Sustainability and National Security

cil’s Executive Team will then apply the systems en-
gineering thought process and methodology to deter-
mine if the project should be pursued and make their
recommendations to the Commander, West Point
Army Garrison who will then make a recommenda-
tion to the Superintendent.
In its first year of operation, the West Point Energy
Council identified a weakness concerning the lack of
integration of the West Point student body, the Corps
of Cadets. To integrate the Corps of Cadets more fully
into the new vision, the West Point Energy Coun-
cil identified a variety of energy and environmental
security deficiencies on the United States Military
Academy reservation, and proposed cadet projects to
evaluate these deficiencies and provide recommenda-
tions to solve them. The list of recommended projects
was made available to instructors in various academic
departments. Such projects included water conser-
vation, energy conservation, behavioral change, and
solid waste management.
One of the most successful projects in solid waste
management has been the re-invigoration of the Corps
of Cadet recycling program. The West Point Energy
Council initially identified a variety of recycling prob-
lems on post. Cadet teams were given freedom to se-
lect a recycling problem, clearly define the scope of the
problem, propose and evaluate a variety of alterna-
tives to solve the problem, make a recommendation,
and develop a plan for implementing the recommend-
ed solution. In the Department of Geography and
Environmental Engineering, the West Point Energy
Council asked cadet teams to categorize and quantify
the food waste from cadet tables after required meals
in the Mess Hall. For seniors in the Department of
Systems Engineering, the West Point Energy Council