The general nominated to be the Army’s Chief of Staff suggested this morning that the plan to cut 2,600 soldiers from Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson isn’t final yet. But it’s hard to say whether the Army really plans to reconsider, or whether the general merely agreed to follow a procedure to ultimately reach a pre-determined end.
Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan appeared to make some headway at the confirmation hearing of Gen. Mark Milley, the four-star likely to become the top uniformed officer of the Army. Since the JBER cuts were announced this month, both Alaska senators have argued it makes no sense to cut an Arctic-trained brigade when Russia is adding troops in the region. Sullivan says the Army should hold off until the Pentagon develops a real operation plan for the Arctic, not just the 13-page “Arctic Strategy” it produced in 2013.
“It mentions climate change five times and Russia in a footnote,” Sullivan said. “This is a joke of a strategy.”
Milley calls Russia the No. 1 threat to the United States, due to its nuclear strength and recent aggression. The need to focus more on the Arctic resonates with Sen. John McCain, who chaired Milley’s confirmation hearing in the Senate Armed Services Committee.
“We’ve got a very full agenda, but the Arctic is another that we have to be concerned (about),” McCain said. “Particularly given Russian behavior. Even Sweden, which is traditionally, as we know, a very neutral nation has become extremely concerned about Russian activity in their territorial waters.”
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