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News & Current Events Apr 19, 2026 at 2:07 AM

2 soldiers in Alaska seriously injured in bear attack during training mission, Army says

Posted by AudibleNod

2 soldiers in Alaska seriously injured in bear attack during training mission, Army says
ABC News
2 soldiers in Alaska seriously injured in bear attack during training mission, Army says
A bear attacked and wounded two soldiers who were on a training mission in Alaska Friday, according to the Army.
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KimJongFunk Apr 19, 2026 +463
> both soldiers sustained serious injuries in the incident but were treated promptly and are receiving care at a medical facility in Anchorage. > As of Saturday morning, both continued to show improvement, but they will require ongoing care to support a full recovery, the spokesperson said. I don’t want to imagine how bad injuries would be after a bear attack. The recovery is not going to be easy.
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twoeightnine Apr 19, 2026 +169
Could be worse. You could shoot yourself while getting attacked by a brown bear. I was on the same trail about 20 miles away when this happened https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2024/08/19/troopers-brown-bear-attack-seriously-injured-hunter-kenai-trail/
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Ma1ikNabers Apr 19, 2026 +146
>”It was like getting hit by a train and my feet went over my head,” Johnson said on Monday. “It put its teeth into my calf as I was falling backwards. I mean, he hit me at the same time I got my gun out and when I was falling backwards, I believe that’s when I shot myself in the leg.” That’s crazy..
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spintowinasin Apr 19, 2026 +8
I mean, bear has leg, dude shoots at bear...
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TheOriginalKrampus Apr 19, 2026 +4
Who needs cryptids when regular old brown bears are scary (and cute) enough?
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shwarma_heaven Apr 19, 2026 +57
Want to see something terrifying? Compare the claws of a black bear, a grizzly bear, a polar bear.... and an Alaskan Brown Bear...... 😬
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AkNinjaNSFW Apr 19, 2026 +42
Specifically the Kodiak Brown Bear. They are HUGE.
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No-Neighborhood2152 Apr 19, 2026 +22
I lived in kodiak for a decade and running into them is terrifying... thankfully they are fairly chill as long as you aren't in between them and anything they care about.  But when you run into one that is trying to figure out what you are and is standing on its hind legs... thats change of pants time
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Starumlunsta Apr 19, 2026 +10
Lived up there for a few years as a teen (Coastie family). Woke up one night to the sounds of our giant metal dumpster being tossed around like a tin can by a huge bear. I am forever grateful they never figured out our wooden doors would have been a lot easier to bust open.
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No-Neighborhood2152 Apr 19, 2026 +12
There's some pretty good videos of the last few years of bears that figured out how to open car doors in the middle of the night.  My scariest encounter was stumbling out the back door of the village bar at 4am and running into the one in their dumpster.  I dunno which one of us was more surprised but I know which one of us was more sober.
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Specialist_Gap_3399 Apr 19, 2026 +178
That’s terrifying. Glad they’re improving, but a bear mauling is life-changing stuff. Training in Alaska probably needs more mandatory bear-safety refreshers and loud deterrents, not just “here’s some spray, good luck.”
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TheyveKilledFritzz Apr 19, 2026 -34
I doubt they were even given spray
-34
Major_Burnside Apr 19, 2026 +139
“the soldiers were equipped with bear spray, which they deployed.”
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flamehead2k1 Apr 19, 2026 +105
Look at this guy who can read
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Global_Crew3968 Apr 19, 2026 +7
what does this say?
7
NihilisticHobbit Apr 19, 2026 -2
Bear spray isn't going to do much to a Kodiak.
-2
PhuqBeachesGitMonee Apr 19, 2026 +10
They never issued us bear spray when I was there. Usually there’s a team they’ll call who will roll up on a golf cart and pop the bears with paintballs.
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ClaytonRook Apr 19, 2026 +6
The Bear Force?
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Zaepflelove Apr 19, 2026 +3
Riding on their battlefield taxi Bear Force One?
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ClaytonRook Apr 19, 2026 +1
They use a Cubmarine
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Zaepflelove Apr 19, 2026 +1
I thought they were part of the 101st Bearborne Division.
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druidmain69420 Apr 19, 2026 -11
They weren't given anything but two slides on a PowerPoint during indoc
-11
1877KlownsForKids Apr 19, 2026 +89
Those two are in for a frustrating life of the VBA stating bear attacks do not have a service nexus.
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samoth610 Apr 19, 2026 +142
On a sniper course the instructor handed me a shotgun and said I was on "Bear duty". I thought to myself "Aint no f****** bears coming near this place". Now I feel dumb. Bear attack has to be one of the worst ways to go.
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europorn Apr 19, 2026 +34
Will a shotgun stop a bear? Serious question.
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Talonsoldat Apr 19, 2026 +99
Shotguns with slugs are commonly used for bear defense, a 12 ga slug is larger than a 50. Cal bullet, just moving slower, but is enough to work on a bear.
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ManusDei Apr 19, 2026 -6
Figured so. All about the shot placement though. Would expect the rounds to be magnum usually too.
-6
ManusDei Apr 19, 2026 +31
Slug rounds I assume. I am not sure the effectiveness against larger bears like you would see in Alaska though.
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S0LO_Bot Apr 19, 2026 +27
A well placed shot? Yes. Especially if it’s slug-loaded. Shotguns are often the weapon of choice for this reason. An indirect hit? Probably not. It depends on a lot of factors. Like the type / size of bear. If it’s a grizzly, how aggressive is that grizzly acting? If it’s already in full charge it might not stop even if severely wounded.
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europorn Apr 19, 2026 +21
> If it’s a grizzly, how aggressive is that grizzly acting? If it’s already in full charge it might not stop even if severely wounded. That's what I was thinking. There are no bears where I live (except Drop Bears) but I've heard grizzlies can be unstoppable, even when wounded.
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rob_1127 Apr 19, 2026 +10
The same with Polar Bears, they don't stop!
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O_PLUTO_O Apr 19, 2026 +4
One of the only animals that actively hunt humans
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ProlapseMishap Apr 19, 2026 +3
Pringles too!
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Keldaris Apr 19, 2026 +16
> If it’s already in full charge it might not stop until it’s essentially dead. And even if its dead thats still huge amount of mass with momentum comming at you. I watched a guy get flattened by a bear that was charging him. He missed on the first shot, second blew half the bears face off, the bear hit the ground and rolled right into him. He went down hard and ended up with a dead bear on top of him. We were all glad it was a female cause im not sure we could have lifted a 7-800lb+ male off of him. He was okay, definitely sore, but no serious injuries.
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I_Peed_on_my_Skis Apr 19, 2026 +5
That’s nuts. What round was it?
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Keldaris Apr 19, 2026 +3
Challenger 2 3/4" 12 gauge slugs.
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jwb101 Apr 19, 2026 +9
Yes, I’d have to find it but a world record grizzly was shot and killed by a 22 rifle back in the 40’s or 50’s or something like that. I’d definitely take a shotgun over a 22 though. Ammo type and shot placement matter as much, if not more, than caliber.
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Amerlan Apr 19, 2026 +10
357 is the smallest size that will drop a bear reliably. There are reports you can look at to see the % each caliber has success in killing a bear.
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boofaceleemz Apr 19, 2026 +22
Sure it can. Just to be clear though, bear spray tends to result in better outcomes than any class of firearms in bear encounters. Even if you’re armed and out hunting in bear country, should probably bring some and use it as a first choice. I guess bears don’t like getting shot for some reason and might still take a piece of you if they can, but bear spray should make em f*** right off.
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ManusDei Apr 19, 2026 +10
I agree generally. I would still be much more comfortable with both. Although I believe the article says bear spray was deployed here and obviously wasn’t as effective. Although I guess it could have been deployed poorly or they were too close for an effective spray cloud.
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boofaceleemz Apr 19, 2026 +5
There’s research out there on it, I remembered about 90% no injuries versus 60 something and a quick Google confirms that, but research is only gonna tell you what’s generally better. I always thought I’d prefer a firearm as a first choice until I spoke with a Yellowstone ranger who had some personal experience and also knew the research. But yeah as soon as you’re talking a specific situation instead of generalities then anything can happen for sure.
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ManusDei Apr 19, 2026 +3
No I agree, generally best to go with the research even if having the firearm “feels” safer. It’s always so situational though it seems if considering the two options. Ideal world you deploy spray first and have enough time to be prepared with a reserve firearm option. But I imagine that’s like 1-5% of the time you would need it.
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SandKeeper Apr 19, 2026 +5
I wonder if they were trained with it. Getting issued it is one thing but messing up the spray in the moment is possible.
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ManusDei Apr 19, 2026 +3
I agree. My “training” is some YouTube videos, so can’t say much. Never used it for real and probably should get a dummy canister to practice with if ever going into serious bear country.
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forumaccount Apr 19, 2026 +2
Also probably dependent on what time of year. After waking up, a gunshot might be more pleasant than that fecal plug they’re trying to dislodge. And if it’s a mama with cubs around, don’t FA, coz the FO is gonna hurt.
2
FreakinWolfy_ Apr 19, 2026 +5
I’m a hunting guide in Alaska. I personally prefer a lever action 45-70, but yes, a 12 gauge with slugs is very effective against a bear at close range.
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WindTreeRock Apr 19, 2026 +1
If the shotgun is loaded with buck shot or slugs then yes, it has a chance to low down a bear. I would prefer slugs.
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Keldaris Apr 19, 2026 +4
Yes. I've dropped bears with a 12ga.
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ManusDei Apr 19, 2026 +2
What species? And for hunting purposes or defense? If don’t mind me asking.
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Keldaris Apr 19, 2026 +3
Two black bears and one Grizzly. The black bears were in defense of livestock, the Grizzly was self defense. Although I must admit I didn't get the kill shot on the grizzly. I did watch half its face get blown off though. If my intent was to hunt a bear I'd rather use a .308 or 30-06, but a 12ga slug will still do the trick if needed.
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ManusDei Apr 19, 2026 +1
Appreciate it and agree. Especially if just using it for defense while hiking (etc.) or on a training exercise like this article.
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cryyingboy Apr 19, 2026 +52
the bear was also on a training mission
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stinkbonesjones Apr 19, 2026 +4
Ok that makes more sense. I was trying to figure out why these soldiers were training bears.
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Soggy_Cracker Apr 19, 2026 +2
This only happened because the bear didn’t attend the safety briefing.
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judgejuddhirsch Apr 19, 2026 +32
maybe we need an army of bears instead of soldiers.
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LibertineLibra Apr 19, 2026 +35
Around 2010, there was an idea proposed to the US Army to train bears to be able to parachute behind enemy lines, take off their parachuting rig, and use their sense of smell to locate a high value target (such as Bin Laden had been ) and neutralize it. Of course the plan was never taken seriously, but it was a concept someone had thought to submit.
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AmericanSteel412 Apr 19, 2026 +20
Correction: it hasn't been taken seriously YET. At some point, robobears will be a thing and the Army will probably revisit this idea with tech we can't even imagine rn.
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raevnos Apr 19, 2026 +6
I think there was a Love, Death & Robots episode along those lines.
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TylerHyena Apr 19, 2026 +3
Robobears sounds like a movie franchise in the making
3
Cetun Apr 19, 2026 +9
That's some Fallout universe shit
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Wingstorm0 Apr 19, 2026 +3
This is something straight out of Red Alert
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OneMoreDuncanIdaho Apr 19, 2026 +3
The CIA did spend 20 million on [Acoustic Kitty](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustic_Kitty) though
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APeacefulWarrior Apr 19, 2026 +4
If you've never heard the story, a bear achieved the rank of Corporal in the Polish army during WWII. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wojtek_(bear)
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PurpleCoat6656 Apr 19, 2026 +3
Cyber bear strikes again.
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lost_order Apr 19, 2026 +18
“DONT F*** WITH THE WILDLIFE!” Said every RSO ever.
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cyclob_bob Apr 19, 2026 +8
Bear tax is gonna go up again
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SquallyZ06 Apr 19, 2026 +8
Half eaten by a bear during land nav? I'm sorry, your injury is not service connected.
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Bananas_are_theworst Apr 19, 2026 +7
Geez as someone who used to live in Anchorage, I carried bear spray everywhere…but was more afraid of the moose for sure. It’s crazy scary to think the bear spray was deployed but obviously didn’t work enough.
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Snoogieboogie Apr 19, 2026 +12
Sure it wasn't the Enclave releasing a Deathclaw?
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Modern_Doshin Apr 19, 2026 +6
Patroling the Mohave makes you wish for a nuclear winter.
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OkMode3746 Apr 19, 2026 +5
Was this near the alaskan pyramid?
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bigshooTer39 Apr 19, 2026 -1
Asking the real questions.
-1
IGC-Omega Apr 19, 2026 +4
Bear attacks are rare, but when they occur my god are they brutal. I'd rather be attacked by a tiger. At least they go for the kill immediately, not bears. Bears eat prey alive.
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TheyveKilledFritzz Apr 19, 2026 +5
That movie Southern Comfort except for the North instead of the South.
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ParksZef Apr 19, 2026 +3
That's why they call it JBEAR
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tangyturquoise Apr 19, 2026 +3
I’m pretty sure Alaska has polar bears, so at least it wasn’t one of those…or we might be reading about their departure from life rather than their recovery.
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braxin23 Apr 19, 2026 +3
Grizzlies are f****** horrifying because of how deceptively fast they are for their size and weight of up to 900 lbs!
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tangyturquoise Apr 19, 2026 +1
That’s true. All bears are horrifying in their own ways, for sure. Have you ever heard a koala bear? So cute, yet so demonic-sounding.
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braxin23 Apr 19, 2026 +3
The grizzlies taxonomic name has horribilis in it. I think it takes the cake for most dangerous sounding bear and the hands that made it too.
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callmetimtim Apr 19, 2026 +2
I recommend "Alaska Bear Tales" by Larry Kanuit. I would read it cover to cover a few times as a kid and always marveled at the survivor stories. Interesting book about historical Bear attacks and such in Alaska.
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Sorry-Belt-3514 Apr 19, 2026 +3
That bear is now a terrorist.
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max_machina Apr 19, 2026 +1
Where’s Parker when you need him? YEE YEE!
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Strange-Luck-5786 Apr 19, 2026 +1
Nature turns against us
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Alarming-Cupcake1569 Apr 19, 2026 -1
The demon in the ❄️ snow
-1
blac_sheep90 Apr 19, 2026 -5
What will happen to the bear should authorities locate it? I'm glad the soldiers survived but I don't think the bear should be euthanized.
-5
eddie2hands99911 Apr 19, 2026 -18
Were they women? Just wondering if they were testing the theory… (jk)
-18
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