Beefing up in Norway?
The US Navy set up a new facility in a cave system in northern Norway in October, reflecting the increased focus that the US and its NATO allies have put on the alliance's northern borders with Russia.
This month, the US Navy announced that Naval Forces Europe and US Navy Expeditionary Medical Support Command had delivered an Expeditionary Medical Facility to a cave system near Bogen Bay in northern Norway, some 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle.
EMFs have many of the same capabilities as a modern hospital and can be deployed on short notice, according to Lt. Cmdr. Michael Lucas, director of operations for US Navy Expeditionary Medical Support Command.
The US Navy and Air Force presence there has increased in recent months, including port calls and a historic deployment by B-1B bombers earlier this year. US Navy commanders have also trained to sail in fjords during exchanges with Norway's navy.
A deal signed this spring will allow the US to build facilities on Norwegian bases, including at Evenes air station and Ramsund naval station, both of which are near Bogen Bay.
The activity comes amid heightened tension with Russia. Russia's military activity in the Arctic has concerned Norway and its NATO allies, which have stepped up their own activity in that increasingly accessible region.
A Russian invasion of northern Norway is seen as unlikely, but the EMF deployment is part of the response to what US officials call strategic competition in the region and around the world.
"In this era of great-power competition, distributing our capabilities around the globe drives down risk," Rear Adm. Michael Curran, director of readiness and logistics for US Naval Forces Europe, said in the release.
The US Navy set up a new facility in a cave system in northern Norway in October, reflecting the increased focus that the US and its NATO allies have put on the alliance's northern borders with Russia.
This month, the US Navy announced that Naval Forces Europe and US Navy Expeditionary Medical Support Command had delivered an Expeditionary Medical Facility to a cave system near Bogen Bay in northern Norway, some 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle.
EMFs have many of the same capabilities as a modern hospital and can be deployed on short notice, according to Lt. Cmdr. Michael Lucas, director of operations for US Navy Expeditionary Medical Support Command.
The US Navy and Air Force presence there has increased in recent months, including port calls and a historic deployment by B-1B bombers earlier this year. US Navy commanders have also trained to sail in fjords during exchanges with Norway's navy.
A deal signed this spring will allow the US to build facilities on Norwegian bases, including at Evenes air station and Ramsund naval station, both of which are near Bogen Bay.
The activity comes amid heightened tension with Russia. Russia's military activity in the Arctic has concerned Norway and its NATO allies, which have stepped up their own activity in that increasingly accessible region.
A Russian invasion of northern Norway is seen as unlikely, but the EMF deployment is part of the response to what US officials call strategic competition in the region and around the world.
"In this era of great-power competition, distributing our capabilities around the globe drives down risk," Rear Adm. Michael Curran, director of readiness and logistics for US Naval Forces Europe, said in the release.