US Army soldiers were deployed to a remote island southeast of Alaska last week as part of a “force protection operation” amid an expected increase in Russian and Chinese military exercises in the region,

The Army conducted a 'force projection' training exercise on Shemya Island, a remote Alaskan island less than 300 miles from the Russian coast.

The U.S. Army has deployed airborne soldiers from within Alaska and additional soldiers from Hawaii and Washington to isolated Shemya Island in the Aleutians, it announced late last week. The deployment,

Eight Russian military planes and four navy vessels, including two submarines, have come close to Alaska in the past week.