DTIC ADA619258: The Great Green Fleet: The U.S. Navy and Fossil-Fuel Alternatives

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THE GREAT GREEN FLEET
The U.S. Navy and Fossil-Fuel Alternatives
Lieutenant Alaina M.Chambers,U.S.Navy,and Steve A.Yetiv
O
n16December1907PresidentTeddyRooseveltlaunchedthedeployment
of sixteen brand-new, glistening white, steam-powered battleships on a
1
fourteen-month circumnavigation of the globe. Later known as the “Great
White Fleet,” the armada demonstrated America’s new ability to project its
power abroad and represented a turning point in global power politics. The
cruiseisstillwidelyrecognizedasanimportantachievementfortheU.S.Navy.
Inthecenturysincethen,inwhichtheUnitedStateshasemergedastheworld’s
sole superpower,its navy has made some strides in transforming itself for the
purpose of dealing with new and emerging global threats.It continues toface
suchchallenges,anditremainstobeseenhoweffec-
LieutenantChambersisamaster’sstudentintheGrad- tiveitwillbewithitsongoingtransformation.
uatePrograminInternationalStudiesatOldDomin-
The complexities of projecting American power
ionUniversity,inNorfolk,Virginia.SheholdsaBSin
political science from the University of Tennessee at abroad have been compounded by an array of costs
Chattanooga.ShehasservedasamemberoftheBataan that are increasingly associated with the use of fossil
ExpeditionaryStrikeGroupandU.S.JointForcesCom-
fuels. The American public and peoples around the
mand,completingdeploymentstothePersianGulfand
Indian Ocean, Caribbean, and Afghanistan. worldaregraduallyrecognizingthatoildependenceis
Dr.YetivisUniversityProfessorofPoliticalScienceand amajorproblemandthatitiscrucialtodevelopaseri-
InternationalStudiesatOldDominionUniversity.He
ous,long-term approach for dealing with it.The key
is author of The Absence of Grand Strategy (Johns
Hopkins,2008);CrudeAwakenings:GlobalOilSecu- concernsrelatedtooilusearenowcommonlyexpressed
rityandAmericanForeignPolicy(CornellUniversity —among them, that American oil dependence en-
Press,2010);andExplainingForeignPolicy:U.S.De-
richesandempowerssomeof itsadversaries,includ-
cision Making and the Gulf Wars (Johns Hopkins,
2011). ing terrorists who use oil-related monies and states,
suchasIran,thatfundtheirdefenseprogramswithoil
© 2011 by Alaina M. Chambers and Steve A. Yetiv 2
money; that reliance upon oil makes the United
Naval War College Review, Summer 2011, Vol. 64, No. 3
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62 NAVALWARCOLLEGEREVIEW
StatesvulnerabletothevagariesofMiddleEastpolitics;andthatoilconsump-
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tioncontributesfundamentallytoclimatechange. Theuseofalternativeener-
gieswouldalsoposecosts,butnotthefullarrayofthesecosts.
TheAmericangovernmentasawholeandspecificallytheDepartmentofDe-
fense increasingly view fossil-fuel dependence as a national and international
security vulnerability.Their concerns not only revolve around the obvious is-
suesofthecostsoftransportationandtheprotectionofoilresourcesandinfra-
4
structure but extend to broader problems as well. Thus, in 2007 the CNA
MilitaryAdvisoryBoard,madeupofretiredadmiralsandgeneralsfromacross
themilitaryservices,issuedareportthatdefinedclimatechangeasakeythreat
tonationalsecurityandworldstability,amatterthatrequiredimmediateatten-
5
tion. Expressingfrustrationwithpublicreluctancetoacceptscientificfindings
on climate change,aformerArmyChief of Staff,GeneralGordon R.Sullivan,
addressesacoreaspectofmilitarydecisionmaking:“Weneverhave100percent
certainty....Ifyouwaituntilyouhave100percentcertainty,somethingbadis
goingtohappenonthebattlefield.That’ssomethingweknow.Youhavetoact
withincompleteinformation.Youhavetoactbasedonthetrendline.Youhave
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toactbasedonyourintuitionsometimes.”
Fromadifferentperspective,theU.S.JointForcesCommand’sJointOperat-
ingEnvironment,2010describesvariousthreatsposedbydevelopingcountries
likeChina,whichisracingtoacquireoilresourcesaroundtheworldasitsde-
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mand for oil rockets. The document, which speculates on global trends that
couldimpactfuturejointmilitaryforces,addressessignificantconcernsabout
the destabilizing effects of American oil dependence. After all, future violent
conflictsandhumanitariandisasterswillbedirectlyinthepurviewof theU.S.
military,whethercausedbythestressesofclimatechangeoran“armsrace”over
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naturalresources.
Meanwhile,thePentagonisstrugglingtoidentifythetruecostofits300,000
barrel-per-day consumption, factoring in the logistical costs of supplying de-
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ployedunitsinIraq,Afghanistan,andelsewhere. Estimatesrangefromahun-
dredtosixhundreddollarspergallon,dependingonwhetherthefuelistrans-
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portedinpeacefulorhostileareasandbytruck,aircraft,orhelicopter. Delivery
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toashipatseacancostfromfivetofiftytimesthemarketprice. Thecostof
transporting fuel in convoys to remote forward operating bases in hostile-fire
zones includes the loss of lives to roadside bombs or enemy attacks. Would
transporting alternative liquid fuels present similar logistical challenges? At
leastonedifferenceisthatwhereelectricitycanreplacefossil-fuelusethrough
innovativetechnologies(forexample,inelectricvehicles),itcanbedeliveredin
saferwaysandevenbegeneratedclosertotheareaof need.Inanycase,deter-
mining the “fully burdened cost of oil,” though not a hard science, takes into
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CHAMBERS &YETIV 63
account all of these realities and is a fundamental force behind the military’s
pushforalternativeenergy.
{LINE-SPACE}
Thoughits300,000barrelsperdayrepresentslessthan2percentoftotalAmeri-
canoilconsumption,theDefenseDepartmentisthesinglelargestconsumerin
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thecountry. Oftheservices,atleast25percentisallocatedtotheNavy,thesecond-
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largestserviceconsumer. TheArmyandAirForcehavetheirown“green”en-
ergyinitiatives,butthisarticlefocusesontheNavy’sdiverseandimportantmea-
surestotackletheproblemoffossil-fueldependence.SecretaryoftheNavyRay
Mabus’sOctober2009energyvisionaddressestheNavy’smissionareasatsea,
ashore,andintheair.InthetransformativespiritoftheGreatWhiteFleet,iten-
visions a “Great Green Fleet,” made up of nuclear carriers, hybrid electric
biofueledsurfaceships,andbiofueledaircraft,supportedbyshore-basedinstal-
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lationsthatrunlargelyoff renewableelectricity. Inspiteof budgetefficiency
reviewsandrealignmentsin2010,theNavyispressingaheadwithenergyprojects.
Thisarticlemakestwobasicarguments.First,theU.S.Navyisengagedinwhat
appearstobeaseriousmoveawayfromoildependence.TheAmericanmilitary
is not generally viewed as a bastion of environmentally conscious innovation
—quitethecontrary.Thepopularideaisthatthemilitarytendstobeconserva-
tiveandnotprogressive;fortheirpart,specialistsinnationalsecurityandworld
affairstendnottothinkoftheU.S.Navyasseekingnovelwaystodecreaseoilde-
pendence.Theyaremorelikelytoviewitasexpendingoilcopiouslyandwithout
greatconcernfortheimplicationsofdoingso.
In fact, however, like some other sectors of the military, the Navy is trans-
forming itself in an attempt to break away from the conventional, fossil
fuel–drivenenergymarket.Itsdevelopmentsinthisarenashouldchallengeper-
ceptionsofthemilitaryasconservativeandbehindthetimes.SecretaryMabus
freely acknowledges that the politically controversial topics of climate change,
“peakoil”(projectionsofwhenglobalpetroleumextractionwillreachamaxi-
mum and begin an inevitable decline), and green investment are the driving
forces behind his strategic plan.He and other Defense leaders have expressed
deepconcernovertheimplicationsthatrelianceonfossilfuelscouldhaveonna-
tional security. The 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review declares, “Climate
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change,energy security,and economic stability are inextricably linked.” The
reportstressesthattheeffectsof climatechangearealreadybeingfeltandthat
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they demand proactive engagement and collaboration. Among other effects,
rising sea levels,intensifying weather patterns,and the shrinking of arctic ice
capsallpotentiallyaffecttheoperatingpatternsof Navymaritimeandexpedi-
tionaryforces.
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64 NAVALWARCOLLEGEREVIEW
Second,thisarticlemakestheargumentthattheNavy’sapproachtotheques-
tionofoildependencemeritsattention.TheU.S.governmentasawhole,aswell
asinternationalgovernmentsandcompanies,shouldbeinterestedintheNavy’s
approaches, and increased cooperation among these actors would make emi-
nentsense.
THE MABUS VISION
As we will see,the U.S.military has over decades taken steps to cut its depen-
denceonforeignoilandmovetowardcleanertechnology,butthelowcostofoil
hasheretoforelimitedincentivesfordoingsoinaconsistentandsustainedman-
ner.However,thehighoilpricesof2008,whichreachedaround$147perbarrel,
spurred greater interest in this regard,as did the election of President Barack
Obama,who has put energy and the creation of “green jobs”at the top of his
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agenda. His Secretary of the Navy, the Honorable Ray Mabus, assuming the
role in June 2009,immediatelyacceleratedthe service’sshifttoalternative en-
ergy.TheNavy’splanishighlyambitious.
TheNavyappearstobemovingintherightdirectionsofar.InOctober2009,
USSMakinIsland(LHD8),aptlynicknamedthe“Priusof theSeas,”wascom-
missioned as the first amphibious assault ship equipped with gas-turbine en-
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gines and all-electric auxiliary machinery. On 22 April 2010, Earth Day, the
Navypubliclydemonstratedatest“Green Hornet”variantof itsmostcapable
fighterjet,theF/A-18SuperHornet,poweredbyafifty/fiftyblendofbiofueland
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conventionaljetfuel. ThesetechnologieshadbeenindevelopmentbeforeSec-
retaryMabus’sappointment,buttheyrepresentedmajorstepstowardhisgoals.
SecretaryMabus’snavalenergyplancomprisesfivekeytargetstobereached
inthenextdecade.First,halfofallDepartmentoftheNavy(DoN)energycon-
sumptionashoreandafloatistocomefromalternativesourcesby2020.Second,
by 2020 half of all naval installations are to be “net zero”energy consumers,
producingelectricityfromrenewablesources,suchassolar,wind,ocean,and
geothermalpower,evensupplyingexcessenergytotheciviliangrid.Third,by
2012theNavyistohavedevelopeda“green”strikegroup,madeupofnuclear-
powered carriers,hybrid-electric-driven surface ships (their oil supplemented
bybiofuel),andbiofuelaircraft.By2016,theforcewillbeginanout-of-areade-
ploymentasthefirststrikegroupof afuture“greenfleet.”Fourth,by2015the
Navyistocutbyhalftheuseofpetroleuminitsfifty-thousand-vehiclefleetof
cars,trucks,etc.,byincorporatinghybridandelectricvehicles.
Finally,the Navy is reforming its acquisition process.This initiative,which
addressestheNavy’schallengeofrisingcontractingcostsgenerally,istoincor-
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poratethelifetimecostof fuelintheconsiderationof newcontracts. Theac-
quisitionprocessunderwentintensescrutinyin2010,especiallytheshipbuilding
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CHAMBERS &YETIV 65
programs. While the fiscal year 2011 Defense Department budget increased,
somehigh-profileprogramswerecutduetoincreasingcosts,includingthepro-
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jectednextclassofguided-missiledestroyers,theDDG-1000. TheDefenseDe-
partment is now thoroughly reviewing budget efficiency and reallocating
moneyawayfromcertaincostlyprograms.Nonetheless,energysecurityandcli-
mate change remain key priorities. According to Secretary Mabus, the DDG-
1000’s hybrid-electric propulsion system will be backfitted into the existing
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ArleighBurke(DDG51)class.
Thoughsomemayquestionwhethertheacquisition-reforminitiativecould
damageitspredictabilityasacustomer,theNavywillstillbeattractivetopoten-
tialcontractors.Itscurrentbudgetallotsabout$200milliontoenergyprojects
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andresearchanddevelopment. SecretaryMabushasstatedthatDoNhas“4.4
million acres of land,72,500 buildings,50,000 commercial vehicles,3,800 air-
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craft,286ships,andmorethan900,000employees.” Eachshiprequiresabout
ninetythousandbarrelsoffuelannually.
Therequiredtechnologyforbecominglessdependentonoilexistsbutisnot
fullydeveloped.Someofthistechnologyisdesignedforincreasingtheabilityof
electricitytooffsettheuseoffossilfuels,which,atpresent,isnotsignificant.In-
creasing this ability translates chiefly into replacing oil with electricity where
mostof theworld’soilisused—intransportation.Movingtoafleetof electric
andhybridvehiclescouldaccomplishthisgoal.
Also,if history is any indication,the “technological curve”should produce
higher-quality,lower-cost technologies over time.That has certainly been the
case with semiconductor-based consumer products and with internet routers
andswitches.Thatisimportantbecauseaslongasoilremainsrelativelycheap,
suchtechnologiesmaynotbefeasibletopursuewithoutgovernmentsubsidies
ormarket“triggers,”suchashighertaxesonfossilfuels.Thisiswhereacustomer
likeDoNcouldplayarole,servingasapredictablecustomerofgreentechnolo-
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gies,withalong-termdemand. Evenacomparativelysmallamountofmoney
couldhelpstimulateagrowingindustry,especiallywithotherbranchesof the
militaryfollowingsuit.Graduallylargermilitaryorderscoulddriveinnovation
andfostereconomiesofscale.Oncecapableoffillingbulkordersatcompetitive
cost,theseburgeoningindustrieswouldbeinapositiontobidforprivate-sector
fuelcontracts.
TheDefenseEnergySupportCenter(DESC)istheorganizationresponsible
for acquiring and providing various types of fuel to the services, at standard
pricesintendedtoprovidesomedegreeofprotectionagainstwildswingsinthe
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market. Thestandardprice,however,issubjecttosomefluctuation;from2004
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to2005,itwasadjustedtentimes. Infiscalyear2008,whenoilhit$147perbar-
rel,theNavyandMarineCorpsconsumedabout38.5millionbarrels,with38
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66 NAVALWARCOLLEGEREVIEW
percentgoingtoaviation,25.5percenttomaritimeforces,31percenttoexpedi-
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tionary forces, and 5.5 percent to shore-based services. DoN’s fuel cost in-
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creased from $1.2 billion to five billion per year, in one year. With further
instabilityinglobaloilmarketslooming,thepursuitofalternativesgrowsmore
imperativefortheNavy.
REVOLUTIONIZING ENERGY TECHNOLOGY TO POWER TACTI-
CAL VEHICLES
“Tacticalvehicles”areair,land,andsea-based“vehicles”—including,thatis,air-
craft, ships, and craft—that directly conduct or support military operations.
TheyrepresenttheoverwhelmingmajorityofNavyandMarineCorpsfuelcon-
sumptionandpresentspecialchallengesintermsoffindingreliablealternative
fuels.BiofuelsrepresentoneofDoN’smostpromisingsources,butwithcurrent
technologytheyrequireextensivelandandwaterresourcestoproduce.Forthis
reason,SecretaryMabusisadamantthatDoNsourcesofbiofuelarenottocom-
pete withfoodcrops,as has corn-basedethanol.This policyputs the Navyon
strongerpoliticalfootingindevelopingbiofuels.
Navalassetsrelyheavilyonthreetypesoffueloil:JP-8jetfuel,forshore-based
aircraft;JP-5,whichhasahigherflashpoint,forcarrier-basedaircraft;andF-76,a
maritimedistillatefueloil,forships.Contractshavebeenlettopursuecamelina,
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aweedlikeplantrelatedtomustard,asanalternativetoJP-5. Algae-basedfuels
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have proved promising as alternatives to JP-8 and,especially,F-76.
Unlikeoxygenatedfuelslikeethanol,vegetable-basedfuels,suchasthosede-
rived from camelina,behave exactly like traditional jet fuel but cut “cradle to
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grave”carbonemissionsby84percent. TheGreenHornettestflightonEarth
Day in 2010, burning a fifty/fifty mix of vegetable-based and traditional fuel,
demonstratedhowfarthetechnologyhascome—theHornet“hardlyknewthe
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difference.” Camelina-basedfuelnowcostsaboutsixty-sevendollarspergal-
lon,butwithenoughdemandthecostcouldeventuallybecomparabletothatof
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fossilfuel. In2009DESCawardedtheSustainableOilsCompanya$2.7million
contract for forty thousand gallons, with the option to acquire an additional
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150,000. This is a small amount of the Navy’s overall oil consumption but a
hugeproductiongoalfortheinfantindustry.Camelinarequiresafractionofthe
waterandfertilizerneededbyothercrops.Itcanbegrowninmarginallandsor
producedasarotationcropwithwheat,topreventoverexpansionofcultivated
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land.
Navy contracts are being extended for algae-based biofuel as well. While
camelina has been more rapidly deployed, algae could be an able competitor.
ThroughacontractwithSolazyme,insouthernCalifornia,theNavywillallocate
$8.5 million toward 1,500 gallons for aircraft testing and twenty thousand for
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CHAMBERS &YETIV 67
maritime use, significantly more money per gallon than it will spend on the
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camelina option. DoN accepted a delivery of twenty thousand gallons from
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Solazymein2010andextendedaneworderfor150,000gallons. Likecamelina,
algaedonotcompetewithtraditionalfoodcrops.Algaecanbegrownonbrack-
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ish,saltwater,ornonarabledesertland,reducingtheneedtodivertfreshwater.
AskepticmightpointtothesheerscaleoftheNavy’sbiofuelgoals.Inorderto
supply the Navy’s entire current demand for aviation fuel with algae, an esti-
matedfivehundredsquaremilesoflandwouldberequiredtogrowtheplants.
Tobringthecostdowntotwodollarsagallon,carbondioxidewouldhavetobe
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transportedfromnearbyconventionalpowerplants; otherwisethecostjumps
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toforty-fourdollars. Similarly,withoutaprogramtomanagelandandinfra-
structureforbiofuels,camelinagrownintheamountsnecessarytomeetDoN
demandwouldrequireanareaequivalenttobetweenaquarterandathirdofthe
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state of Montana. At present, these obstacles are prohibitive, as they are for
otherformsofgreenenergy.However,theycouldbesurmountedastechnology
progresses and economies of scale emerge. Advances, for instance, in battery
technologyhaveallowedforavarietyofelectricandhybridvehiclestogaintrac-
tioninthemarket—adevelopmentthatwouldnothavebeenpossibleadecade
ago.
TheDepartmentoftheNavyisnotaloneinitsattemptstodevelopandtestalgae-
andcamelina-basedfuelsandbringdownthecostsofproduction.Asjetfuelac-
countsforhalfoftheDefenseDepartment’sfuelconsumption,theAirForceis
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testing similar technology to develop a JP-8 equivalent. Both services could
benefitfromtheother’ssuccess,ascouldtheaviationindustry.Additionally,the
DefenseAdvancedResearchProjectsAgencyhasawardeda$34.8millioncon-
tract to two companies to find ways to reduce the cost of algae-based fuel to
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three dollars per gallon. This effort has been met with skepticism, but the
agency’s methods have proved successful in the past—notably with the com-
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putermouse,theGlobalPositioningSystem,andtheinternet.
Biofueldevelopment,however,isonlyapartof theNavy’sstrategytotrans-
formitstacticalvehiclefuelconsumption;newtechnologyfortheweaponssys-
tems themselves represents another initiative. Makin Island is the first
amphibiousassaultshiptoemploymoreefficientgasturbinesinsteadofthetra-
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ditional steam boilers. Additionally,it can shift to full-electric propulsion at
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lowspeeds,perhapsupto75percentofthetimeitisunderway. Thenew,com-
prehensivemachinery-controlsystemalsoallowstheshiptoswitchreadilybe-
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tweengas-turbineandauxiliarypower. Whileitstillmustburnfueltogenerate
electricity,theshiprepresentsaleapforwardinefficiencyandfuelconsumption
incomparisontoitspredecessorsintheWasp(LHD1)class.
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68 NAVALWARCOLLEGEREVIEW
Among U.S.warships,the Wasps are second in size only to nuclear aircraft
carriersandprovideavitalcapabilitytotransportMarines,equipment,andair-
craftandsendthemashore.Theyaretremendouslycapableplatformsandwork-
horses in today’s global environment, which increasingly presents needs for
littoral capabilities, from disaster relief to command and control for forces
ashore.Withgrowingmissionsanddeploymentscomesconcernovercost.On
itsfirstvoyage,fromtheoutfittingyardinMississippitoitshomeportinSan
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Diego,MakinIslandsavednearlytwomilliondollarsinfuelcosts. Iffuelprices
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remainedconstant,theshipcouldsave$250millionoveritslifetime. Hereisa
potentialfortremendousfuelsavings,especiallyasthetechnologyproliferates
—to, for instance, USS America (LHA 6), the first of a new class of slightly
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smallerbutsimilarlyequippedamphibiousassaultships.
Asmentionedabove,hybridelectricdriveisbeingdevelopedforincorpora-
tion into new and existing Arleigh Burke guided-missile destroyers. These
Aegis-fittedshipsarealsofleetworkhorsesandthuspresentrealopportunities
forfuel-costsavings;refittingtheolderunitswiththesemoreefficientenginesis
expectedtosave8,500barrelspershipperyear.However,thetechnologystillhas
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alongwaytogo. ThecontractmustbefinalizedwithGeneralAtomicsbefore
theprototypepropulsionsystemisexpectedin2012andafullproductionunit
is installed in an Arleigh Burke to be launched in 2014, in time to meet the
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green-strike-groupgoalof2016.
Another important energy alternative is nuclear power,which the Navy al-
readysuccessfullyemploysintheelevenaircraftcarriersandseventy-sevensub-
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marines(atthiswriting)ofits286-shipfleet. Thedepartmentassessesthat16
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percentof itsenergyuseissuppliedbynuclearfuel. Thenuclearnavyrepre-
sents the core of the Navy’s strategic power projection capability. For over
fifty-fiveyears,DoNhasmaintainedanexcellentsafetyrecordthroughitshigh
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standardizationandqualityeducationandtraining.
Theexpansionofnuclearpropulsionintoothernavalplatformshasalsobeen
considered. For instance, it was recommended for the “Next Generation
Cruiser,”orCG(X),programasawayofoffsettingtheship’simmenseprocure-
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mentcostswhilemeetingthedemandsofitsadvancedsystems. Retrofitingof
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large-deckamphibiousshipswithnuclearenergyhasalsobeensuggested. Ifoil
pricesremainaboveeightydollarsperbarrel,theimprovementswouldpayfor
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themselves over the life of the ship. Nuclear technology, however, is still ex-
tremely expensive.The CG(X) program was cut from the proposed fiscal year
60
2011 budget as too costly. Further, the high cost of manpower must be ac-
countedforinnuclearpowerprograms.Seniorleadershavealsoexpressedcon-
cernthatfurtherdevelopmentof theciviliannuclear-power-generationsector
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CHAMBERS &YETIV 69
aspublicfearseasecouldmakeitmoredifficult,andexpensive,toretainhighly
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skilledspecialistsintheservice.
THE TRANSITION TO ALTERNATIVE-FUEL NONTACTICAL
VEHICLES
TheNavy’splantoreducepetroleumconsumptioninits“nontactical”vehicle
fleet seems much less advanced than in the maritime and aviation areas.
Nontactical vehicles are commercial-type cars, trucks, and other automobiles
fortravelortransportonandoffmilitaryinstallations.Theynumberupwardof
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fiftythousandvehiclesbutaccountforlessthan25percentofDoNenergyuse.
Commercial vehicles,classed according to size,are acquired independently or
through the U.S.General Services Administration (GSA),which supplies fleet
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vehiclestogovernmentagencies.
TheEnergyPolicyActof1992mandatedthatfederalagenciesmake“alter-
nativefuelvehicles”(AFVs)75percentoftheirlight-dutyacquisitions.In2008
the definition of AFVs was expanded to include fuel-cell and hybrid-electric-
64
poweredvehicles,amongothers. Incompliancewiththisguidance,GSAhas
ledaconsistentefforttoshifttoAFVs,butmuchofitsfocusison“flexfuel”ve-
hicles,capableofrunningonanethanolmix.Advancesinhybridelectricand
hydrogenfuel-celltechnologyhaveopenednewopportunitiesforthesevehi-
cles,but Navy acquisition complications remain.For instance,until recently
the majorityof manufacturersthat producedthese vehicleswere not eligible
65
forGSAcontracts.
TheNavy’s2007AFVstrategyhighlightedsomeofthedifficultiesofthede-
partment’s transition. Many of the issues are still being addressed: organiza-
tionalalignment,communicationofenergygoalsandsuccesses,infrastructure
tosupportAFVs,availabilityof alternative-energyvehiclesthroughGSAlease,
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andefficientemploymentofvehicles. Organizationalalignmentseemstobea
particulardifficulty;thereisnosingleeffortspearheadingthewaytowardrapid
transitiontoAFVsandonlyanuncertainstrategyastowhichalternativetech-
nologyshouldbeemployed.
However,largecommandsaremakingsignificantstridestowardmeetingthe
secretary’senergygoal.NavyRecruitingCommand,oneofthehighest-mileage
usersofthenontacticalvehiclefleet,hasordered297FordFusionhybridcars,
withtheintentionof converting75percentof its5,100vehiclestohybridsby
67
2020. NavalFacilitiesEngineeringCommandbeganamassiveefforttoem-
ployclean“NeighborhoodElectricVehicles”(NEVs)andsolar-powered,slow-
movingvehiclesinplaceofconventionalvehiclesforflightlines,ports,mate-
rial handling, public-works maintenances, and base security on installations
NWC_2011SummerReview.ps
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