Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work discussed defense cooperation and regional threats in a meeting between the U.S. and Nordic and Baltic countries, DoD News reported Tuesday.

Cheryl Pellerin writes the meeting focused on defense cooperation, Russian activities in Europe and anti-terrorism efforts against the Islamic State militant group.

“Finland has about a 1,500-kilometer border with Russia, so they have a very keen sense of what Russia is doing; whereas the Balts, who also are right on the border, have been very concerned about aggressive Russian activities,” Work said.

He added that he met with Peter Hultqvist, Swedish secretary of state for defense, to further discuss Sweden’s perspective on the Baltic Sea situation and Russia’s behavior, Pellerin reports.

During his visit, Work also talked with Swedish Supreme Commander Gen. Micael Byden about bilateral defense initiatives and NATO partnership projects as well as regional security, DoD News reported.

Work ended his trip with a visit to Belgium where he introduced the Third Offset Strategy to participating NATO officials, the report said.

Mary Miller, formerly deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. Army for research and technology, has been named principal deputy assistant secretary for research and engineering at the Defense Department’s office of the defense undersecretary for acquisition, technology and logistics.

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announced Miller’s appointment to the Senior Executive Service role in a DoD release published Tuesday.

Miller most recently led the Army’s research and technology programs, overseeing an annual budget of approximately $2 billion and managing 16 research and engineering centers and laboratories.

She spent five years as director for technology at the office of the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology and four years as deputy director of technology for aviation, missiles, soldier and precision strike at DoD.

Miller was former lead of the nonlinear optical processes team at the Army Research Laboratory and head of the advanced optics team under the night-vision and electro-optics directorate’s laser division within the Army’s Communications Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center.

She joined the service branch in 1984 as an electronics engineer.

Miller holds four patents for sensor protection designs and is a recipient of the Army Research & Development Achievement Award in recognition of her work on nonlinear materials for sensor protection.

She has Level 3 certification in program management and systems planning, research, development and engineering for systems engineering as well as Level 2 certification in SPRDE for program systems engineering.

The U.S. Navy has extended the presence of the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier in the Arabian Gulf by 30 days as part of an effort to combat the Islamic State militant organization, DoD News reported Monday.

Terri Moon Cronk writes Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson told reporters Monday at the Pentagon the initiative also seeks to increase maritime security in the region.

Richardson added the aircraft carrier lends intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support to U.S.’ Arabian Gulf allies, according to the report.

The report said USS Truman is built to perform maritime security operations, expeditionary power projection, crisis response, sea control, deterrence and counterterrorism missions.

Richard Kidd, deputy assistant army secretary for energy and sustainability, told Defense Department leaders in a panel discussion held April 26 that Army training exercises are affected by inclement weather conditions he says result from global climate change.

Kidd said floods in Fort Irwin, California and Fort Eustis, Virginia have caused erosion of ranges and tank trails that subsequently strained the service branch’s training cycle, according to a release published by the Army on Sunday.

He also said soldiers are prone to heat stress and decreased performance levels due to the rise in temperature.

“The effects of climate change and environmental degradation are going to increase our requirements while also imposing more constraints on our training and readiness and use of scarce dollars,” Kidd told the panel.

Climate change also overwhelms the states’ governance capacity which leads to opportunities for security threats to proliferate, Kidd added.

He further said the extreme weather disrupts global supply chain and creates a need to include climate change considerations into Army processes.

Kidd suggested the use of the Army’s regionally aligned forces concept as well as collaborations with combatant commands and government agencies such as the U.S. Agency for International Development.