ot since Distant Early Warning Line radar stations kept vigil for Soviet incursions has the Arctic attracted as much attention for national security. The US Department of Defense (DOD) published a new Arctic Strategy in July. The first update in five years has to account for new allies across the sea: Finland and Sweden have joined NATO, completing a circle around the Arctic.

DOD spent about $4 billion in Alaska in fiscal year 2022. That’s $5,460 per capita, among the highest share of any state. Still, it’s less than 1 percent of all US defense spending, placing Alaska 30th among states.

As a percentage of the state economy, though, the military’s impact is greater only in Virginia, Hawai’i, and Connecticut (home of the US Coast Guard Academy, the submarine force in Groton, and pharmaceutical company Pfizer, a major defense contractor). And, of course, Washington, DC outranks Alaska, with 6.7 percent of the local economy buoyed by the military.

In return, Alaska embraces the military as a neighbor. At the Alaska Defense Forum in Fairbanks in August, the deputy commander of the 11th Airborne Division (known as US Army Alaska until 2022), Brigadier General Tom Burke, noted that Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson is a favorite duty station selected by new non-commissioned officers. He credits the sense of community in the Anchorage area. Unfortunately, Fort Wainwright is among the least popular choices (only Korea, California, and Louisiana are lower), but Burke figures that’s because word of the cold climate spreads faster than the warm welcome in Fairbanks.

This month’s article “The Military Boost” by Jamey Bradbury details how military spending directly affects the state economy. This edition of Alaska Trends elaborates with data from DOD’s Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation report on defense spending by state for fiscal year 2022. Atten-hut!