The Polar Institute and the Arctic Domain Awareness Center are pleased to announce the creation of a new series of programs entitled Arctic Security Dialogues. The Dialogues will address a broad spectrum of security issues to include, but not limited to national security, homeland security, and the many components of civil security. United States Air Force Arctic Strategy: Perspectives and Insights is the first program in the Arctic Security Dialogues series.
On July 21, 2020 Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett released the Department of the Air Force Arctic Strategy noting the “Arctic is among the most strategically significant regions of the world today.” According to the Department of the Air Force, “The strategy outlines the Department’s unique regional role and efforts to optimize Air and Space capabilities throughout the region in support of the National Defense Strategy.” The Air Force Arctic Strategy outlines four lines of effort to include:
- Vigilance in all domains
- Projecting power through a combat-credible force
- Cooperation with allies and partners
- Preparation for Arctic operations
With significant defense assets located at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (Anchorage), Eielson Air Force Base and Fort Wainwright (Fairbanks/North Pole), Fort Greely (Delta Junction), as well as complementary capabilities in Canada and Greenland, then Air Force Chief of Staff General David L. Goldfein said the Air Force’s Arctic Strategy demonstrates an “unwavering vigilance to protecting the homeland” and “represents a strategic benefit that extends well beyond the region itself.”
We are pleased to host a group of distinguished military leaders for a facilitated round table discussion regarding the Air Force Arctic Strategy to include contextual perspectives about the new Arctic, the Arctic in context of Great Power Competition, and the role and importance of the Air Force in Alaska and the Arctic.