Being Energy Smart Creates More Combat Capability.

• Author: Cullom, Philip H.
• Position: COMMENTARY

* Energy is at the core of U.S. Navy capabilities. Without nuclear power or liquid fuels, Navy ships cannot operate. Without charged batteries, SEALs' radios and night vision goggles are useless. Without quality fuel, aviators are grounded.

Conversely, secure energy supplies with a robust logistics train enables an enduring Navy presence around the globe.

Across the service, from operational planning to educational programs to procurement decision-making, this simple truth is becoming more embedded in our thinking and actions.

Established by former Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead five years ago and reinvigorated by the current chief, Adm. Jonathan Greenert, Task Force Energy works to find the most cost-effective paths to improve energy security, which is the ability to assure that war fighters have the necessary energy resources when and how they require them.

While we all know that energy--in all forms--is critical for naval operations, only in the last five years have we begun to truly comprehend the significance of moving to an energy smart Navy.

Even before my days at the Naval Academy, I knew from reading history that energy mattered for military forces. In Operation Paukenschlag (Drumbeat), German U-boats targeted tankers off the East Coast in 1942.

But it wasn't just reading. As a young boy, I was riveted by my uncle's personal recollections of North Atlantic convoy duty in the early years of World War II, with ships afire at night as his destroyer escort raced to screen the rest of the convoy, dropping depth charges and hedge hogs along the way. Of course, toward the end of the war the tables were turned. Convoy duty became routine, and in the Pacific, U.S. submarines had crippled the Japanese navy by cutting off fuel supplies from conquered territories.

As with all surface warfare officers, I spent a good deal of my formative time at-sea below the waterline, focused on understanding the complex engineering behind what made our surface combatants able to fight robustly. Energy --from monitoring the quality of fuel in the tanks to making sure that the electrons moved around the ship--was part and parcel of my daily life. For a long time, however, energy efficiency remained somewhat of an afterthought. The Navy's supply officers are top-notch in managing the flow of logistics and our tankers keep the ships topped off.

Like so many others, perhaps I simply assumed that this arena didn't require that much attention: I always had the fuel that I required. Energy was like air, always there and seemingly without cost to the warrior. Even as I learned how to measure fuel inventory and quality and conduct at-sea refueling evolutions, my real concern was on mastering the weapons systems and learning how to fight.

In spring 1998, U.S. forces stood on alert for potential military operations against Serbia to protect Kosovo civilians. My ship, the Aegis-guided missile destroyer USS Mitscher (DDG-57), was in the Adriatic Sea. Our load of Tomahawk missiles was the most rapid strike option available in theater. To refuel, we had to leave our patrol station, sometimes for eight to 12 hours, at least once a week. Refueling left the combatant commander without this capability. Not a single Sailor aboard Mitscher wanted to miss our opportunity to launch a strike due to refueling. The challenge was to minimize the risk that...