Alaska National Guard Soldier Attacked by Grizzly Bear

Soldier attacked by grizzly in second JBER mauling this summer
Alaska Dispatch
Michelle Theriault Boots
July 20, 2014

A National Guard soldier was mauled by a brown bear on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson while participating in a training exercise Sunday morning, officials said. A JBER release said the soldier was mauled by a sow defending her cubs -- the second such attack in just more than two months on the Anchorage base.

The soldier was in stable condition as of Sunday afternoon. His name had not yet been released.

The Alaska Army National Guard soldier was a participant in a daylong “land navigation exercise,” said Alaska National Guard spokeswoman Maj. Candis Olmstead. During the exercise, soldiers are given a compass and map and are timed as they navigate alone to hidden locations on the course.

At about 11:45 a.m. the soldier was traveling through the woods when he encountered a sow with two cubs, Olmstead said.

“He dropped to the ground, covered his head and remained still,” she said.
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