11th Airborne Division offers public a hands-on look inside active duty life

JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska (KTUU) - The U.S. Army’s 11th Airborne Division opened the gates of Alaska’s military installations recently as part of Arctic Angel Rendezvous Week. The general public was invited to Community Days on both Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage as well as Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks.

According to Maj. Gen. Brian Eifler, the commanding general of the 11th Airborne Division, the event allows the general public to have a first-hand look at how the nation’s army operates.

“We thought, of course, let’s get the local populace and whoever wants to come in to see what we’re all about, what we do, and just make sure that we’re connected with our nation on that level,” Eifler said.

The community day was the first of its kind for the division, as members of the public filed on base transported by buses from Arctic Valley. Visitors toured the event area, enjoying booths that consisted of demonstrations, games, equipment displays, food trucks, and even a jump off of a 34-foot paratrooper training tower.

Jennifer Lenczyk and her son, Joseph, both took advantage of the opportunity to jump off the tower — which consisted of harnessing into safety gear and a brief free fall before ziplining down the rest of the course. The tower jump simulates what it’s like to parachute out of a military aircraft.

Lenczyk’s family is from Ohio and is currently visiting two family members currently stationed at JBER. She was thrilled that the public got the chance to interact with servicemembers as a means to break misconceptions they may have about active-duty life.

“I think it’s a wonderful opportunity,” Lenczyk said. “People have a predisposed idea about things, so it opens things up and makes it more human.”

One demonstration booth operated an Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) robot, which scooted around picking dandelions from a field and handing the flowers to children.

Eifler said that was a prime example of what the division wanted to show to the public through this event.

“It doesn’t matter what race, color, creed, or religious faith — whatever. We all come together and serve our nation and wear the colors of our nation,” Eifler said. “We’re just like everybody else, except we do things nobody else wants to do when they have to be done.”

Also at the event on JBER, around a dozen new soldiers took their oath of enlistment in front of a crowd that consisted of both active-duty and civilian visitors, before the division’s Spartan paratroopers put on an airborne operation demonstration in an open field.

There are very few times the military base opens up to visitors, the most notable public event being the biannual Arctic Thunder Open House which is being held this year on July 20 and 21.

Arctic Angel Rendezvous Week is a celebration of the 11th Airborne Division’s history, currently in its second year after the division’s reactivation in July 2022. Throughout the week, soldiers partake in games, sports, training operations, and military demonstrations that showcase their capabilities as Arctic defenders.

According to Eifler, the division intends to make the Community Day an annual event that coincides with the week-long celebration.

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