U.S. Coast Guard cutter Healy transits the Puget Sound en route to the Arctic region on June 19, 2025. The Healy will conduct high-latitude science and research missions in the Arctic. PETTY OFFICER 2ND CLASS BRIANA CARTER/U.S. COAST GUARD The United States Coast Guard cutter Healy left its homeport of Seattle, Washington, on June 19, 2025, as it embarked on a monthslong Arctic deployment. The crew aboard the 128-meter icebreaker will support two high-latitude missions to study the formation and movement of sea ice and the pathways followed by Atlantic and Pacific waters in the Arctic, and ocean circulation…
The Watch
The guided missile destroyer USS Sampson interdicted a smuggling vessel carrying more than $58 million in cocaine in June 2025. U.S. NAVY A United States Navy guided-missile destroyer spotted a drug-smuggling vessel in the eastern Pacific in June 2025, dispatching a U.S. Coast Guard law enforcement detachment (LED) to board the vessel and arrest three suspected smugglers. The USS Sampson’s interdiction of the smuggling operation was the latest in a recent flurry of activity as the Navy takes on a greater role in homeland defense under the direction of U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM). On June 22, the Sampson was…
Mexico’s Secretariat of the Navy oversees the country’s cyber force and focuses on the growing use of artificial intelligence in the defense sector. Governments and societies worldwide have become increasingly dependent on algorithms with autonomous intelligent machines facilitating daily tasks and decisions previously made by humans. Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to grow exponentially, bringing innumerable advantages for large-scale information gathering. It learns from itself by continuously improving its algorithms in increasingly complex situations. The Mexican Navy’s (MARINA) General Coordinator of Cyberspace trains and develops the cyber force and acquires advanced technologies. It adapts to current needs in cyber defense and…
U.S. Army personnel practice search and rescue techniques in a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter during Fuerzas Amigas 2024. Photos by CATHRYN LINDSAY/U.S. AIR FORCE For the first time, members of the Mexican and United States militaries conducted a joint disaster response exercise outside a military base as Fuerzas Amigas 24 broke new ground in cross-border collaboration. In June 2024, downtown Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, filled with smoke and 30 mock victims lying on the streets as Mexican authorities requested cross-border assistance from the U.S. to help contain a chemical fire from tank cars on a rail line connecting Ciudad Juárez…
A member of AFNORTH participates in Amalgam Eagle 24. / Michael Dougherty/U.S. Air Force Showcasing the close partnership and shared interests of Mexico and the United States in air defense and security, the Mexican Armed Forces, the U.S. Department of Defense and federal agencies from both countries participated in a live-fly exercise November 13-14, 2024, at locations throughout Mexico and the U.S. The Amalgam Eagle 2024 air exercise, organized by the U.S. Northern Command’s (USNORTHCOM) Air Forces Northern (AFNORTH) and Mexican Secretariat of National Defense (DEFENSA), brought together interagency partners to strengthen readiness and improve coordinated responses, contributing to…
A Norwegian Navy Skjold-class corvette is tracked by air assets during a JEF surface exercise in Norway in September 2023. CHRIS SELLARS/U.K. MINISTRY OF DEFENCE The Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) stands as a testament to a regional multinational framework that has demonstrated adaptive flexibility, retaining relevance in the fast-changing Euro-Atlantic security landscape. As it looks back at its 10-year anniversary, it is an opportune moment to reflect on its history, achievements and value to security in the High North and North Atlantic regions. The JEF was launched at the NATO Wales Summit in September 2014, under the leadership of…
Polar Dagger 24 provided Special Operations Command North with the opportunity to refine a range of capabilities and responses to deter, disrupt, degrade and deny competitor activity in the Arctic. AIRMAN 1ST CLASS JOHNNY DIAZ/U.S. AIR FORCE United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), U.S. Special Operations Command North (SOCNORTH) and the U.S. Navy rapidly deployed 150 U.S. special operations forces (USSOF) aboard the USS John L. Canley to conduct multidomain maritime operations in the North American Arctic as part of Operation Polar Dagger 24 (OPD24) in July and August 2024. Operating in the Bering Sea, Arctic Circle and St. Lawrence…
A Royal Danish Air Force F-16 pilot participates in Operation Global Guardian. ROYAL DANISH AIR FORCE European and North American allies conducted Operation Global Guardian to demonstrate the advantage of global alliances, integrated deterrence, layered defense, readiness and the seamless integration of air forces from North America and European nations in support of Arctic defense and NATO’s northern flank. The air forces from eight nations participated, including Canada, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States, in June 2024. The operation was part of the Global Guardian series of biannual enhanced vigilance activities that…
Cmdr. Brian Tesson, left, then commanding officer of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Active, and Vice Adm. Vicente Andrade, director of the Center for Higher Naval Studies of the Mexican Navy, greet each other during the North American Maritime Security Initiative Pacific Exercise in 2023. U.S. COAST GUARD Maritime security forces from Canada, Mexico and the United States gathered last year for two exercises designed to increase the effectiveness of the North American nations in tackling illicit activity in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The North American Maritime Security Initiative (NAMSI) exercises, held a few weeks apart and based…
The Russia-Ukraine war, which began in 2022, has challenged and subsequently changed security policies in Europe and for all NATO allies. The accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO offers a unique opportunity for a strengthened Nordic defense cooperation to uphold credible deterrence and defense. The Nordic Defence Cooperation (NORDEFCO) originally was created in 2009, combining separate earlier cooperation initiatives under a single organizational umbrella to integrate Finland and Sweden, then non-NATO partners, in a Nordic security cooperation effort. On April 30, 2024, the defense ministers of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden signed the new Vision for the Nordic…