US Launches Arctic Strategy Office To Boost Power Projection, Domestic Defense - Pentagon

US Launches Arctic Strategy Office to Boost Power Projection, Domestic Defense - Pentagon

The US Defense Department is launching an Arctic Strategy and Global Resilience Office to bolster the United States' ability to project power in the region and use it to protect domestic soil, the Pentagon said on Tuesday

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th September, 2022) The US Defense Department is launching an Arctic Strategy and Global Resilience Office to bolster the United States' ability to project power in the region and use it to protect domestic soil, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.

Iris Ferguson will lead the office as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Arctic and Global Resilience, a new role that demonstrates the attention US leaders are paying to the region, according to DoD news report.

"(The Arctic) is a critical region for power projection and also for homeland defense," Ferguson is quoted as saying in an interview.

The US has seen increased "geopolitical activity" by Russia and China in the Arctic region as well, Ferguson said. Russia has been refurbishing airfields and other defense architecture across the Arctic, according to Ferguson.

China has asserted their status as a "near-Arctic nation" despite not being "remotely near" the region, Ferguson said. The US is keeping a watchful eye on China's activity in the Arctic to ensure that its interests are protected, Ferguson noted.

In addition to strategic competition, climate change also impacts the US' activities in the Arctic, Ferguson said. The region's importance will only grow as the impacts of climate change accelerate, Ferguson added.

The US is currently working to mitigate climate impacts on military infrastructure built atop permafrost, as well as the impact of coastal erosion on radar sites, Ferguson said.

The Arctic is home to US missile defense facilities, radars and early warning sites among other defense assets, and includes parts of US Northern Command, European Command and Indo-Pacific Command.