Communities decimated by poverty, hunger, and
corruption provide little hope for a child’s education,
a young person’s employment, or any of its citizens’
futures. At best, these communities may allow ter-
rorism to flourish unimpeded; at worst, they become
terrorism strongholds. If the degraded environment
and devastated community issues are not resolved at
their root levels, the Army may find itself repeatedly
engaged in the same conflict, a discouraging strategy
which is costly in lives and dollars. The triple bottom
line emphasizes that to fight and win the nation’s
wars requires lethal force as it always has, but now
also includes creating environmental and community
conditions which lead to lasting peace. An Army that
can succeed on the three fronts of mission, environ-
ment and community is an Army dedicated to long
term sustainability as well as offensive and defensive
operations.
In some ways, the Army is the perfect institution
to embrace sustainability as an organizational ethos.
The Army can serve as a test bed, innovator and early
adopter of technologies which will make the United
States more energy secure and ultimately unleash our
nation from the tether of oil (Center for Naval Analy-
sis, 2009). The Army has a global footprint and thus
can test new technologies under a nearly infinite va-
riety of field conditions. The Army can also exploit
its chain of command structure to implement and en-
force environmentally friendly regulations and poli-
cies which may take longer to work through civilian
organizations. Finally, the Army can lead by example
and challenge domestic users to reduce water and en-
ergy demands.
The Army is deeply immersed in sustainability as
improving our energy security may do more to im-
sharon
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