ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

A House subcommittee will urge the Army to concentrate on common battery charging systems rather than relying on so many different types.

In its draft report on the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, the House Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on readiness asks the Army to do what the Marine Corps has been trying to do since 2016. “Common charging solutions exist,” the report says. “The Army’s use of such platforms has been limited in scope and capability.”

As the Army works to electrify its combat vehicles, it will not compromise combat effectiveness, a senior Army leader said.

Strong partnerships outside the fences of Army installations and more training are critical to building energy resiliency inside the fence line, according to a panel of energy experts.

During a discussion at a recent Association of the U.S. Army Hot Topic on installation management, the panelists agreed that there must be more than one resident expert to make sure any on-post microgrid will operate as intended and assure uninterrupted power during a blackout.

As climate change continues to impact many aspects of modern life, the Army must prepare for its effects on installations and operations, a panel of experts said during a discussion hosted by the Association of the U.S. Army.

Climate change is “a challenge that does not respect borders or boundaries, including the fence line of a military base,” said Sharon Burke, founder and president of Ecospherics and a former assistant secretary of defense for operational energy.

While energy conservation has been a big issue on Army installations, that doesn’t work for everything, Lt. Gen. Duane Gamble, Army deputy chief of staff for logistics, told a House subcommittee.  

Reducing energy demands is important, Gamble told the House Armed Services Committee’s readiness subcommittee, but “the future force may often require more energy to support such new capabilities such as directed-energy weapons,” he said. 

The Trump administration’s nominee to serve as assistant Army secretary for installations, energy and environment says predictable, adequate, sustained and timely funding is needed to improve Army posts and installations.

Energy self-sufficiency remains a goal for U.S. Army installations, Lt. Gen. Gwen Bingham, assistant Army chief of staff for installation management, told a Senate subcommittee.

“We continue to reduce reliance on external utility systems for critical missions, improve energy and water efficiency, enable operational freedom of action and contribute to mission readiness,” Bingham said.

The Army is making a renewed effort to protect electrical, natural gas and water service to its installations in the face of cyber and physical threats and other potential disruptions. “Without energy and water, the Army fails,” said Lt. Gen. Gwen Bingham, the assistant Army chief of staff for installation management, in recent congressional testimony.

The Army has far fewer utility disruptions than the Air Force and Navy, but the financial impact of its problems is very high, according to a new Government Accountability Office report.

From 2009 to 2015, the services had a combined 4,393 utility disruptions caused by equipment failures. The Army had 784. The Air Force had the most, with 2,036. The Navy and Marine Corps combined for 1,573, according to a survey from the congressional watchdog agency.