Over the last ten years, we have become more lethal, but we have become heavy. We have lost speed. To reset the balance, we must return to our Spartan roots—fast, lethal, and austere.-From the Marine Corps Expeditionary Energy Strategy and Implementation plan.
This is an excellent article and website that details all of the benefits that the Marines have gained from becoming more self-reliant and energy efficient out there. It is also a big heads up to private industry that as the military becomes more Spartan, so shall the PMC/PSC industry.(if they want to compete)
I could also see new job types popping up because of these energy strategy initiatives. Contracts could stipulate that there be a ‘Energy Resource Manager’ on site, whose sole purpose is to monitor energy and water use and keep it at a certain level. Could we see a day where in order to be contract compliant, that a company had to maintain a certain amount of energy and water use, or be penalized? Hmmm. Well, if the Marines think energy management is of strategic importance, then perhaps logistics contracts will begin to emphasize this kind of thing?
Of course the other reason why energy management and going green is important is that it can save lives. The less fuel convoys or water convoys needed to sustain a remote site, the better. That means less exposure to the roads for those convoy teams, and less targets for the enemy. It also means that if a site can operate without that artery of logistics, then that alleviates a huge burden both for private industry and for the military.
This minimized dependency on logistics also expands the reach of a unit or company in the field, and allows them to venture further away from the larger FOBs, or to patrol longer in AOs that need constant attention in this COIN-centric war.
Finally, if you watch the big picture of energy–it absolutely sucks to depend upon other nations for oil. Especially nations in the Middle East that are impacted by regional instability. The Ares Blog mentioned that ‘A $10 increase in the price of a barrel of oil, at current consumption levels, would be equivalent to the entire Marine Corps’ procurement budget.’
That is startling to think about, and that is just the Marines. A ripple in the energy world definitely impacts the cost of operations in the war, and becoming more energy efficient and diversifying our energy sources is smart and a necessity in my view.
Finally, I wanted to highlight ExFOB’s website and latest FBO request. They are looking for a way to charge all of their gadgets from their vehicles, without wasting all of that fuel required to run a vehicle’s generators. If you think about all of the thousands of vehicles being used by the military, with each vehicle filled with energy consuming electronic devices, you can see the scope of energy consumption problem here? Perhaps one idea is to just arm everyone with smart phones and solar panels, and give our infantry a horse to ride? ….lol –Matt
Marines and sailors of India Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, and their Afghan national army counterparts, pose in front of a modified ZeroBase Regenerator at Patrol Base Sparks, in Sangin District, Dec. 29. The ZeroBased Regenerator, nicknamed the Raptor, after the type of power cells in its six solar panels, can keep more than 17 computers and 15 lighting units running throughout the night. The Marines of 1st Platoon, added four more panels to their Raptor for further solar energy conservation.Renewable energy vital to Marines success in Afghanistan
January 12, 2011By Gunnery Sgt. William Price , 1st Marine Division
FORWARD OPERATING BASE JACKSON, Afghanistan — The Marines and sailors of 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment have tapped into a vital renewable energy source – the sun – to help take the fight to the enemy in Sangin District.
