An Electric Army

The US Army has decided that the threat of climate change is more dangerous than a battlefield opponent, as is explained here.  So, in their general effort to turn taxpayer funds into bizarre equipment they have opened bidding on a next generation Light Tactical Vehicle. The current supplier plans on submitting a hybrid vehicle, ie. one that runs on more than one kind of fuel. 

"The Army's recently released climate strategy said transitioning to more eco-friendly combat vehicles is a priority for the service." 

Why would that be the case? Since the defeat of the native Americans in the latter part of the 19th century, over 122 years ago and when military vehicles traveled on land only via iron tracks, no real combat has taken place on US soil. (OK, we haven't forgotten Pearl Harbor.) There is a developed electrical infrastructure in the contiguous US but the American GIs don't fight anybody in Delaware or Nebraska. They are sent to hospitable locations like Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq, Syria and so on. Places that don't have reliable electric service at the best of times. How are combat operations with electric vehicles going to work in a place like Afghanistan, where the lack of electricity means that no man is clean-shaven? And even if whatever 220 volt juice is available from an established system, if the sabotage of that system could be prevented there would be no need of the hybrid vehicles. The threat of of that sabotage would mean that fuel for the hybrid vehicles would need to be easily available, just as it would be for a fleet of internal combustion varieties. Two separate supply lines would be needed instead of one. In fact, probably more fuel for the generators.

Of course the US military has a history of bringing along services not directly related to blowing up the enemy's personnel and other assets. Soldiers can't be expected to dispense with radio, television and movies so those must be supplied. Chow halls and clubs are built and utilized because everybody needs a burger and a beer once in awhile. Gyms and bowling alleys allow rest and relaxation in the brief moments off duty. Independent electrical generation equipment will be needed to operate the beer coolers and pin setters and, more important, the vehicle battery chargers. Reliable electricity will be required for both the construction and operation of dormitories or even tents.

Army munitions are designed and built to take advantage of technological developments that will make them more effective at directed destruction. Nobody in the history of big arguments has ever worried about affecting the climate. Until now:

“The Army must adapt across our entire enterprise and purposefully pursue greenhouse gas mitigation strategies to reduce climate risks,” Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth said in a statement. “If we do not take action across, across our installations, acquisition and logistics and training, our option to mitigate these risks will become more constrained with each passing year.”

What do you suppose those climate risks might be? Would the lack of mitigation of these risks, whatever they might be, give an advantage to a potential opponent?

 Christine Warmuth, Secretary of the Army. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in political science from Williams College in Massachusetts and a master's degree in public policy from the University of Maryland. We're not sure if her level of expertise includes both climate science and armored warfare, one or neither.  

L.A. Times.com