and contrasting environmental security with national
security. The students write a short paper in which
they create their own definitions and recommend sev-
eral immediate actions the United States could under-
take to increase our environmental security. With this
framework, the students then turn their attention to
the inter-related major causes of environmental inse-
curity: lack of food, lack of access to clean water and
sanitation facilities, and prevalence of infectious dis-
eases. The students study the United Nations Millen-
nium Development Goals and examine global prog-
ress toward each of the eight goals. They also analyze
the new combatant command, AFRICOM. AFRI-
COM’s mission statement is unique compared to the
other geographic combatant commands as it places a
premium on host nation development rather than war
fighting. This difference intrigues cadets as they an-
ticipate their very real commissioning into the Army.
AFRICOM is trying to reduce terrorism without firing
a single shot; instead the goal is to ameliorate the con-
ditions which lead to extremism.
The second half of the Environmental Security
course focuses fully on energy, as energy underpins
virtually all issues. If we have a stable supply of clean,
reliable energy, then we can grow enough food, clean
enough water, and combat disease much more effec-
tively than at present. The course concludes with an
individually authored student paper in which the ca-
det chooses an emerging environmental security issue
of interest to the Department of Defense as listed by
the Institute for National Security Studies. The student
defines the core issue, describes the issue’s economic,
technological, and social-political dimensions, and
ultimately recommends a course of action. Classroom
discussions tend to be prolonged and insightful as the
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