Posted on 04/20/2026 7:40:57 AM PDT by BenLurkin
Two U.S. Army soldiers were seriously injured after encountering a brown bear during a training exercise at a military installation in Alaska, officials said Sunday, according to ABC News.
The soldiers, assigned to the 11th Airborne Division, were participating in a land navigation training exercise at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson when they encountered the animal, according to an Army statement.
Officials said the soldiers were equipped with bear spray and deployed it during the encounter. Few additional details about how the incident unfolded were immediately released
(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
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Bear spray??? How about soldiers deploy GUNS?
Soldiers armed with bear-spray but not a gun?
I just have a sneaking suspicion that the two soldiers thought they were going to have fun with the bear and the bear didn’t agree.
As the old saying goes, sometimes you get the bear, and sometimes the bear gets you. Your chance of getting the bear increases greatly if carrying a firearm, but you have no change of getting the bear with jut bear spray.
Free advice for the Secretary of the Army. A large caliber handgun works better than bear spray when properly applied.
If only there was an effective way to protect a trained soldier from attacks. Hmm…
Brown bears have no real predators to be concerned about except man. Normally they aren’t aggressive toward man unless it is a sow with cubs. Being attentive and aware of a bear in the area man can escape any real encounters. Was stationed at Galena AS in the late 1980’s. Had a couple of encounters with browns and never had any real scare. Just gave them a wide path and they didn’t seem to concerned about me. Yes, I was armed and not with spray. But it never came to that when it happened. The black bear up there is more aggressive.
wy69
That’s how ignorant those people were.
Bear spray? Are you kidding me? How about M-4’s? 😣
Werent either of them trained in the “outrun your friend” tactic?
SOme do carry.
I was stationed at Ft Rich in the 80s - when in that AO I carried a 12 GA shotty.
I was the ‘medic’ - as an USAF TACAIR unit on the base, we had AK Command permission to carry. The Army did not.
Exactly!
I had the AR out yesterday and that would Definitely be XLNT Bear Spray!
.
God Bless America!
I thought SecDef said they could carry guns.
Unarmed soldiers... bright.
M-16s are just fine. No need to switch to big handguns that are harder to hit with. They should have their normal weapons, and be operating as though they are in a high threat environment... because they are.
I have been in Alaska many times for work. “bear spray” is not something you want to use to protect your life. Typical minimum recommendation for hunting Alaska Brown bears is 30-06 with extra heavy bullets. Preferred calibers are 338 Win Mag or a heavy load of 300 Win Mag, maybe even a .375 H&H. As to a military 9mm pistol or a 5.56 round......Nope. Even 44 Rem Mag handgun is considered a marginal desperation round.
I’ve been to Katmai National Park in Alaska, where the adult male bears are in the 800-pound range.
The guide wasn’t carrying anything, not even bear spray. He said as you don’t smell like fish or harass them, they are content leaving you alone.
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