WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd September, 2021) The US Department of Defense announced in a statement on Wednesday that it has named Randy "Church" Kee, a retired major general, as Senior Adviser for Arctic Security Affairs.
"Randy "Church" Kee, a retired US Air Force major general, assumes duties as Senior Adviser for Arctic Security Affairs to assist with establishing the Ted Stevens Center for Arctic Security Studies, the Department of Defense's sixth and newest regional center," the statement said.
Kee, who had a 30-year military career, is due to collaborate with US partners "to ensure a stable, rules-based order in the Arctic that will benefit the United States and all Arctic nations," the statement said.
Before his assignment, Kee served as Commissioner to the US Arctic Research Commission as well as the Executive Director of the Arctic Domain Awareness Center.
The United States has been boosting its resources in the Arctic and has repeatedly voiced concerns about the risk of militarization of the Arctic by Russia. Moscow has repeatedly emphasized that it rejects claims about the growth of its military potential in the Arctic since it is only restoring the Soviet Union's infrastructure.
Last week, Nikolai Korchunov, a senior official of the Arctic Council, told Sputnik that Russia and the United States are interested in cooperation and predictability in the Arctic and will eventually start discussing military and political aspects of the situation in the region even if they have some disagreement over it at the moment.
