will respect the safety of personnel or wildlife in the area,” she said.
Arctic Edge is one of two large-scale exercises scheduled for the Bering Sea this summer. Operation Polar Dagger is also expected to return to the region in August, although the precise timing is classified. A spokesperson for NORAD and U.S. Northern Command said he “didn’t believe” the two exercises would coordinate with one another.
Both exercises are designed to train joint forces in austere environments like the Bering Strait, which at its narrowest point spans just 51 miles between the U.S. and Russia.
Units from the Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps are expected to participate in Arctic Edge alongside allied forces from the United Kingdom and Denmark. The Alaska National Guard, Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Alaska State Troopers and Nome Police Department were also set to participate along with representatives from Alaska Native communities.
Residents across the state may notice increased activity both at sea and in the air. Maul said some communities near training ranges and military installations could experience heightened noise levels.
The City of Nome and local emergency management coordinators received advance briefings on the scope and timing of the drills, according to Maul, with the goal of minimizing disruptions to civilian air traffic and commercial fishing.