prove our overall national security than any other
single action. An energy policy which frees us from
imported oil and increases our reliance on secure,
homegrown, renewable clean energy sources would
untangle us from hostile, unstable regimes. It would
reduce our national debt and balance of trade ineq-
uities. It would render countries in the mid-east that
currently exert tremendous influence on world mar-
kets to be less powerful than they are now. It would
free our field Army from supply chain logistics which
hinder missions and cost lives as soldiers protect long
exposed supply chains whose sole purpose is to en-
sure that fuel for generators and vehicles gets to for-
ward operating bases.
West Point is a training ground for future Army
officers and the Army is a potent arm of our national
security. Since national security is directly related to
energy security and sustainability, it is appropriate
for our future Army officers to study these relation-
ships while in school at West Point. If we can promote
a deep sustainability ethic in these young leaders, they
will take this mindset with them as they interact with
others in the Army and will view each mission they
encounter through the holistic lens of the triple bot-
tom line: mission, community and environment.
Academy level sustainability actions
As an institution, West Point is working towards
developing post-wide sustainability strategies. One of
the first endeavors in this direction was implementing
a greening initiative, a direct result of the West Point
Strategic Planning Guidance for 2010. This document
specifically stated that creation of a greening initia-
tive was a priority “...after evaluating the significant
threat of the impacts of shortfalls in energy, prices of