From the Executive Summary: The Department of Defense (DoD) is making investments in research, military infrastructure, and capabilities to execute the 2013 Arctic Strategy and support the development of the Arctic as a secure and stable region where U.S. national interests are safeguarded, the U.S. homeland is protected, and nations work cooperatively to address challenges. Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 investments focus mainly on capabilities, followed by long-term investments in research and development of next-generation capabilities. The Department's challenge is balancing the risk of being late-to-need with the opportunity cost of making Arctic investments for potential future contingencies at the expense of resourcing other urgent military requirements. This report provides costs for research, military infrastructure, and capabilities assessed by Geographic Combatant Commands and the Military Departments to be located in the Arctic, dedicated to Arctic missions, or likely to be employed in the Arctic in defense of North America or North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Allies. This report excluded some investments, e.g., submarines, the nuclear triad, and satellites in a polar orbit, due to the complexity of apportioning the proportion of these capabilities' life-cycle costs that could be assigned specifically to the Arctic Strategy rather than to other national tasks over the service life of the capability. For that reason, some assets that might be relevant to future Arctic operations are not included in this report.
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