Race for the North: An original Full Measure investigation

There's a growing competition between the U.S., Russia and China, and it's taking place in a part of the world that may surprise you: The Arctic.

On a summer day at a remote base in Alaska, we board a Coast Guard H-60 helicopter and head out to see a patch of ocean the U.S. military calls a primary new battlefield in the rush to establish a stronghold in the Arctic.

When we met her, the Healy was heading north to sail through the Arctic Ocean along what's fast becoming a vital, efficient sea route between Europe and Asia.

Though Arctic ice is receding, powerful icebreaking ships are still vital to create sea lanes for much of the year.

You know, there is more traffic going up to the Arctic and through the Bering Sea than we've ever seen before, and that's forecasted to continue.

Second one under contract, those ships are going to be incredibly useful for us, both high latitudes and the Arctic and the Antarctic.

Back on the deck of the ice breaker Healy, the crew trains for more missions in the arctic, anxious for more ships like it to join the fleet, and fully aware that in the race for the north, the U.S. is being left behind.

https://sharylattkisson.com/2021/09/race-for-the-north-an-original-full-measure-investigation/