United States Army Alaska (USARAK) was the Army’s dedicated headquarters for operations, readiness, and training in the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions for decades. Headquartered at Fort Wainwright and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, USARAK served as the Army’s leading expert on extreme-cold warfare, overseeing units uniquely trained to fight, survive, and sustain operations in some of the harshest climates on earth. The command traced its lineage back to early Cold War requirements, when the U.S. recognized Alaska’s strategic value as both a northern shield and a forward position facing the Soviet Union. Over the years, it became the institutional home of Arctic tactics, cold-weather testing, mountaineering standards, and rapid-deployment capabilities in the northern hemisphere.
Operationally, USARAK was responsible for maintaining forces ready to deploy worldwide while also functioning as the Army's resident Arctic force. The command included key elements such as the 172nd Infantry Brigade, 6th Infantry Division (Light), and later the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division—units known for their airborne-qualified soldiers, light-infantry ethos, and proficiency in cold-weather mobility. USARAK supported joint training with the Air Force, hosted multinational Arctic exercises like Arctic Edge and Northern Warfare Training Center courses, and served as the Army’s proving ground for equipment and doctrine optimized for ice, snow, and mountainous terrain. Eventually redesignated as U.S. Army Alaska under U.S. Army Pacific, USARAK’s mission and identity helped lay the foundation for the Army’s modern Arctic strategy and the activation of the “new” 11th Airborne Division, which inherited its lineage and its role as America’s Arctic combat formation.