OPERATIONAL ENERGY: A FORCE MULTIPLIER
“Without energy, the Army stands still and silent.” — GEN Peter W. Chiarelli, Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, July 2011
T
he Army is a significant con- sumer of energy and fuel. In fact, the Army accounts for ap- proximately 21 percent of DoD
fuel purchases from the Defense Logistics Agency. As a leading fuel consumer, the Army is researching how to decrease the demand for operational energy—the en- ergy and associated systems, information, and processes required to train, move, and sustain forces and systems for mili- tary operations. Optimizing operational energy facilitates operational adaptability, improves distribution support at all eche- lons, and enhances freedom of movement and action by commanders.
GEN Martin E. Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has stated that we must “focus on and view energy as an opportunity. … Fundamentally, we know that saving energy saves lives.” The Army, as part of a much broader DoD team, has embarked upon an aggressive array of actions to achieve operational energy capabilities that better support Soldiers’ needs and, at the same time, address technological advances in weapon systems that will drive increased fuel con- sumption, almost exponentially.
MULTIPLE SOLUTIONS Operational energy is a multi-scale and multidimensional challenge involv- ing platforms, base camps, and Soldiers. The Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff (ODCS), G-4, Logistics Innovation Agency (LIA) is aggressively exploring, prototyping, and employing a combina- tion of advanced energy, water, and waste technologies, and is leveraging industry
66 Army AL&T Magazine
and U.S. Department of Energy efforts in energy management and control systems, solar harvesting, alternative fuels, waste to energy, and other technologies.
The work that LIA is spearheading, in collaboration with its partners, directly supports operational energy gaps in the areas of power generation, storage, distri- bution, control, and management. These efforts include:
Army Campaign Plan (ACP) 2012 Major Objective—ACP 2012 will be the first instance of this impor- tant strategy document in which a Campaign Objective for energy has been added, with a supporting Major Objective for operational energy. The ODCS G-4 has staff proponency for the Major Objective, with LIA assigned
RECHARGING SOLUTION
The Rucksack Enhanced Portable Power System, an initiative of the Communications-Electronics Research, Development, and Engineering Center, is a lightweight, solar-powered portable system that can recharge batteries and act as a continuous power source. It combines anti-glint solar panels, connectors, and adaptors and can charge most common military battery types in five to six hours. (U.S. Army photo.)
functional responsibility for supporting tasks, actions, and metrics.
Resourcing integration—Institution- alizing operational energy within the ACP means that the concept and efforts will be included in planning docu- ments and processes like the Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execu- tion System. It will also enforce the consideration of operational energy in design, acquisition, procurement, and life-cycle management.
Culture and behavioral change— The ODCS G-4 is sponsoring a study through the Army Study Program to assess the human-dimension aspects of operational energy. Operational energy must be a consideration in all Army activities. A challenge going forward will be to establish an enterprise approach to the extent that what may
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