US Marines took part in a Norwegian-led exercise on the remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen, as NATO focuses on Russia’s capacity to project power and disrupt critical infrastructure in the region. The training, called Operation Atlantic City, brought US, Norwegian and British forces together between 26 August and 4 September.
The Marine Corps described the operation as a “first-of-its-kind mission” in the remote Arctic. It said the exercise marked the first instance of “rapid insertion of military assets to remote and austere locations”.
The training was designed to test how the participating forces could work together in severe conditions. It also gave the Marines an opportunity to practise defending “key maritime terrain” using tactics refined in the Pacific.
On 1 September 2026, US Marine Corps 1st Lt. Joel Murcek coordinated displacement tactics with Norwegian Home Guard soldiers on Jan Mayen, Norway. The brief did not specify the number of personnel involved, the scale of the deployment or the full range of capabilities tested.
Operation Atlantic City takes its name from a US base on Jan Mayen during the Second World War. The exercise reflects NATO’s strategic attention to the Arctic, where it is concerned about Russian military capabilities and their potential use in power projection and disruption of critical infrastructure.
The operation also tested interoperability among the participating forces in an isolated environment. NATO’s concern centres on the security of Arctic territory and sea routes, although the specific infrastructure it sees as at risk was not identified.
No assessment of the exercise’s results was provided. Nor were future plans for comparable operations on Jan Mayen or elsewhere in the Arctic set out.
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