Remarks on The Military-Environmental Complex
| Date | 01 August 2015 |
| Author |
8-2015 NEWS & ANALYSIS 45 ELR 10773
C O M M E N T
Remarks on The Military-
Environmental Complex
by Amanda Simpson
Amanda Simpson is the Executive Director of the Oce of Energy Initiatives, U.S. Department of the Army.
power at Forts Stewart, Benning, and Gordon, the Army
will plant over 2,100 acres over the next two years of native
longleaf pine, the habitat of the red-cockaded woodpecker,
as part of the Army’s Environmental Enhancement and
Protection Program.
Sustainability Strategy:
e soon to be released Army Energy Security and Sustain-
ability strategy establishes the underlying basis for an Army
that adopts “security,” “resiliency,” and “ future choice” as
an organizing principle. e “Army Facilities Manage-
ment” regulation, 420-1, is currently being revised to
incorporate net zero in all its aspects, instilling these prin-
ciples in everything the Army does to support its mission.
Operational Energy:
e Army’s energy and sustainability strateg y does not end
at our borders. When our current operations in Afghani-
stan and Iraq began, our enemies sought out our vulner-
abilities; and they found and attacked our most susceptible
point—our supply chain. Convoys carrying water, fuel,
and supplies represented our greatest loss of life. We
learned and we adapted. A forward outpost that a few years
ago required replenishment of fuel and water every four
days, through the employment of more energy ecient
equipment, incorporation of tactical solar and wind power
generation coupled with electrical storage, now only needs
replenishment once every 10 days.
Fuel eciency, energy conservation, waste reduction,
and water reuse are not just phrases but integrated into
our requirements and designs for the modernization of
equipment—tactical vehicles and buildings—even tempo-
rary ones. Resource eciency is necessary for the Army to
minimize risk to mission objectives and reduce exposure of
our Soldiers.
Climate Impact:
Climate change is a threat to the ability of the Army to
perform its missions, aecting its installations and opera-
The U.S. Army Oce of Energ y Initiatives is the
central management oce for large scale renewable
energy projects leveraging third-party na ncing to
bring energy resiliency to our Army insta llations. I would
like to tha nk Professor Light for including the eorts of
what is now the Oce of Energy Initiatives in her paper.
It was the success of the original task force that brought
about the transition to an enduring oce last year.
e United States Army has long recognized that if we
are to be successful in our primary national defense mission,
we have an obligation to ensure that our Soldiers today—
and the Soldiers of the future —have the land, water, and
air resources they need to train; a healthy environment in
which to live; and the support of the local communities of
the American people.
Environmental Stewardship:
e paper implies that the military does not have to comply
with environmental regulations “when they conict with
the military’s national security mission.” In fact, we do have
to be in compliance as the process for a National Security
Exclusion is so onerous that it is unlikely to be approved.
So to that end, the scope of our environmental steward-
ship responsibilities is amazing. e Army is responsible for
nearly 14 million acres of land. We care for 217 endangered
species, over 83,000 archeological sites, and over 62,000
historic buildings. We are also managing over 3,000 envi-
ronmental permits, 1.3 million acres of wetlands, and are
currently conducting environmental cleanup at over 1,600
sites. A nd we do it very well. e endangered red-cock-
aded woodpecker’s habitat has been so well protected at
Fort Stewart, Georgia, that the population has recovered;
and they a re being exported to other a reas for reintroduc-
tion. While we harvested over 790 acres of timber for the
solar projects that will provide 90M W of clean aordable
Author’s Note: is Comment is based on a transcript of Ms.
Simpson’s remarks at the April 10, 2015, Environmental Law and
Policy Annual Review conference in Washington, D.C. e remarks
were originally posted on the Assistant Secretary of the Army for
Installations, Energy, & Environment’s website, available at http://
www.asaie.army.mil/Public/ES/oei/docs/ELPAR_Remarks.pdf.
Copyright © 2015 Environmental Law Institute®, Washington, DC. Reprinted with permission from ELR®, http://www.eli.org, 1-800-433-5120.
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