USARAK Soldiers get into Fur Rondy

Anchorage citizens welcome home Soldiers of the 23rd Engineer Company (Airborne) from their yearlong deployment in Afghanistan. (U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jason Epperson)

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USARAK Soldiers get into Fur Rondy

Col. Barry K. Williams, commander of the 3rd Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, enlists 20 new Soldiers and reenlists 10 Soldiers March 5 during the Fur Rendezvous festival in downtown Anchorage. (U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jason Epperson)

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USARAK Soldiers get into Fur Rondy

Participants brave the cold during the Running of the Reindeer event March 5. (U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jason Epperson)

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USARAK Soldiers get into Fur Rondy

Published March 9, 2011
By 3rd MEB
Public Affairs

JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- Soldiers from the 23rd Engineer Company (Sapper), 6th Engineer Battalion (Airborne), 3rd Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, recently back from Afghanistan, got an Alaskan welcome during the city's three-day Fur Rendezvous festival.

The troops took part in the Running of the Reindeer, an annual highlight of the Fur Rondy.

The event also served as the backdrop for 3rd MEB Commander Col. Barry K. Williams to enlist 20 new Soldiers into the Army and re-enlist 10 U.S. Army Alaska Soldiers.

The annual winter festival started here in 1935 to coincide with the time the miners and trappers came to town with their winter's yield.

Called the "largest winter festival in North America," it now attracts visitors from throughout the world.