Legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate calls for creation of a fifth Department of Defense regional center, specifically for Alaska, to be named in honor of the late Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska.
The Ted Stevens Arctic Center for Security Studies would be the Defense Department’s first regional center in the Arctic.
The agency’s five current regional centers cover regions including Europe, Asia-Pacific, Near East-South Asia and the Northern Hemisphere. The Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Hawaii is named for the late Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, a close friend of Stevens.
The legislation is sponsored by Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, both R-Alaska.
“Ted Stevens knew the importance of the Arctic and a strong national defense to Alaska and to our nation,” Murkowski said. “With the growing prominence of the Arctic in global geopolitical and strategic affairs, now is the time to give the DoD the tools it needs to foster the research and dialogues that will be critical to our nation’s national security.”
The regional centers offer executive-development strategic-security studies, research and outreach in outreach programs that foster long-term collaborative relationships.
Their goal is to develop and sustain relationships and communities of interest among security practitioners and national security entities, especially in defense, through the region, and to enhance partnerships among nations of the region.
Murkowski is the U.S. representative to the Standing Committee of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region and has also led efforts to expand the nation’s fleet of icebreakers.
