The Pentagon Is Dismantling Its Own Arctic Defense

The Pentagon is quietly dismantling support for Alaska Native Corporations — the organizations that operate our Arctic defense infrastructure, control critical mineral supplies, and are essential to competing with China – maybe not intentional but as the result of unintended consequences.

ANCs became eligible for 8(a) Small Business Administration funding through a legislation in 1986, as well as the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971, which classifies them as political entities, not racial groups. This distinction matters. The SBA treats them this way precisely because the Act left Alaska Natives structurally disadvantaged in land and resources. The 8(a) program was designed to correct that imbalance.

We're in a wartime footing with Iran and locked in a strategic competition with China. Why are we deliberately slowing the agencies that manage Arctic defense contracts?

In the early 2000s, the U.S. military operations began focusing on Arctic and Indo-Pacific strategy as Russia and China emerged as primary threats. Alaska held a massive geographic advantage — control of the Great Circle Routes between Asia and North America, proximity to Russia, and its role in ballistic missile defense. Federal contract revenue flowing to ANCs and its subsidiaries increased by over 900% between 2000 and 2008 as budget and policy priorities shifted to capitalize on these advantages. By 2010, the Army and Air Force had merged Fort Richardson and Fort Wainwright into Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and expanded infrastructure significantly, representing the Pentagon’s priorities of great power competition. This also resulted in activation of two Brigade Combat Teams and numerous supporting organizations, representing the Pentagon’s priorities of great power competition.

Alaska served as a logistics hub for Middle East operations. Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport served as a critical refueling and staging base for aircraft traveling to and from Asia and the Middle East, with its 12,400-foot runways among the longest in North America. Alaska Army National Guard units deployed multiple times to support CENTCOM operations in Kuwait, overseeing large-scale construction projects in 2024.

The Arctic defense strategy was built to protect us from China and Russia and stabilize us during conflicts with other strategic regions. In a time when we’re in an active war with Iran, and a superpower competition with China, destroying the structures that keep our Arctic defense going is strategically short-sighted. This underscores the importance for stability during wartime and how suppressing unique defense-focused programs unilaterally could have devastating strategic effects.

The safety of our country, strength of our homeland defense, and position as global leader in military and tech should not be caught up in the crossfires of the DEI war being waged.

When oil and gas prices surge from Middle East tensions, the Department of War cannot afford to pull support from the state and corporations that remain critical to domestic energy production and mineral independence. Doyon, an ANC, brings in hundreds of millions in revenue annually and engages in Arctic drilling and prospective gas resources. The Arctic Slope Regional Corporation operates those five million acres of oil-rich land and owns one of the world's largest bituminous coal deposits, resources used for electrical power generation and steel production. These aren't just peripheral operations, they're essential infrastructure.

The strategic stakes are even higher in rare earth minerals, and ANCs support America's fight against Chinese dominance in the critical mineral market. We cannot create a new vulnerability in Arctic capability and mineral access when we already rely heavily on imported rare earth elements for defense manufacturing. Every contract delayed by SBA bureaucracy is a contract China doesn't have to compete for.

The question for policymakers isn't whether ANCs deserve 8(a) support (even if it was, the evidence is overwhelming). The question is whether Congress understands what it's sacrificing, especially during wartime with the Middle East.

Jeff Gibson, is a former Navy SEAL and National Security Contractor, Founder and COO of Oplign.