Arctic Edge 20:Preparing North America for Advanced Threats

On 13 February 2020,General Terrence J. O'Shaughnessy,US Air Force,commander of US NORTHCOM and NORAD,read a statement before the Senate Armed Services Committee.It was a chilling account of what our totalitarian adversaries have been doing recently to degrade American power and leadership in the 21st century:
However,our key adversaries watched and learned,invested in capabilities to offset our strengths while exploiting our weaknesses,and have demonstrated patterns of behavior that indicate they currently have the capability,capacity,and intent to hold our homeland at significant risk below the threshold of nuclear war.This is emboldening competitors and adversaries to challenge us at home,holding at risk our people,our critical infrastructure,and our ability to project power forward.
The threats facing our nation are real and significant.The Arctic is no longer a fortress wall,our oceans are no longer protective moats;they are now avenues of approach for advanced conventional weapons and the platforms that carry them.Our adversaries' capability to directly attack the homeland has leapt forward,and they are engaged in concerted efforts to weaken our national technological,economic,and strategic advantage.*
The strategic threat to the homeland has entered a new era.Key adversaries Russia and China have deployed and continue to advance a range of capabilities with nuclear,conventional,and cyberspace weapons,believing it to be an effective means of offsetting Western military advantages and limiting our options in a crisis.*
Hence the upcoming NORAD/NORTHCOM Exercise Arctic Edge 20 could not be more welcome than it is now.This biannual,bi-national joint training exercise with the Canadian Armed Forces from 24 February-6 March 2020 will range across Alaska,providing high quality and effective training in the extreme cold-weather conditions found in the Arctic,a press release stated.AE 20 will be the largest joint exercise to be staged in Alaska this year.About 1,000 US personnel from all the Armed Forces will participate.NORAD and NORTHCOM will contribute complimentary,multi-domain capabilities toward the defence of the US and Canada.
What is more,AE 20 will be linked to the National Guard's Arctic Eagle exercise and the US Navy's Ice Exercise (ICEX),the press release stated.All these drills will take place from February-March 2020 in order to prepare Arctic-capable forces across all domains of warfighting.Members of the Canadian Joint Operations Command are expected to participate in the preparation and testing of the joint military forces' ability to operate tactically in the extreme and austere Arctic environments.