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Darryl W. Lyon of Bangor is a retired lieutenant colonel who is currently a doctoral student at the University of Maine focusing on Arctic security in the Atlantic High North. He was the Maine National Guard’s High North Action Officer and played a pivotal role in creating and developing the National Guard Arctic Interest Council.
Washington’s current hyperbolic rhetoric often obscures more than it illuminates the importance of the Arctic to the United States. The narrative’s bombastic elements about acquiring Arctic countries should not mislead Mainers to overlook the fact that a renewed interest in the Atlantic High North presents an opportunity for Maine to further its leadership in the Arctic discourse.
For decades, Alaska has pushed the American Arctic agenda. Alaska’s skillful control of the American Arctic narrative has led policymakers to overlook Maine’s key role in the Atlantic High North, thereby hindering the nation’s ability to achieve its strategic objective of a “peaceful, stable, prosperous, and cooperative” region.
Alaska’s advocacy for the North American Arctic has yielded significant benefits for the state. At a critical moment for President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill,” Alaska’s Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski used her leverage in holding the deciding vote to bring home the pork for her constituency. The final legislation included $280 million for Alaskan rural hospitals, funding for 17 new icebreakers, and $300 million to home-port one of those icebreakers in Juneau. The bill also benefited Alaska Native whaling captains and fishing-boat operators.
Maine’s senators opposed the bill, probably for a host of good reasons.
Maine’s Arctic advocacy is often viewed as secondary to Alaska’s efforts, due to the prevailing sentiment that “We are an Arctic nation because of Alaska.” But, even if Alaska defines the United States as an Arctic nation, Maine’s geographical position in relation to the Canadian Maritimes, Greenland and Iceland should make us an equal partner in the conversation. But, for some reason, we are content with letting Alaska lead the way.
When Trump said that Greenland should essentially become “red, white, and blue” land, many observers had to use Google to figure out where Greenland was on the map. Experts appeared everywhere, and AI-generated articles flooded social media. That said, to some people’s surprise, but not to ours, many experts on Greenland are found right here in Maine.
Our explorers, scientists, business leaders and academics have long histories in Greenland. Maine has important direct economic ties with Iceland. We exchange trade and tourists with our genetically close Canadian friends and celebrate common indigenous communities across the region.
Independent Sen. Angus King understands the possibilities for Maine. He has consistently called on Congress to recognize the strategic importance of the Arctic through his co-chairmanship of the Senate Arctic Caucus and membership on the Senate Armed Services Committee. In my experience, he and his staff are eager participants in Maine’s Arctic conversations. They do not shy away from the topic.
However, more can be done, and it is essential to recognize that the Arctic, located on our side of the continent, is and will continue to be of crucial importance to our future, right here in Maine.
Recently, both the commanders of INDOPACOM, Admiral Samuel Paparo, and the commander of NORTHCOM, General Gregory Guillot, endorsed the reopening of Adak Naval Air Facility in Alaska. They justified the endorsement due to the Russian-Sino threat in the Pacific, despite the overwhelming majority of Russian Arctic military activity being in the Atlantic. In the 1990s, Adak was the sister station to the Naval Security Group, located in Winter Harbor, which was closed in 2002.
Is anyone discussing the reopening of any of our mothballed military bases? What about reopening Loring as a super base to address our strategic shortcomings in the Atlantic High North?
It’s time for Maine to step out of Alaska’s shadow and advocate for the value of our role (and our share of the funding) in the Atlantic High North. Maine’s voice needs to be heard before the grandiloquent Washington-speak overwhelms the rational conversation about a very serious topic.
