The Watch

THE WATCH STAFF Arctic Edge, the biennial defense exercise for U.S. Northern Command and the Canadian Armed Forces, took place February 28-March 17, 2022, throughout Alaska. During the three-week event, Arctic Edge had 1,000 participants, including U.S. Coast Guardsmen and government employees from the U.S. Department of Defense and Canada’s Department of National Defence. U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. David A. Krumm, commander of Alaskan Command, said Arctic exercises are crucial in demonstrating and improving the capabilities of U.S. and Canadian forces to defend their homelands. TAKING AIM: A Green Beret assigned to the U.S. 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne)…

THE WATCH STAFF As Russia wages war on Ukraine, one of its neighbors is leading a large-scale winter NATO exercise. Norway, a NATO member that shares a nearly 201-kilometer land border with Russia, is hosting Cold Response 2022, which began March 14 and runs through early April. The participants include 30,000 troops from more than two dozen nations — NATO members as well as defense partners Finland and Sweden. NATO said Cold Response, which also includes 200 aircraft and 50 vessels, was “not linked to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine,” The Associated Press reported March 15. Before the…

THE WATCH STAFF The Bahamas has banned its financial institutions from doing business with Russia, an action that puts the Caribbean island nation at the forefront of individual sanctions against Russia in the region. In the Western Hemisphere, only the Bahamas and Canada have imposed unilateral sanctions against specific individuals and entities. The move by the government of Prime Minister Philip Davis, pictured, comes in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and halts all Bahamian transactions with 121 Russian entities and individuals put under sanction by Western nations. “Regulated entities, that are licensed or authorized to operate from or…

REUTERS Countries of the Arctic Council declared March 4, 2022, they would boycott future talks in Russia over its Ukraine invasion, throwing international cooperation in the region into upheaval at a time when climate change is opening it up to resource exploitation. The Arctic Council brings together countries with Arctic territories to collaborate on matters that affect the region’s residents. It does not deal with security issues. Russia, which holds the council’s rotating chairmanship, has posed “grave impediments to international cooperation, including in the Arctic,” the council’s other seven member countries said in a statement. The countries — Canada, Denmark,…

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Poland has appointed an Army General to head a new Cyber Defense Force to officially launch the unit’s operation, the country’s defense minister said in February 2022. Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said the Force’s mission includes defense, reconnaissance and, if need be, offensive actions to protect Poland’s Armed Forces from cyberattacks. “We are perfectly aware that in the 21st century, cyberattacks have become one of the tools of aggressive politics, also used by our neighbor,” Blaszczak said, referring to Russia. “For that reason, these capabilities are of fundamental, key nature to Poland’s Armed Forces.” Blaszczak appointed Brig.…

THE WATCH STAFF Despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall says the priority threat facing the United States remains “China, China, China.” Kendall, speaking at the Air Force Association’s Warfare Symposium on March 3, 2022, in Orlando, Florida, repeated a view he has made since becoming secretary: The U.S. must modernize its military or fall behind in its ability to counter the advancements made by the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The PRC with “both regional and global ambitions, the resources to pursue them, and a repressive authoritarian system of government, will be our greatest strategic national…

THE WATCH STAFF Arctic Edge, the biennial defense exercise for U.S. Northern Command and the Canadian Armed Forces, is taking place February 28-March 17, 2022, throughout Alaska. “Arctic operations and exercises such as Arctic Edge demonstrate the capabilities utilized to defend our homeland and our interests,” Lt. Gen. David A. Krumm, commander of Alaskan Command, said in a news release. “To deter day-to-day, deescalate in crisis, and if required defeat in conflict, we must be able to operate and thrive in the Arctic.” About 1,000 U.S. military personnel will participate in the multinational, multiservice exercise. IMAGE CREDIT: U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS…

THE WATCH STAFF U.S. Green Berets recently participated in Operation Nanook, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) annual multinational exercise. Operation Nanook is the CAF’s signature Arctic operation and took place February 14-28, 2022. The series of joint activities is designed to assert Canada’s sovereignty over its northern territories and bolster its combat and emergency readiness. Special Forces Operations Detachment Alpha (SFOD-A) from the Utah National Guard’s 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne) trained alongside a Canadian Ranger Patrol Group (CRPG). “Operation Nanook presented an opportunity for 19th Special Forces Group (19th SFG) to exercise the Department of Defense’s current Arctic strategy by…

REUTERS The European Commission on February 22, 2022, outlined a 6 billion-euro (U.S. $6.8 billion) satellite communications plan as part of a push to reduce the European Union’s dependence on foreign companies and protect key communications services and surveillance data. The move comes amid growing concerns over Russian and Chinese military advances in outer space and a surge in satellite launches. (Pictured: A Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite provides a nighttime view of Europe.) Commercial operators such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX and its Starlink network, which aim to launch tens of thousands of satellites to supply global space-based Wi-Fi, have…

U.S. STRATEGIC COMMAND Climate change presents a potentially significant threat to global security. Experts say the temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere is gradually increasing due to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons and other human-made pollutants. This phenomenon affects the Arctic. As temperatures rise, the Arctic ice recedes. As the ice withdraws, nations have greater access to the region’s vast resources, such as oil, natural gas and a variety of minerals and ores, potentially worth over U.S. $30 trillion. The Russian government and its military have taken note and are establishing a presence in the…