February
New Pathway To Clean Energy Jobs For Military Veterans
EPA chief Scott Pruitt is having a little trouble grasping the importance of clean tech in the survival of our planet, but the US Department of Defense is taking yet another step to achieve a more sustainable state of things.
In the latest development, DoD has expanded a new program that provides paid internships connecting military veterans with high level energy jobs in the armed services.
The ultimate goal is to nail down the “long-term energy sustainability for the future fleet and force,” so let’s take a closer look at that.
Energy Jobs And National Defense
To one extent or another, energy jobs have been built into the armed services ever since fighting forces switched from actual horsepower to mechanical horsepower.
Energy is the critical platform for force effectiveness, so energy awareness comes with the territory.
The US experience in fighting desert wars has prompted DoD to adopt solar power and take other measures — including energy efficiency — to reduce dependency on fuel supply lines.
The US Navy in particular, has promoted a culture of energy awareness. That includes the Marine Corps. Here’s some representative insights from a Staff Sergeant in a Marine Corps maintenance division:
…a single generator can weigh 5,000–10,000 pounds. They are the heart behind our operations, and we have to account for not only the fuel that powers them, but also the fuel to transport them, the spare parts and the back-up generators. Simply put, our forward-deployed power needs have an enormous logistical footprint.
[snip]
…your life might depend on your ability to communicate, which depends on the power stored in your batteries, which depend on electricity from the generators or vehicles, which depend on the availability of fuel. It is all connected, and it shows how much we rely on energy.
We have become power-addicted and power-reliant — not just in the Corps, but in society. Luckily, we’re innovating and working toward a future where we have supplies of power that are highly mobile and removed from the fuel convoy, like solar. I’m looking forward to that future.
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