National Guard goes green to conserve energy, cost

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Feb 20, 5:02 AM EST

National Guard goes green to conserve energy, cost

By SUE MAJOR HOLMES
Associated Press Writer

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) -- The rapid whop, whop, whop of a wind turbine outside the New Mexico National Guard headquarters hints at a new mission for the homefront military: Going green.

Efforts nationally since 2001 to conserve energy and fuel also include a solar array that provides some power for the New Jersey Army National Guard's training center in Wrightstown, and the Ohio Air National Guard's 180th Fighter Wing opening of an alternative energy site in Toledo last September.

"Energy's become one of our top priorities here in the National Guard," said Thomas Gurule, a retired Guard lieutenant colonel who is now its energy manager.

Every building under the military construction program must meet the U.S. Green Building Council's silver rating, said Elvin L. Shields, chief of the design-criteria branch for the Army National Guard's installations division in Washington, D.C.

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/G/GREENING_THE_GUARD?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2009-02-20-05-02-59

[Kolesar]

1. Form a peace committee so they can lobby themselves out of a job

Then for one weekend a month, they can play baseball with their kids

[Vogon_Glory]

2. Interesting

Interesting. I'd noticed that the military had been using solar panels and wind turbines even before George GTT Bush invaded Iraq (There was a photo of US soldiers at a forward base that used solar panels). I suspect that some smart cookie figured out that once the turbines or panels are up and running, there's less need for running the supply trucks to bring in the fuel to run the motors that power the generators at the forward bases.

I'm still amazed that "awl bidness"-connected guys like Cheney and Rummy didn't put a stop to such green-ish practices lest they creep from Defense Department applications into the civilian part of the economy.