Bridging Arctic Command Structure Seams to Support Allied Multi-Theater Defense
The report states that the Arctic has reemerged as a strategic theater central to the defense of North America and Europe, and that growing civil-military cooperation between Russia and China reinforces the need to avoid compartmentalizing Arctic challenges into subregional problem sets. It identifies regional seams across national areas of responsibility, at interfaces between national and allied or binational structures, and within alliance command arrangements, alongside functional seams across interagency, civil-military and public-private boundaries. It recommends clearer communication of US commitments and expectations, more consistent intelligence-sharing releasability standards, reinforced liaison networks, expanded exercises, and resilient multi-domain situational awareness and decision-making capabilities.
Why it matters: The report treats the management of seams among US combatant commands, NORAD and NATO as a condition for alliances sustaining credible deterrence and defense in the Arctic.