The Navy Times reports that “the United States is completely lacking in surface assets to navigate the Arctic, according to a top Navy official. To fix that, a California congressman is determined to get the Coast Guard not one but two new icebreakers.”

“The services have teamed up on a program office that will lend Navy acquisitions muscles to the Coast Guard’s polar expertise, but the Coast Guard is going to have to be more aggressive, according to the chief of staff for Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif, chairman of the Coast Guard and maritime transportation subcommittee of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.”

“‘This is the big siren call for the Coast Guard: The Coast Guard is going to have to do an even better job of advocating for its own mission and it’s going to have to do a better job of asking for resources that are desperately needed,’ Joe Kasper told Navy Times.”