By Mark Osborne
April 18, 2026 / 2:38 PM EDT / CBS News
Two soldiers at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, were injured Friday after a brown bear attacked them during a training exercise. The 11th Airborne Division said the soldiers were taking part in a land navigation training exercise and “both individuals sustained injuries and are currently receiving appropriate medical care.” Names and specific condition details were not released pending notification of next of kin.
Officials said both soldiers carried and deployed bear spray during the incident. Alaska Department of Fish and Game investigators believe the attack was likely defensive, involving a bear that had recently emerged from its den after winter hibernation. Search teams were unable to locate a bear in the remote area after scouring the site.
“We hope both individuals have a full and quick recovery, and our thoughts are with them during this time,” Regional Supervisor Cyndi Wardlow said. She added that ADF&G will continue investigating to learn what happened and improve public safety around wildlife in Alaska, and noted that having bear spray in the field may have saved their lives.
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson houses more than 40,000 people, including over half who are active-duty service members. The base is home to the 11th Airborne, the 673d Air Base Wing and U.S. Army Alaska.
Bear encounters are not uncommon in Alaska, which hosts roughly 100,000 black bears and 30,000 brown bears, according to the Department of Fish and Game. A study by Alaska’s Section of Epidemiology found 68 people were hospitalized following bear attacks in the state from 2000 to 2017; about 96% of those attacks were by brown bears. The study reported 10 fatalities from eight separate attacks during that period. In May 2022, a soldier, Staff Sgt. Seth Michael Plant, 30, was killed in a bear attack west of the Anchorage Regional Landfill, the base reported.