MAY 19, 2023 – Due to rising global temperatures, ice in the Arctic is melting faster than it ever has. This change affects the security environment in the region.
This weekend, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen H. Hicks will travel to multiple locations in Alaska to discuss quality of life issues with service members and meet with experts who are looking into how climate change will affect the Defense Department’s ability to defend America’s interests in the region.
During her trip to Alaska, Hicks will visit Eielson Air Force Base, Fort Wainwright and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, said Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh during a briefing today.
At each installation, the Deputy Secretary will hold round tables and lunches with servicemembers to discuss quality of life issues, access to mental health care, and suicide prevention efforts.
She will also meet with senior leaders and tour housing, barracks, childcare, commissaries, health care, and recreation to see firsthand how the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force are working to improve quality of life for servicemembers serving in the Arctic.
Singh said the deputy secretary’s visit to Alaska will focus on security issues as well.
Hicks will visit the Army’s cold weather research facilities in Fairbanks and also the Ted Stevens Center for Arctic Security Studies in Anchorage to learn more about the effects of climate change on military readiness, as well as research programs focused on improving resilience in the Arctic.
These engagements are part of an ongoing effort to ensure Department policy is effectively addressing the challenges that servicemembers face as they serve our Nation.
The Deputy Secretary will also visit the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory and Permafrost Tunnel Research Facility in Fairbanks and the Ted Stevens Center for Arctic Security Studies in Anchorage, to learn more about the effects of climate change on military readiness, and research programs focused on improving resilience in the Arctic.
By C. Todd Lopez
DOD News