Improving U.S. Posture in the Arctic Airmen conduct quick-care under fire training at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska U.S. Air Force (Zachary Wolf) U.S. Air Force By PETER OHOTNICKY, BRADEN HISEY, and JESSICA TODD he United States became an Until this point, the Arctic Ocean resourced, and organized to coordinate the Arctic nation when it pur- north of Alaska has been easily protected implementation of national and Department chased Alaska from Russia and of limited strategic importance due to of Defense (DOD) Arctic strategy within the T in 1867. Since then, the U.S. the ice that has shielded it, impeding both U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) military has had a presence in this vast ter- access and use. Now the ice is melting, creat- area of responsibility (AOR). ritory. Indeed, both the U.S. Army and Navy ing new opportunities and potential threats were responsible for administration of the to U.S. national interests. This shift in the Lieutenant Colonel Peter Ohotnicky, USAF, is Deputy territory in the course of its history. Alaska geopolitical environment requires prompt Chief of Staff, Alaskan Command/Joint Task Force– has been the site of World War II battles reexamination of U.S. military capabilities, Alaska, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. and Cold War conflict. Airpower pioneer roles, responsibilities, organizations, and Lieutenant Colonel Braden Hisey, USMC, is a Staff Brigadier General Billy Mitchell went so far command structure in Alaska. To ensure that Officer in II Marine Expeditionary Force. Jessica as to testify during 1935 congressional hear- U.S. national interests in the Arctic are met, Todd is the Multinational Experiment 7 Cyberspace ings that “Alaska is the most strategic place the United States needs a realigned subuni- Operations Lead in Joint Staff J7, Joint and Coalition in the world.”1 fied command in Alaska that is empowered, Warfighting. 56 JFQ / issue 67, 4 th quarter 2012 ndupress.ndu.edu OHOTNICKY, HISEY, and TODD The Growing Importance of the Arctic are attractive because the distance traveled is and must navigate around the tip of South There is no universally accepted defini- significantly shortened. America. tion of what the Arctic is or where its borders For example, hugging the northern As the polar icecap melts, it not only lie. Generally speaking, the Arctic is predomi- coast of Siberia is the Northeast Passage (the creates new routes for transoceanic travel, nantly an oceanic region plus the northern Russians refer to it as the Northern Sea Route). but it also makes new international waters landmasses of its encompassing continents. The voyage from the Dutch port of Rotterdam available for fishing. The Arctic Ocean is More specifically, it can be considered the to Yokohama, Japan, along the Siberian coast, encircled by the littoral states of Canada, circumpolar region, including both marine is about 4,450 miles shorter than the currently the United States, Russia, Greenland, and and terrestrial systems extending southward preferred route through the Suez Canal.7 By Norway. Waters within 200 nautical miles of from the North Pole, covering over 15 million trimming days off the trip and the associated shore are the Exclusive Economic Zones of square miles (about 8 percent of Earth’s savings in fuel costs, the inherent risks of these countries. In the center of that northern surface) and home to a population of about Arctic oceanic voyages become increasingly ring known as the “Arctic Donut,” however, 4 million.2 Territories of eight countries are outweighed by the progressive advantages of lies 1.1 million square miles of international within the Arctic: Canada, Denmark (repre- the disappearing icepack. waters—an area as big as the Mediterranean senting the dependencies of Greenland and Along the northern coast of North Sea—not currently governed by any interna- the Faroe Islands), Finland, Iceland, Norway, America amid the Canadian Arctic Archi- tional fishery agreements.8 Unless an inter- Sweden, the Russian Federation, and the pelago is a sea route known as the Northwest national agreement is completed, the region United States. For a significant proportion of each year, these countries are “continentally” united by winter’s spread of Arctic sea ice. Sea ice has been a feature of the Arctic Ocean for at least 47 million years. Accord- ing to best current estimates, there has been year-round sea ice in the Arctic for at least 800,000 years.3 Nevertheless, the average size of the polar ice sheet in September—generally Canadian Armed Forces (Dany Veillette) Canadian Armed Forces the time of the year when it is smallest—has dropped by more than 30 percent since 1979, when satellite records began.4 In particular, the last 5 years (2007–2011) have had the five lowest September ice extents in the satellite record, and the thaw in 2011 was second only to the record melt in 2007 when 40 percent of the central Arctic Ocean became open water.5 Owing to historical data extending back to 1880 that show recent years as being some of HMCS Toronto passes iceberg off Baffin Island during sovereignty patrol the warmest on record, predictions are that the Arctic will be free of summer ice by the end of the century. Moreover, current data Passage, which connects the Atlantic Ocean remains entirely open to the type of exploita- suggest this could happen between 2020 and to the Pacific. By using this route ships cut tion that severely depleted fish stocks in the 2050.6 huge distances off their transits. Nevertheless, Bering Sea in the 1980s due to unregulated As the icepack shrinks, new oppor- the Northwest Passage is not without contro- fishing by Poland, South Korea, and Japan.9 tunities for commerce and trade appear. versy—Canada is concerned about its use and The receding polar icecap also exposes In addition to making the few routes near regulation. more of the sea floor to exploration. By some shore navigable for a greater duration of The Canadian government considers estimates, the Arctic is believed to hold the short Arctic summer, new sea lanes are the Northwestern Passage (a name also used 15 percent of the world’s undiscovered oil opening. More abundant year-round ice had for the Northwest Passage) part of Canadian reserves and 30 percent of its natural gas.10 As made these routes impassable, but in recent Internal Waters, thus giving Canada the Arctic waters become increasingly used for summers the annual ice melt has revealed right to bar transit. However, most maritime trade routes and a source of offshore oil and new oceanic routes significantly shorter than nations, including the United States, consider gas deposits, enormous commercial inter- traditional coastal Arctic lanes. Indeed, if the passage an international strait where ests are at stake. Concerns have been raised predictions hold true that the polar icecap foreign vessels—such as commercial or naval about the ability to respond to an oil spill in will completely disappear, then new sea ships, planes, and submarines—have the right the Arctic—certainly a more difficult and lanes would traverse the North Pole itself. of “transit passage.” The Northwest Passage is technically challenging response than those Irrespective of which polar sea lane is used, particularly enticing for massive supertankers confronted in open waters or in more temper- in comparison to a journey across more too big to pass through the Panama Canal ate climes. temperate oceans, routes through the Arctic ndupress.ndu.edu issue 67, 4 th quarter 2012 / JFQ 57 COMMENTARY | Improving U.S. Posture in the Arctic In addition to commercial shipping, Arctic sea ice decreases. Although the Arctic the Arctic.15 Similarly, Canada is establishing ecotourism must also be taken into account. Council creates an overall atmosphere of deep-water ports as well as naval and army The growing popularity of ocean travel and cooperation for the Arctic among stakehold- bases dedicated to cold weather training. In the desire for exotic destinations have led to ers, it is important to note that, by charter, it August 2011, Canada held a military exercise increasing numbers of passenger ships in the does not address security issues. in the north with over a thousand troops.16 polar seas. Any ship operating in the remote Unsurprisingly, the increasingly acces- For its part, Denmark is coordinating with Arctic environment is exposed to a number sible Arctic has attracted more attention from Greenland and the Faroe Islands on a North of unique risks. The increased interest and countries farther south. A warming Arctic Atlantic operational command structure traffic in this region and the unique opera- is opening up new competition for resources and is creating an Arctic Response Force.17 tional, environmental, and search-and-rescue that until recently were out of reach, protected Norway was the first country to move its mili- concerns peculiar to the area make rescue or under a thick layer of ice. Consequently, coun- tary command leadership to the Arctic. These cleanup operations difficult and costly. tries such as China are showing more than actions exhibit a military tendency northward No broad international accord covers a casual interest in the Arctic. To illustrate, for which the United States must prepare in the Arctic, unlike the Antarctic, which has an international treaty specifically governing its use. The Arctic’s prevailing arrangement China has an unusually large embassy in Iceland and an Arctic is via the umbrella treaty United Nations science center on Norway’s Svalbard Archipelago Convention on the Law of the Sea. This is a binding agreement ratified by 161 countries that empowers regulation of fisheries in China has an unusually large embassy in order to protect its own national interests and international waters through regional agree- Iceland and an Arctic science center on Nor- be able to support its allies.