U.S., Canadian soldiers train in interior Alaska

ANCHORAGE — Soldiers from the U.S. and Canada have spent the last few weeks participating in war games in expansive interior Alaska, with about 800 Iowa National Guard personnel playing the role of the enemy.

About 5,000 soldiers and support personnel have just concluded the exercise, called Arctic Anvil. It was coordinated by the Hawaii-based Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Capability from the 196th Infantry Brigade.

It was the largest training exercise held in Alaska in the last 15 years.

It tested the soldiers against two kinds of opponents, insurgents similar to what the forces faced in Iraq and Afghanistan and more traditional foes that have the same military might, like tanks and aircraft.

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