politics
US Marine Corps Expands Its Presence in Alaska
Going forward, the US Marine Corps will strengthen its Arctic capabilities by increasing its presence in Alaska. “This sends a clear message to adversaries that the US intends to be more operationally present and competent in the Arctic and the North Pacific,” says researcher.
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Recently, the United States Marine Corps launched 'Campaign Alaska' to strengthen its Arctic readiness.
This is a two-part initiative involving the establishment of the Marine Rotational Force Alaska (MRF Alaska), as well as a Supporting Arms Liaison Team Alaska (SALT Alaska).
The rotational force will conduct sustained expeditionary training and experimentation, and participate in joint exercises such as Arctic Edge and Red Flag. SALT Alaska is being established as a permanent support unit at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage.
“The Arctic is a region of growing strategic importance. The Marine Corps must be prepared to operate and win in its extreme conditions,” says General Eric Smith, Commandant of the Marine Corps.
“In this era of strategic competition, Alaska is critical to homeland defense and a vital theater for global power projection in the Arctic," adds Lieutenant General Bobbi Shea, Commanding General, Marine Forces Northern Command.
Signaling
"The US Marine Corps role in the Arctic is a natural fit,” comments Troy Bouffard, Assistant Professor of Arctic security and director at the Center for Arctic Security and Resilience, University of Alaska Fairbanks.
“There is a strong consensus that any crisis or conflict in the Northern Hemisphere could very likely involve the Arctic somehow. It is also more than likely that Arctic-related operations will be limited to expeditionary level – which is the fundamental design and conduct of the USMC," he points out.
An important dimension of the Alaska campaign concerns signaling to Russia and China, according to Bouffard.
“This development clearly sends a message to adversaries that the United States intends to be more operationally present and competent in the Arctic and the North Pacific. For Russia, Alaska is directly relevant due to its geographical proximity. For China, the signal is more about the United States watching the growing connection between Arctic access, Pacific power projection, and Chinese-Russian military activity.”
Experimentation
According to the Marine Corps, the rotational force will conduct experimentation in Alaska. What could this entail?
“The experimentation will likely involve testing how Marine can operate in extreme cold and austere terrain with long distances, limited infrastructure, and contested communications environments,” Bouffard responds and continues:
“In practical terms, that could include experimentation with cold-weather mobility, logistics over large distances, expeditionary basing, small-unit sustainment, unmanned systems, communications in high latitudes, and how Marines plug into Air Force, Army, Navy, Coast Guard, NORTHCOM, INDOPACOM, and allied operations.”
Homeland defense and power projection
The USMC has regularly conducted cold-weather training in Northern Norway. Could this be a sign that the Marine Corps will conduct such training to a greater extent in Alaska rather than in the Norwegian Arctic?
"Norway remains central for NATO interoperability and European Arctic defense. Alaska gives the Marine Corps something different: a US-based Arctic and sub-Arctic proving ground tied to homeland defense, and power projection in the North Pacific and Indo-Pacific. The trend is toward a wider Arctic training architecture, not just a shift from Norway to Alaska," Bouffard considers.
