ADAC-ARCTIC

??? Reminder! ?? Our Customers and Partners Roundtable is tomorrow, beginning at 6:45 a.m. AKDT. See post for the Zoom link and get the agenda on our website.

This week, Jereme Altendorf, CHMM, PMP, University of Alaska Anchorage's Associate Director of Arctic Programs and Strategy Implementation, spoke at a workshop at the Gulf-Alaska Knowledge Exchange. The workshop, held in Washington, D.C., addressed Oil Spill Response, Transformative Recovery, and Proactive Preparedness. Altendorf was a panelist for a session on “Impacted Communities,” and spoke about the mental, physical, economic, and social impacts felt by local communities after an oil spill. Part of the panel discussion will be offering strategies and actions the National Academies of Sciences can recommend on how to better serve local communities before, during and after a spill.?Altendorf has twenty-eight years of experience?in federal environmental protection, and seven years in Alaska responding to spills as well as Typhoon Merbok. Altendorf’s expertise and vast network add to ADAC-ARCTIC’s value and connections throughout the Homeland Security Enterprise. #DHS_COE_research??? U.S. Department of Homeland Security

?? Event Details! On March 27, 2025, we'll be hosting our second Customers and Partners Roundtable of the year. We welcome our ADAC-ARCTIC community of?collaborators, stakeholders, and project teams to join us for a day of important updates and conversations. Join us on Zoom at 6:45 a.m. AKDT https://lnkd.in/gGs5tm2S Meeting ID: 890 8155 1470 Passcode: arctic Find the agenda on our website: https://lnkd.in/gJEcYAQk #DHS_COE_research ??DHS Science and Technology Directorate ??University of Alaska Anchorage

Thank you to Watch Commander Robert Breitman for participating in our ADAC-ARCTIC Fellowship speaker series this week. The bimonthly speaker series introduces our nationwide Fellows to opportunities in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and benefits immensely from career professionals like Breitman sharing their time and experiences with our students. As part of the U.S. Border Patrol’s Bellingham Station, Breitman is responsible for the planning, coordination, and execution of operational duties across Western Washington, Oregon, and Alaska. He first joined U.S. Border Patrol in 2011 and has held a range of roles across the West Coast and southern border, including intelligence, anti-smuggling operations, firearms instruction, and course development. From 2019-2021, he served as the Special Operations Supervisor for U.S. Border Patrol’s operations and intelligence in Alaska. Breitman is a US Army combat veteran with a master’s degree in homeland security, and an excellent resource for current Fellows as they finish their degrees. We appreciate his time and participation in our Fellowship program as ADAC-ARCTIC trains the next generations of homeland security leaders. DHS Science and Technology Directorate | University of Alaska Anchorage

This week, the new Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, visited our partners at U.S. Coast Guard in Kodiak, Alaska. She posted, “Air Station Kodiak is essential to our mission success for reconnaissance and search & rescue in Alaska and the Arctic.” See a video of her flying a C-130 in this post: https://lnkd.in/gkHJUnZe??[should preview w screenshot in C-130] #DHS_COE_research??DHS Science and Technology Directorate

?? Save the date! On March 27, 2025, we'll be hosting our second Customers and Partners Roundtable of the year. We look forward to welcoming our ADAC-ARCTIC community of?collaborators, stakeholders, and project teams for a day of important updates and conversations.?Stay tuned for a webinar link and agenda. #DHS_COE_research??? DHS Science and Technology Directorate ?? University of Alaska Anchorage

This week the Center once again hosted the biannual Alaska Regional Response Team (ARRT) meeting on our University of Alaska Anchorage campus. These meetings are a collaboration between the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation the U.S. Coast Guard, and many other federal, state, and local agencies, private and industry partners, and tribal organizations to collaborate in planning response to pollution incidents across the state. These meetings also provide crucial networking opportunities for those involved, increasing collaboration across agencies. #DHS_COE_research DHS Science and Technology Directorate

This week, our Center is hosting a multi-day, in-person workshop on behalf of one of our research project teams at University of Alaska Anchorage to advance Arctic resilience and security through enhanced decision-making tools. The project,?Adapting, Assessing, and Mitigating Risks to a Complex Future in the Arctic: A Multi-Stakeholder Framework, focuses on improving disaster response visualization tools, with a case study on Nome, Alaska—an increasingly vital hub for Arctic commerce and national security. The workshop opened with remarks from?ADAC-ARCTIC Principal Investigator (PI) Jeff Libby, Research Project PI?Dr. Nancy Kinner, and Research Project Community Liaison Tom Ukallaysaaq Okleasik, owner of Northwest Planning, LLC. Participants are engaging with key stakeholders on critical Arctic Homeland Security topics, including: ?? Port Enhancements & Future Marine Activity?– Supporting strategic Arctic infrastructure & economic resilience; ?? Nome Disaster Planning & Response?– Strengthening preparedness for emerging threats; ?? Data Needs & Recommendations for NOAA: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration’s ERMA?– Advancing real-time situational awareness for Arctic operations. These discussions directly support?DHS Science and Technology Directorate’s?mission to enhance resilience and preparedness in the Arctic, a region of growing strategic significance. Learn more about how this research supports DHS priorities and Arctic security: ?? Project details:? https://lnkd.in/gSaZ9PUC ?? Workshop information:? https://lnkd.in/grxpvpKJ #DHS_COE_Research #HomelandSecurity #ArcticResilience #DisasterResponse #InfrastructureSecurity

Our Fellowship speaker series continued this week with Mark Breunig, Alaska’s Cybersecurity State Coordinator for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Breunig addressed our Fellows on the topic of cybersecurity infrastructure threats. That generally means hacks and data breaches. But in Alaska, it also means polar bears and earthquakes. As CISA State Coordinator within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Security (DHS), Breunig acts as a liaison between government officials and critical infrastructure stakeholders. He has decades of experience protecting Alaska’s digital assets. Previously, he served as Chief Information Security Officer for the State of Alaska and IT Compliance Officer for the Municipality of Anchorage. The bimonthly speaker series is designed to introduce our nationwide Fellows to DHS careers in Alaska. We’re grateful to have Breunig share his decades of career experience with our students, and provide an overview of the strategic planning, risk management, and incident response required to keep Alaska’s data secure. University of Alaska Anchorage DHS Science and Technology Directorate.

This tabletop discussion-based exercise was conducted over 2.5 days at the Center for Arctic Study and Policy at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy (CASP). The objective of the exercise was to engage with a set of participants from relevant governmental and non-governmental organizations with expertise in the pan-Arctic region to discuss response to an aircraft emergency. Participants were asked to draw upon their current and prior experience and work in small teams to outline a plan for an effective response to an aircraft emergency in several different types of Arctic geography. The discussion included which capabilities and capacities available today could be brought to bear, and what gaps, constraints, or other issues might require resolution. The overall goal is to sustain an effective response over the first initial hours to days following the incident. Participants included the US Coast Guard (District 17 District 1, CGHQ SAR and Arctic Policy Shops), Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope, Ted Stevens Center, NORTHCOM, Alaska Air National Guard, NY Air National Guard, Arctic Council EPPR Working Group, International Civil Aviation Organization, Canadian Armed Forces, Kingdom of Denmark (AC EPPR), Rand Corp., Air Greenland, JRCC Norway, and Norwegian Armed Forces/Bergen University.? The 2.5 days included extensive discussion on SAR response capabilities and gaps in the pan-Arctic regions and included discussions of ‘What’s next?’, using the assembled group to recommend how to continue the international discussion around Arctic aviation incidents in the future. CASP stated that a comprehensive report on the entire exercise is forthcoming. #DHS_COE_research??DHSDHS Science and Technology Directorate ?? University of Alaska Anchorage