When the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) began developing a new approach to border security, INL researchers drew inspiration from a productive exchange with Chris Kuhn, who has been developing Multi-Domain Border Security (MDBS) concepts, as described in his thesis written at the Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS).
Chris Kuhn is a U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) Deputy Chief Patrol Agent who spent nearly two decades focused on southern, northern, coastal, and Arctic border security operations. INL has since drafted an initiative based on MDBS, advancing it as part of a broader homeland security effort.
Kuhn’s collaboration with the National Laboratories grew out of his work as the Border Patrol’s Arctic-Alaska lead within the Department of Homeland Security’s Arctic security initiative’s, planning and implementing discussions.
“Through these engagements, I had many interactions with the National Laboratories,” he said. “That collaboration was built on shared goals for national security and resilience.”
Kuhn’s career goal has always been to strengthen national security, starting with a question his thesis considered: Why wasn’t border security part of the Arctic security conversation?
In 2016, he led the first USBP threat and vulnerability assessment for Alaska’s borders. That experience led to his discovery of a surprising omission: the existing Arctic and great power competition (which guides national planning against global rivals), frameworks did not account for border security.
“Historically, Arctic security frameworks focused on diplomacy, military, economy, society, and environment,” Kuhn explained. “In my thesis, we added a border security layer.”
Adding this element, Kuhn said, positions homeland security as a strategic function, not just a tactical one.
“That puts us into the contemporary operational environment,” he said.
Kuhn’s next step was to define what border security across multiple domains would look like. His MDBS model builds on three pillars:
- Multi-domain awareness: integrating situational awareness across land, air, sea, space, and cyber domains with intelligence fusion.
- Multi-modal operations: employing land, air, and sea operations seamlessly across operational environments.
- Multi-faceted partnerships: fostering collaboration among defense and security federal, state, local, tribal, and international partners.
While originally scoped for the Arctic, Kuhn quickly recognized the national implications. “Although we focused on Alaska and the Arctic, those takeaways are nationally applicable,” he said.
Kuhn first presented his work at the Department of Homeland Security’s Arctic Foresight Initiative, held with the University of Alaska Anchorage, the Arctic Domain Awareness Center, and led by the University of Houston.
“Through my research, I discovered that Arctic security frameworks didn’t actually have a security layer,” he recalled. “At that meeting, I presented my framework, and the security layer was well-received.”
Those conversations sparked engagement with DHS partners and the National Laboratories, which recognized MDBS as a model for broader national security integration. INL’s focus explores how MDBS can be operationalized by linking academic insight with applied science and technology.
Kuhn credits his time dedicated to CHDS that enabled him to conduct rigorous research and transform practical experience into strategy.
“The thesis process—the instruction, the research tools, the advisors—was exactly what I wanted from a graduate program,” he said. “Anyone serious about producing something of value can do that through the CHDS thesis process.”
The inclusion of these frameworks at INL is of tremendous value for homeland security: Kuhn believes it represents a milestone in how academic research can influence national security planning.
“Those are real contributions at the strategic level,” Kuhn said. “If ingested, they’re going to last a really long time.”
From the Artic circle, to the CHDS classroom, to the National Laboratories— Kuhn’s academic and professional journey demonstrates how practitioner-led scholarship can spark innovation in homeland security, paving the way for national security strategy.
