Empowering Defense Through Energy Security

Posted by White House

On Oct. 13 the Department of Defense (DoD) hosted an Energy Security Forum as part of National Energy Awareness Month. We spent the day with leaders from the military services and the White House for a discussion on how the Department of Defense can turn our energy use from a strategic and operational challenge to a key strength for the warfighter.

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, kicked off our discussion and reinforced the critical nature of energy security for the Department. “Energy security needs to be one of the first things we think about, before we deploy another soldier, before we build another ship or plane, and before we buy or fill another rucksack.”

Adm. Mullen’s remarks were followed by a conversation with Gen. Norton Schwartz, the chief of staff of the Air Force, Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the vice chief of staff of the Army, and Aneesh Chopra, the Nation’s chief technology officer. The panel discussed the challenges and opportunities of using innovative energy solutions to increase our military’s mission effectiveness while saving dollars and lives.

The morning’s panel was followed by closing remarks delivered by the Honorable Ray Mabus, the secretary of the Navy, who, while emphasizing the impacts of energy on our national security today and in the future, said “our military and our country rely too much on fossil fuels. For the military, that dependence has tremendous strategic and tactical implications."

The afternoon featured a panel of DoD energy practitioners including a Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, current and former base commanders, and other leading defense innovators. These leaders talked about a range of energy initiatives including one at Fort Bliss to make the base a Renewable Energy Center of Excellence. During the base’s greening efforts, a team found a natural source of 190° water which can be used as a source of geothermal energy. The base is also taking advantage of wind, solar, and biomass resources to provide secure electrical power for the installation.

Also as part of the Energy Awareness Week, the services transformed the Pentagon Center Courtyard into a showcase of their investments in energy technologies. Technologies on display ranged from solar powered water purification units to military vehicles using next generation materials and energy sources to light weight batteries that can give better range and endurance.

Adm. Mullen’s closing to his morning keynote captured the growing importance of energy security for the Department of Defense. “Few of us can argue that the need is not there. Many of us can see that the right technology is emerging, And I hope all of us can agree that the time for change is now.”

Leading the Military toward a More Secure Energy Future

Posted by White House

October 13^th is the 235^th Anniversary of the founding of the United States Navy. So it was incredibly appropriate that today I had the opportunity to speak at two events focused on our military’s energy policy, because how the Navy and Marine Corps have harnessed energy has shaped our history since the birth of the Republic. And how energy is used and produced in the United States will continue to affect both our national security, and the strategic and tactical capabilities of our forces, long into the future.

The military and the United States depend too much on fossil fuels. But over the last two years the Department of the Navy has made significant strides to change that, and is moving toward the President’s vision of a new energy future powered by alternative energy. The reasons for making this change are clear. First and foremost, energy reform is about the lives of our troops. For every 24 fuel convoys that go into Afghanistan, we lose one American, killed or wounded. That is too high a price to pay for energy.

We also saw the consequences of our dependence on fossil fuels when the BP Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico this past April. The subsequent spill not only released a torrent of oil into the Gulf, but also began a chain reaction of events that dramatically affected the livelihoods of millions of Americans living along the coast. For months, I saw those impacts first-hand, as I worked on behalf of the President to create a plan that would allow for long-term ecosystem, health, and economic recovery on the Gulf Coast.

And we’ve seen that energy security is not just an American issue. Just two days ago, I returned from a trip to Europe, and what was continually reinforced to me was that energy, or more appropriately denial of energy, can be used as a weapon – one just as effective as tanks and airplanes.

Over the past year, the Navy and Marine Corps have worked towards ambitious goals, reducing our fossil fuel usage and investing in energy research and new projects so that by 2020, half of all the energy we use – afloat and ashore – will come from alternative sources.

In support of those goals, today Administrator Karen Mills of the Small Business Administration and I signed a memorandum of understanding to provide contract opportunities for small businesses on sustainable energy programs, pilots, and initiatives. This agreement was accompanied by the launch of the SECNAV Green Biz Ops website, which is designed to be the single Department of the Navy source for listing alternative energy products and services, energy conservation projects, and energy technologies.

Through these initiatives, and through continued development and testing of biofuels and other alternative energies, the Navy and Marine Corps will continue to lead the military towards a better and more secure energy future. Godspeed.

Ray Mabus is the Secretary of the Navy

The First Family Visits the Gulf Coast

Posted by White House

The First Family traveled to Florida’s Gulf Coast today to spend the weekend in Panama City Beach, Florida. The President and First Lady joined area small business owners and Navy Secretary Ray Mabus for a roundtable discussion of the recovery.

Following the roundtable discussion, the President spoke about his sustained commitment to the Gulf. The President was clear that though the well has been capped and the oil is no longer spilling from the ocean floor, there is still work to be done:

Well, today the well is capped. Oil is no longer flowing into the Gulf. It has not been flowing for a month. And I'm here to tell you that our job is not finished and we are not going anywhere until it is. That's the message that I wanted to come here and deliver directly to the people along the Gulf Coast -- because it's the men and women of this region who have felt the burden of this disaster. They watched with anger and dismay as their livelihoods and their way of life was threatened these past few months. And that's why I made a commitment in my visits here that I was going to stand with you not just until the well was closed, not just until the oil was cleaned up, but until you had fully recovered from the damage that's been done. And that is a commitment that my administration is going to keep.

President Obama also spoke about Gulf Coast seafood safety:

Next we're going to continue testing fisheries and we'll be reopening more areas for fishing as tests show that the waters are safe. Already, more than 26,000 square miles were reopened at the end of July, and another 5,000 were reopened earlier this week. I know this takes some time, and it's been incredibly hard on the people who earn their living on the water. Carolyn's boats, for example, have had to find different areas to fish that are further away and require more fuel, so she's been having to make some decisions, maybe I don't send out my boat this time out. But their livelihoods, not to mention the health of the people across this country, obviously depends on making sure that folks can trust the seafood coming from the Gulf, trust that it's safe, as it always has been.

Finally, President Obama stressed the importance of standing together with the people of the region and encouraged Americans from across the country to come down and enjoy the Gulf:

So, with the closure of the well we mark an important milestone. But this is not the end of the journey. And in completing the work ahead I'm reminded of what I heard when I was in Louisiana back in June. I spent time with folks on Grand Isle, meeting with fishermen and small business owners, and the town's mayor, David Camardelle. And he told me what his friends and neighbors were going through. He talked about how hard things had been. But he also explained the way folks rallied to support one another, and said, the people in this community may not have a lot of money, but that didn’t matter. "We help each other," he said. "That's what we do."

That's what folks do for one another in the Gulf. That's what the Coast Guard has been doing for folks in need. That's what we do as Americans. And my job is to make sure that we live up to this responsibility, that we keep up our efforts until the environment is clean, polluters are held accountable, businesses and communities are made whole, and the people of the Gulf Coast are back on their feet.

So to the men and women of the Coast Guard, thank you again for your extraordinary service. To the people here in the Gulf, we are going to be standing by your side. And to Americans all across the country, come on down and visit.