THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Sweden has decided to join neighboring Finland in seeking NATO membership, ending more than two centuries of military nonalignment in a historic shift prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, pictured, warned that the Nordic country would be in a vulnerable position during the application period and urged her fellow citizens to brace themselves for the Russian response. “Russia has said that that it will take countermeasures if we join NATO,” she said. “We cannot rule out that Sweden will be exposed to, for instance, disinformation and attempts to intimidate and divide us.”…
The Watch
Forum Staff The U.S. Army is considering a plan to reconfigure its Alaska-based Stryker Brigade into a more mobile infantry unit better suited for cold-weather fighting in the Arctic. Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said she expects to decide soon about the unit, known for its heavy eight-wheeled vehicles. “I think right now the purpose of Army forces in Alaska is much more about creating an extreme cold-weather capable formation” that could be used in Europe or the Indo-Pacific, Wormuth told The Associated Press (AP) during a recent trip to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. “We’re trying to get to a place…
THE WATCH STAFF The United States Senate unanimously approved Adm. Linda Fagan to be the next commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG). The Senate’s approval May 11, 2022, made Fagan — a self-professed “former icebreaker Sailor” — the first woman to lead a U.S. military branch and comes at a crucial time for the USCG as it modernizes its fleet and boosts its presence in the Arctic, where commercial activity and strategic competition are increasing. “Adm. Fagan’s leadership, experience and integrity are second to none, and I know she will advance the Coast Guard’s mission to ensure our nation’s maritime safety…
THE WATCH STAFF Canada has told its military to become more “assertive” in cyberspace as non-kinetic attacks increasingly become a facet of modern warfare, according to a report from the TV network Global News. The Canadian TV network based its report on a “cyber playbook” it obtained that was prepared by the Canadian Armed Forces and the Department of National Defence (DND). The document was provided to Defence Minister Anita Anand and noted that threats facing Canada’s computer networks have “evolved significantly” since the government released its 2010 cyber strategy, according to Global News. The DND said its primary focus…
THE WATCH STAFF Representatives of the Rhode Island National Guard (RING) strengthened their partnership with the Bahamas during recent visits where they paid courtesy calls on Bahamian defense officials and participated in the inaugural Bilateral Security Cooperation Framework Executive Session. A relationship between Rhode Island and the Bahamas was established in 2005 through the United States Department of Defense’s State Partnership Program (SPP). It links the RING with the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) in a mutually beneficial exchange to enhance diplomacy and security. Maj. Gen. Christopher Callahan, the RING adjutant general, paid a courtesy call on Minister of National…
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A COVID-19 patient was in respiratory distress, and the U.S. Army nurse had to act quickly. It was the peak of this year’s omicron surge, and an Army medical team was helping in a Michigan hospital. Regular patient beds were full. So was the intensive care unit. But the nurse heard of an open spot in an overflow treatment area, so she and another team member raced the gurney across the hospital to claim the space first, denting a wall in their rush. When she saw the dent, Lt. Col. Suzanne Cobleigh, leader of the Army team,…
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The first overseas deployment of the Vermont Air National Guard’s F-35 fighter jets will have the pilots and their aircraft patrolling the skies of Europe during a period of heightened tension. More than 200 Vermont Air Guard personnel, their equipment and eight F-35s are now in Europe, where the pilots will fly enhanced air policing missions along NATO’s eastern flank to monitor the area for intrusions by Russian aircraft. The deployment marks the first time the Vermont Air National Guard, the first guard unit in the country to fly F-35s, has deployed overseas with the U.S. Air…
U.S. Strategic Command Globally, rogue actors and adversaries are testing the United States and its allies and partners through the proliferation of ballistic and cruise missiles, hypersonic glide vehicles and unmanned aerial systems. The technological advancements of these weapons have ushered in a new threat environment, further underpinning missile defense as key to the security of allied and partner nations. The Joint Functional Component Command for Integrated Missile Defense (JFCC IMD) training directorate and its Joint Ballistic Missile Defense Training and Education Center (JBTEC) serve as a cornerstone, working with allies and partners on critical aspects of missile defense. …
THE WATCH STAFF Canada’s renewed commitment to helping protect North America is being borne out by recent news of high-profile military projects. Defence Minister Anita Anand, who has promised announcements of security improvements in conjunction with the United States, said that Ottawa is weighing the possibility of joining the U.S. ballistic-missile defense system, according to a May 10, 2022, online report in Politico. “We are certainly taking a full and comprehensive look at that question as well as what it takes to defend the continent across the board,” Anand, pictured, said in response to an audience question after a speech…
REUTERS The White House on May 4, 2022, announced measures to support quantum technology in the United States while laying out steps to boost cybersecurity to defend against the next generation of supercomputers. The U.S. and other nations are in a race to develop quantum technology, which could fuel advances in artificial intelligence, materials science and chemistry. Quantum computers, a main focus of the effort, can operate millions of times faster than today’s advanced supercomputers. Unlike a classic computer, which performs calculations one at a time, a quantum computer can perform many calculations at the same time. (Pictured: A man…