Keflavík

So, um, worst as far as operationally for us, it's the northern latitudes which are the most challenging.

Um, Nome, Anchorage, Keflavik are the big three most biggest thorn in my side due to weather places, and that's mainly because for one, um, freezing fog and, a- any type of situation that's gonna create a de-icing necessity-

Mm-hmm

... is, is, is bad in the ferry business 'cause it's very expensive, and it's one of those gotchas on the contract.

Um, we'll certainly just short stop somewhere to, to avoid it 'cause ice is...

I- it's expensive a- and it's, and it just kinda alters the trip.

So I would say, and Keflavik from October to April is windy, rainy, low visibility.

And when I say windy, I mean wind like you've never seen, man.

I joined the Navy and became a naval flight officer.

With my first fleet squadron, I was deployed to Keflavik, Iceland in the middle of winter.

I caught a bad cold that led to a perforated eardrum.

meaning I was grounded from flying and was in a lot of pain.

Headline, Belgium assumes air defence mission in Iceland, marking NATO's new air power posture.

The Belgian Air Force formally assumed the Icelandic air defence responsibilities at Keflavik Air Base, outside the capital of Reykjavik, on August 17, 2026, bolstering NATO's enhanced vigilance activity Arctic Sentry.

The Belgian detachment includes deployed personnel and F-16 Fighting Falcons.

The detachment arrived in Iceland on August 7 and will remain for a month-long deployment.

And I was able to not be afraid and was able to get back in my body as soon as I realized what was going on.

It wasn't until we left Tennessee, our next duty station was in Keflavik, Iceland.

And we moved to Iceland and the out-of-body experiences ramped up big time.

I think it was the energy there was completely different.

bit of a surprise.

But yes, Stjarnan and Keflavík.

Keflavík is of course missing Sørri.

Yes.

I don't know where Keflavík has been before on Sørri.

But

then, I'd say on the other hand, maybe the weak point of the competition has been that there are a lot of

It's not fun to share things that are one, two, three ways that are just a piece of cake for her.

Its primary security guarantee has historically been a 1951 bilateral agreement with the United States, backed up by NATO membership.

While the U.S. decided to leave its base in Keflavik in 2006 amid warming relations with Russia, After Moscow's first invasion of Ukraine in 2014, Washington decided, together with NATO, to re-establish a presence there, a focus that intensified further with Russia's 2022 full-scale war on Ukraine.

So in this already tense environment, it was unthinkable for many in Europe that U.S. President Donald Trump would announce repeatedly that he may invade Greenland, part of fellow NATO ally Denmark.

Pia Hansson is director of the University of Iceland's Institute of International Affairs.