Updated DOD Arctic Strategy Focuses on Enhancing Capabilities

The Department of Defense has issued its 2024 Arctic Strategy, which Iris Ferguson, DOD deputy assistant secretary for arctic and global resilience, described as “very action-oriented.” The document defines areas where the investments in capabilities and equipment will be sustained in the region, Ferguson said.

Kathleen Hicks, deputy secretary of defense, stressed that protecting the Arctic is vital to U.S. homeland defense, the protection of U.S. national sovereignty and the preservation of defense treaty commitments. According to Hicks, a 2024 Wash100 winner and past Potomac Officers Club speaker, the strategy will drive the department’s efforts to ensure the security and stability of the region, the DOD said Monday.

The new policy updates for the first time the department’s approach to the Arctic since its initial release in 2019 and is part of the Pentagon’s implementation of the 2022 National Strategy for the Arctic Region. It builds on the provisions under the 2022 National Security Strategy and 2022 National Defense Strategy. 

The updated approach has three main lines of effort: enhancing capabilities in Arctic domain awareness, communications and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, building interoperability with U.S. allies and partners and conducting regular training and defense operations in the region.