In an op-ed published in TIME today, Retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Donald Loren wrote about the imperative of not excluding opportunities to explore for oil and natural gas in the U.S. Arctic.  In doing so, he noted that other nations “continue to explore for resources in Arctic waters” and that Arctic offshore energy development would benefit U.S. national security through infrastructure upgrades that would accompany development and through the supply of additional domestic energy.