THE WATCH STAFF The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has launched a Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (OCDAO) whose mission is to coordinate such strategies across the military. John Sherman, the recently confirmed DOD chief information officer (CIO), will serve as the acting chief digital and artificial intelligence officer (CDAO) until the first-of-its-kind position is filled permanently, according to a February 4, 2022, DOD News story. “(It’s) an honor to be able to help get this organization stood up while performing my chief information officer duties,” Sherman said in a February 2 call with reporters, according to DOD News. (Pictured: John Sherman, now the…
The Watch
THE WATCH STAFF When an undersea cable connecting Norway to the Svalbard archipelago was disabled recently, global concerns resurfaced about safeguarding vital telecommunications links. The fiber-optic cable — the northernmost of its kind in the world — is a key element of the Norwegian Arctic infrastructure and provides broadband telecommunications that include space activities at Svalbard, according to owner Space Norway AS. The disruption, which occurred January 7, 2022, immediately raised suspicions about sabotage amid the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Space Norway AS said the cable is one of two, which ensures redundancy, and permanent repairs would be made…
THE WATCH STAFF Russia’s increased military presence in the Arctic and how it views the region are inseparable, experts say. “The Arctic is central to Russian national security — full stop. Doesn’t matter how you define it. And that will be their critical zone of action,” said Dr. Rob Huebert of the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. Huebert and Dr. Katarzyna Zysk of the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies in Oslo spoke January 27, 2022, as part of the Arctic Academic eTalks, a bimonthly virtual forum on key issues affecting the region. Both scholars noted that Russia’s Arctic focus…
REUTERS North Korea confirmed on January 31, 2022, that it had launched a Hwasong-12 ballistic missile, sparking fears the nuclear-armed state could resume long-range testing. The launch of the intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) was first reported by South Korean and Japanese authorities January 30. It was the seventh test conducted by North Korea in January and the first time a nuclear-capable missile of that size has been launched since 2017. The United States is concerned that North Korea’s escalating missile tests could be precursors to resumed tests of nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and vowed an unspecified response “designed to show our commitment…
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The USS Abraham Lincoln deployed in early January 2022 from San Diego, California, under the command of Capt. Amy Bauernschmidt, the first woman to lead a nuclear carrier in U.S. Navy history. Bauernschmidt, who previously served as the Abraham Lincoln’s executive officer from 2016 to 2019, took over command from Capt. Walt Slaughter during a ceremony, pictured, in August 2021. The carrier deployed January 3, 2022, from Naval Air Station North Island as part of the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group. “There is no more humbling sense of responsibility than to know you are entrusted with the…
THE WATCH STAFF As the demand for the United States military to deploy hypersonic missiles intensifies, a report recommends the Air Force work more closely with the Army, Navy and Department of Defense (DOD) to get development of its AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) completed. The report, released by the Pentagon’s office of the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E), said the Air Force should work with the other services and DOD to “identify and leverage common best practices, test corridors and infrastructure, test data management and analyses, and modeling and simulation capability.” The Air Force planned to deploy…
THE WATCH STAFF The military command with a mission to modernize the U.S. Army has launched a webpage to call attention to its achievements. The online 2021 Year in Review from the U.S. Army Futures Command (AFC) provides an interactive snapshot of its modernization accomplishments in the past year, which included staging Project Convergence 2021, the largest joint-force experiment in 15 years, according to a January 24, 2022, AFC news release. The AFC’s achievements also included opening the Army Software Factory and making breakthroughs in COVID-19 vaccine research. (Pictured: The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark A.…
THE WATCH STAFF The defense ministers of Canada and Denmark have reaffirmed their cooperation on Arctic issues as the region’s strategic importance continues to grow. The respective ministers, Anita Anand and Trine Bramsen, met virtually January 10, 2022, and emphasized the importance of unity among Arctic allies, according to a news release from the Canadian Department of National Defence. Canada and Denmark are both members of the Arctic Council and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The ministers, pictured, said they are committed to building on their defense relationship, both bilaterally and through NATO, according to the news release. Canada…
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS More than 1,000 U.S. military personnel were deployed to hospitals nationwide in mid-January 2022 to assist hospitals struggling with staff shortages because of soaring COVID-19 cases. Many hospitals are facing staffing crunches because infected workers stayed home, and COVID-19 cases rose as the highly contagious omicron variant took over the country. U.S. President Joe Biden announced that six military medical teams were deployed to Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio and Rhode Island. Those teams will support Henry Ford Hospital just outside Detroit, University Hospital in Newark, the University of New Mexico hospital in Albuquerque,…
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS At some of the world’s most sensitive spots, authorities have installed security screening devices made by a single Chinese company with deep ties to the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC’s) military and the highest levels of the ruling Communist Party. The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Europe’s largest ports. Airports from Amsterdam to Athens. NATO’s borders with Russia. All depend on equipment manufactured by Nuctech, which has quickly become the world’s leading company, by revenue, for cargo and vehicle scanners. Nuctech has been frozen out of the United States for years because of national security concerns,…