US Military Going Green

Top tacticians say energy efficiency can save lives

After several years of fighting wars around the globe, the US military is taking steps towards improving it’s energy efficiency in an effort to save lives.  

“The greatest threat to the nation is probably our dependance on foreign oil.”

Senior Logistician under Gen. Petraeus and Retired Brig. Gen. Steve Anderson, made this statement on NPR's Science Friday on Dec. 3, 2010.  Throughout the broadcast, he and Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus talked with Science Friday host Ira Flatow about the collateral dangers of by energy inefficiency faced by troops.

One of the many challenges faced by the US military in Afghanistan and other theaters is the process of transporting fuel and resources to remote bases.  The fuel is transported by truck convoys that are often attacked and casualties are common

In a study released by the US Army, the average factor of casualties per fuel resupply were calculated to be .042.  Do the math, and that means that a casualty is suffered per roughly every 24 resupply convoys.

This study was discussed at length throughout the broadcast, during which time Mabus and Anderson both contributed their own knowledge and pointed out things that the military is doing to help fix this problem in the future.

“We’ve had over one thousand Americans killed while moving fuel since the war began.”  Brig. Gen. Anderson said.  

Brig. Gen. Anderson argued that both soldiers and civilians are in danger from moving fuel, and that such dangerous trips are only taken as often as they are because the military is not as energy efficient as it should.  Bases need fuel to power the air conditioned tents in desert environments, power vehicles, and more.  If tents are better insulated and vehicles are made to run on biodiesel or hybrid engines, convoys would have to deliver fuel and therefore expose themselves to elevated danger levels less often.

Another intriguing point behind the military’s movement towards more efficient energy is that it could potentially make energy efficient systems and technologies more marketable in the private sector.  Mabus explains that this is not an uncommon phenomenon, and that many common items that civilians take for granted in their everyday lives were originally designed with military applications. 

Mabus stated that by 2020, at least half of all the energy used by the Navy will come from non-fossil fuel resources.  Mabus hopes that through military refinement of technology, energy will overcome both the price and infrastructure issues needed to make energy more marketable.

However, not all of the military’s changes in energy efficiency will occur a decade from now.  According to the New York Times, Company 1, Third Battalion, Fifth Marines,  will soon be the first to take new technology like solar panels and energy saving lights into the battlefield and use them to power their camp.

If Company 1’s equipment proves successful in the field, other Companies will likely adopt similar technology very soon.  

While the importing of fuel is simply not something that can cease entirely, the military’s green practices will likely prove to be a key step towards the US becoming a more energy efficient country overall.