Trick question: How much does the Pentagon pay for a gallon of gas?

• Author: Erwin, Sandra I.

For most people, answering the question, "How much does it cost to fill up your gas tank?" is a no-brainer. The average driver knows how much he or she pays for fuel.

That is not the case at the Department of Defense.

The Defense Logistics Agency buys military fuel for $2.82 per gallon. But that same fuel can cost $13 if it's shipped by ground to a forward-deployed location, during peacetime. If it's transferred in-flight from a refueling airplane to another aircraft, the gas is $42. If troops are in hostile areas, prices can range from $100 to $600 for "in theater" delivery. The Army estimated fuel can cost up to $400 a gallon if the only way to ship it is via helicopters.

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These wildly divergent estimates illustrate the formidable undertaking of calculating precisely the price of military fuel. Pentagon officials have been trying to figure this out for years, but have yet to come up with easy answers.

During the past decade, two Defense Science Board studies have criticized the Pentagon for not having reliable methods of measuring what is known as the "fully burdened" cost of fuel, or FBCF. But the issue drew attention only when oil prices shot up to $140 a barrel in 2008 and the Pentagon's fuel bill soared dramatically.

The DSB studies also urged the Pentagon to consider how much energy a weapon system requires before military buyers decide to acquire it. It should do so not necessarily out of concern for fuel prices, but because energy demands can significantly alter the course of a military operation, and even increase the chances of failing to accomplish a mission.

The military's energy dependence turned into a larger-than-expected liability after the invasion of Iraq, when insurgents started blowing up fuel convoys with roadside bombs. That required the military to deploy more troops and hardware just to protect the supply lines. In 2006, the fuel problem moved to the front burner after commanders in Iraq were quoted in news media asking the Defense Department for help freeing troops from the "tether" of fuel.

In Afghanistan, the tyranny of fuel continues. Not only are U.S. forces exposed to roadside bombs, but commanders are also being exceedingly taxed by the lack of infrastructure to move things. "Next to Antarctica, Afghanistan is probably the most incommodious place to be trying to fight a war," said Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Ashton Carter. "It's landlocked, rugged, [and] the road network is much thinner than Iraq and it has fewer airports," he said at a news conference last fall.

Despite greater awareness of how dependence on energy has become a drag on military operations, doing something about it remains a tough challenge for the Defense Department. The Pentagon in recent years has publicized with great fanfare how it has reduced energy demand at its U.S.-based facilities. But that is only a small part of the equation. Seventy-five percent of the Defense...