Two U.S. Army soldiers from the 11th Airborne Division were seriously injured by a brown bear during a land navigation training exercise at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska on April 19, 2026. Both soldiers deployed bear spray during the encounter, received immediate medical care in Anchorage, and were showing signs of improvement by Saturday but will require ongoing treatment for full recovery. This incident adds to the documented risks of training in Alaska's remote wilderness areas—Prism News notes a prior fatal mauling at the same Arctic Valley training site claimed Staff Sgt. Seth Michael Plant in a previous incident.