Dear and Distinguished Colleagues,
Greetings from the Ted Stevens Center for Arctic Security Studies (TSC, or simply Stevens Center), currently operating from the Combined Headquarters of Alaskan Command, (ALCOM) Alaska NORAD Region (ANR) and 11th Air Force (11AF), Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) Alaska.
The Stevens Center is honored to support ALCOM in planning, preparing, and conducting ALCOM’s Arctic Symposium 2022 in conjunction with the Arctic Domain Awareness Center (ADAC) hosted at the University of Alaska Anchorage. On behalf of the Commander ALCOM, ANR and 11AF, Lt General David Krumm, we respectfully relay that this symposium about the Arctic, conducted near the Arctic, is now being planned primarily as an in-person activity to take place from 3-6 May 2022 in Anchorage, Alaska.
As announced by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on 9 June 2021, the Stevens Center is the Department of Defense’ (DoD’s) newest Regional Center, joining 5 well-established Regional Centers located in Germany, Hawaii and Washington D.C. There will be more to relay on the Stevens Center in the coming weeks, and a summary about the Center will be included for those interested as an annex to this communication. As we are in the very early stages in establishing the TSC, please bear with us as we seek to implement a Center strategy of “building while doing.”
ALCOM’s Arctic Symposiums and Arctic Senior Leader Summits are provided in support of U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and serve to help to fulfill ALCOM’s engagement-oriented tasks in association as USNORTHCOM’s lead for Arctic Affairs.
Previously planned for late November 2021, and delayed due to COVID-19, to 5-8 April 2022, and now to the first week in May 2022, AS22 intentionally connects to two other events that are occurring during that same week in Alaska. The first of which is ALCOM’s 75th Anniversary events scheduled on the afternoon and evening of 6 May 2022, which will be held at JBER. The second is the alignment of the Arctic Security Forces Roundtable, (ASFR) an international 2-star level event co-chaired by U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) and the Norwegian Defense staff, planned for 3-5 May in Fairbanks. AS22 planners will work with USEUCOM and USNORTHCOM leaders to seek available Allies and partners attending ASFR to join AS22 for a post-event brief for the morning of 6 May that should prove quite insightful.
Please stay posted for day-by-day details to be provided soon. Please also note that ADAC at University of Alaska Anchorage hosts the current information on AS 22 at: https://arcticdomainawarenesscenter.org/Events
Registration, further information about agendas, read ahead packages, administration, lodging details and more will be posted well in advance of the Symposium.
As is the case for each ALCOM Arctic Symposium and Arctic Senior Leader Summit, there will be a comprehensive follow-up report, using Chatham-House protocols, that highlight key insights and analysis from the event.
The “in-person” activities for AS22 will be capped at 250 people, so once registration is open, taking the time to reserve your space sooner than later is highly recommended. For planning purposes, the in-person activities for AS22 Day 0 are planned at JBER. Days 1-4 are planned to be conducted at University of Alaska Anchorage.
Arctic Symposium 2022 is planned as ALCOM’s signature Arctic convening/convergence event and will feature a wide variety of Arctic leaders and subject matter experts, focused on a broad range of Arctic security. While the bulk of AS22 is featured as in-person activity, remote participation for the Day 1 plenary, Day 2 virtual track, Day 3 VIP speakers and Day 4 morning sessions is planned for simultaneous virtual participation via Zoom.
For those who know a bit about the Anchorage area, early May is generally an exceptional time of the year…the days are long and extending, the weather is cool, but generally clear, the promise of summer is near at hand, and the insects as well as tourists are a prospect that won’t arrive on scene for a few weeks beyond the proceedings.
As such, please “re-save” the date for Arctic Symposium 2022…we look forward to your joining us in Anchorage for what promises to be…an exceptional set of discussions, about a region that continues to rise in the interests of the United States and our Allies and partners during an exceptional time of year.
For those who wish to know a bit more about the developing Ted Stevens Center for Arctic Security Studies, please see the below update.
For the Commander, and the HQ ALCOM team,
Very best wishes and very respectfully, Church