Alaska News

JBER soldiers train with explosives on Tuesday

Soldiers on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson will be setting off explosives Tuesday as they train how to remove obstacles such as impediments in a road.

Soldiers from A Company, 425th Brigade Special Troops Battalion will parachute into the Malemute Drop Zone from a C-17 aircraft beginning at 9:30 a.m., the Army public affairs office reported. The drop zone is on JBER, northwest of Eagle River.

About 64 airborne engineers will begin blowing up obstacles created from concertina wire and metal about noon, and will continue through the afternoon.

Residents may hear noise from the blasts, depending on where you are and wind conditions, said Capt. Chase Spears of the brigade public affairs office.

Combat engineers build fighting positions and bridges, place and detonate explosives, clear routes of obstacles, and detect mines, among other jobs.

Reach Rosemary Shinohara at rshinohara@adn.com or 257-4340.

By ROSEMARY SHINOHARA

rshinohara@adn.com

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