By Jim Garamone, DoD News.

The United States is an Arctic power, and the Defense Department has established an office to ensure U.S. strategy and policy protects U.S. interests in that crucial region.  Iris A. Ferguson is the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Arctic and global resilience, a new position that signifies the importance U.S. leaders place on the region.

The importance of the region will only grow as the impacts of climate change accelerate. Ferguson noted that temperatures in the Arctic are rising at least three times faster than anywhere else in the world. “We’re seeing a lot of geophysical changes that have dramatic impact on our operations and our infrastructure,” she said.   

A lot of military infrastructure in the region is built on permafrost foundations, which are melting. “We’re working to mitigate that,” she said. “There’s also coastal erosion that has the potential to impact our radar sites.”  

The changes are also opening up the area to civilian endeavors — and to strategic competitors, Ferguson said. “We’re seeing increased geopolitical activity by Russia, as well as China, in the region,” she said.   

Russia has the largest land mass in the Arctic, and Russian leaders think of the country as the region’s preeminent power, the deputy assistant secretary said. “They have been refurbishing a lot of their airfields and renewing much of their defense architecture across the Arctic region.”  

Russia is only 55 miles away from the United States at the Bering Strait. Russian officials maintain their bases and assets in the Arctic are defensive, yet they arm their icebreakers with Kalibr-K missiles, defense officials have said. “We’re increasingly watching the amount of activity that’s happening in the Arctic region from them,” she said.   

China, the United States’ other strategic competitor, is thousands of miles from the Arctic. Yet, Chinese leaders have “been trying to insert themselves into the Arctic,” she said. “They have called themselves a near-Arctic nation, even though they aren’t even remotely near the Arctic.”  

Chinese leaders are trying to adjust international norms and governance structures in their favor, and they are cognizant of their economic coercion globally and in the Arctic region, she said. “So, we’re being very mindful about their activity and in wanting to ensure that our interests are protected in the region,” she said.   

The Arctic is often overlooked, “but it’s a place where we have immense territorial equity, actually, for our homeland defense needs, our ability to monitor and respond to threats, and our capacity to project power,” Ferguson said.  

The Air Force has based its top-of-the-line aircraft in Alaska because they can be easily deployed to respond to crises throughout the Indo-Pacific. It’s also a key refueling stop for aircraft. The Army has established the 11th Airborne Division in the region to develop expertise in Arctic mobility and extreme cold weather operations.

From a military standpoint, the region is a key defense node for the homeland, with missile defense facilities, radars, early warning sites and more throughout Alaska and Canada as part of the North American Aerospace Defense Command.   

The latest DOD strategy on the Arctic refers to the region as an avenue of approach to the homeland. “The priorities for that defense strategy are in protecting the homeland, ensuring that our national interests are safeguarded and protected, and working with nations on shared challenges,” Ferguson said. “The overarching goal is to ensure we maintain peace and stability in the region.” 

The Arctic is a huge area with segments in three geographic combatant commands’ areas of responsibility: U.S. Northern Command; U.S. European Command; and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. Ferguson’s office is a focal point for Arctic policy. Its initiatives include helping the services prioritize capabilities for the region, developing deeper partnerships with allies and partners, and enhancing Arctic education across the department through its oversight of the newly created Ted Stevens Center for Arctic Security Studies on Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson near Anchorage, Alaska. 

“It’s important to have an office like this now to try to start laying the groundwork for how we can best prepare ourselves and to know what the challenges of the future may be,” she said. “There might not be conflict now — and there hopefully will never be conflict in the Arctic — but we need to be prepared to operate there.”  

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This article was first published by the U.S. Department of Defense on September 27, 2022. Content by the DoD is in the public domain.
https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3171173/dod-establishes-arctic-strategy-and-global-resilience-office/

Photo: Army paratroopers land on Malemute Drop Zone during airborne training at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, March 24, 2022. Photo by Alejandro Pena, USAF.

References:

Arctic Security, National Security Info
https://www.national-security.info/topics/arctic-security.html

The Army is thinking of bringing back the 11th Airborne Division. Two brigades and other units currently based in Alaska could be renamed as part of a historical paratroop unit with an extensive history during World War II and extending into the Vietnam era. The reactivation of the 11th Airborne Division would bring back a unit that was deactivated almost 60 years ago.

Soldiers may be wearing their new patch as early as this summer. US Army Alaska (USARAK) headquarters would form up the divisional staff and provide support units. Much of the future unit is based in Alaska and is part of the 25th Infantry Division base in Hawaii. Currently the members of these units are wearing the “Tropic Lightning” patch.

The news of the reactivation came during a hearing with the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday (May 5). Army Secretary Christine Wormuth and Army Chief of Staff General James McConville delivered the news.

The missions and training for the division in Hawaii and the brigade elements based in Alaska are very different. This will forge a ‘new identity’ for those Alaska-based 25th ID members. The two brigades currently in Alaska would be designated as the 1st and 2nd Brigade Combat Teams of the 11th Airborne Division. One of the brigades, 4-25th ID, is already airborne. The division would be the twelfth operational division headquarters in the Army.

The division was first activated in 1943 at Camp Mackall, North Carolina. It took part in battles against the Japanese in New Guinea and the Philippines. It then was part of the occupation of Japan. Later, elements of the division fought in Korea in the early 1950s. The division later became a training and test unit in the United States for air assault and airmobile operations before being disbanded in 1965 at Fort Benning, Georgia.

Currently the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg and the 173rd Airborne Brigade based in Italy are the Army’s only airborne units – along with the 75th Ranger Regiment and the many airborne units of the United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC). The 101st Airborne Division is actually airmobile, focusing on air assault and air mobility, but keeps its historical name.

The Department of Defense, including the U.S. Army is looking at increasing its presence and capability in the Arctic region. Climate change is having an effect on the north region – the opening up of sea lanes, new mineral resources being discovered, and recent access to oil fields among other factors. This makes the region an area of competition among nations in the region – including Russia.

The Army, looking forward at the Arctic region as an area of competition, announced a new Army Arctic strategy in March 2021 with the publication of a document entitled Regaining Arctic Dominance. The special operations community is also paying increased attention to the Arctic region and conducts periodic training exercises like Arctic Edge to refine and develop their Arctic capabilities.

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References:

11th Airborne Division – Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/11th_Airborne_Division_%28United_States%29

Story by Daisy Bueno.

Special Operations Forces (SOF) from the Army, Navy, Air Force worked with the U.S. Coast Guard, international partners, local and state police, interagency and Alaskan natives to execute extreme cold weather training, expand survival skills and test arctic equipment during exercise Arctic Edge, Feb. 28 – March 17, 2022.

Arctic Edge is an arctic-focused U.S. Northern Command biennial exercise hosted by Alaskan Command. This year, Special Operations Command North (SOCNORTH) not only amplified its participation and training scenarios, but it was the first time it tested its capability to quickly mobilize its headquarters from Colorado Springs, Colorado, to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska. The ability to mobilize, deploy and establish a Joint Force Special Operations Component Command (JFSOCC) to command-and-control SOF units is a critical task for SOCNORTH’s homeland defense mission.

Exercises like Arctic Edge, give SOCNORTH the platform to demonstrate its proficiency to rapidly deploy, operate, and conduct command and control of SOF units in the Arctic. The exercise also provided an opportunity to test tactics and field equipment in severe cold temperatures.

“Special Operations Forces tested equipment and looked at innovative ways to not just survive in the Arctic but thrive in the Arctic,” said Brig. Gen. Shawn Satterfield, commander, Special Operations Command North. “They also developed relationships within local communities to include Alaskan natives, gaining knowledge from their techniques, practices and procedures on how they succeed in the cold weather.”

In northern Alaska, also known as the ‘The High North’, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) and 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne) conducted a series of long-range snowshoe and snow machine movements along the North Slope, Arctic Ocean, and Bering Strait while integrated with state/local law enforcement and Alaskan tribal organizations in harsh weather. Additionally, both units worked heavily with local and federal agencies to provide integrated deterrence under a homeland defense scenario. 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) Green Berets then utilized 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment MH-60 Blackhawks to exfiltrate after a multi-day movement through the intense Arctic environment.

In southern Alaska, operating on Kodiak Island, U.S. Navy SEALs enhanced techniques and procedures for prospering in the cold maritime environment, by testing gear and conducting various reconnaissance training during the day and night. In Juneau, U.S. Navy Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewmen partnered with the U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Security Response Team for special reconnaissance training on protecting critical infrastructure.

In addition, SEALS conducted several Military Free Fall jumps into Deadhorse, Alaska, on the northern coast of Alaska. During the final jump, they landed on an ice flow 177 nautical miles off land in the Arctic Ocean. Once they landed on the ice, they rendezvoused with the USS Pasadena submarine, which breached upward to four feet of ice in locations, as part of a U.S. Navy exercise, ‘ICEX’, that was taking place concurrently with Arctic Edge.

Air Force Special Operations Command also played an integral part in providing intra-state transportation throughout the exercise, as only 20 percent of Alaska is accessible by roads.

SOF regularly trains in this unforgiving climate to be effective in the Arctic, but they don’t do it alone. “Our partners and allies are absolutely critical and foundational to our mission at SOCNORTH,” added Satterfield. “We train and coordinate with Canadian SOF routinely and Danish Special Operations observed Arctic Edge this year. We want to partner with allies that have interest in protecting our lands and approaches in the Arctic. Partnerships are critical in building all-domain awareness across U.S. Northern Command’s area of responsibility.”

Arctic Edge is a large-scale exercise that gives SOCNORTH not only the opportunity to test all its capabilities in the Arctic, but to strengthen partnerships and collaborate with new allies. SOF continues to chart new territory in the Arctic in support of Homeland Defense under the direction of Special Operations Command North.

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Story by Maj. Daisy Bueno of U.S. Special Operations Command North was originally published on April 7, 2022 by the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. DVIDS published content in the public domain.

Photo: U.S. Army Special Forces assigned to 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) prepare their equipment for exercise Arctic Edge in Noatak, Alaska, March 3, 2022. Arctic Edge 2022 is a U.S. Northern Command exercise hosted by Alaskan Command enabling Special Operations Command North (SOCNORTH) to demonstrate its special operations capabilities in extreme weather conditions. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Stefan English)