Institute for National Strategic Studies > Media > News - Category Center for Strategy and Military Power

The icebreaker USCGC Healy (WAGB 20) keeps station while conducting crane operations alongside a multi-year ice floe for a science evolution in the Beaufort Sea, Aug. 9, 2023. Healy is the Coast Guard’s only icebreaker specifically designed for Arctic research, as well as the nation’s sole surface presence routinely operating in the Arctic Ocean.

Jan. 22, 2026

Over the past five years, numerous articles have called for increased U.S. defense resources focused on the Arctic. This is a strategic mistake, a distraction.

U.S. and Republic of Korea Army soldiers stand guard near the border of North and South Korea during a Swedish Delegation visit to the Joint Security Area, Oct. 15, 2025.

Dec. 22, 2025

What Would OPCON Transfer Mean for the UN Command in Korea?

Considered by some as an artifact of the Cold War, the United Nations Command (UNC) continues to serve several critical roles, from maintaining the armistice agreement to coordinating multinational support for the South Korea-U.S. alliance.

First 6 regiments of the Soviet military contingent withdrawal.

Dec. 16, 2025

The Imperial Trap: Russia’s War in Ukraine and the Lessons of Failed Conquests

Since the release of the U.S. 28-point draft peace plan in late November, many officials and observers have suggested that a ceasefire in Ukraine may be on the horizon.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stands behind a podium wearing a suit, and delivers a fiery speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Dec. 3, 2025

Strategic Ambiguity: Erdoğan’s Turkey in a Multipolar World

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Finland and Sweden made the historic decision to seek membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Gen. Dan Caine visits South Korea for the 50th MCM and 57th SCM.

Dec. 2, 2025

Can Seoul Take the Lead & The Alliance Expand Its Aperture?

South Korea taking a lead role in conventional deterrence of North Korea, appears linked with enabling the U.S. conventional posture and the alliance's combined posture on the peninsula to better handle multiple threats to the alliance on, around, and beyond it.

South Korean soldiers pull security on a M3 Bridge vehicle during a wet gap crossing exercise.

Dec. 2, 2025

The Variables of OPCON: What "Conditions"?

Language around wartime operational control (OPCON) transition has evolved over the last decade, revealing important patterns and subtle (or not so subtle) shifts in position and policy.