Thursday, December 20, 2007

Rapid Equipping Force leads the way with solutions that are energy-friendly

Courtesy photo-A Glencoe Roofing contractor sprays foam insulation on a building in a forward operating base in Iraq.

Dan Nolan is no stranger to the Army — and he especially understands that Soldiers have needs during deployments.

The Power Surety Task Force Chief, a former Army colonel, spends his days at Fort Belvoir’s Rapid Equipping Force thinking of ways to solve deployment problems - and even harder, solving problems with green solutions.

The group’s most notable success came when they decided to join forces with an Oklahoma roofing contractor and spray the Army’s tents with foam insulation.

“We thought we’d work on how to make fewer targets,” said Nolan. “If we could draw down the amount of fuel (being transported into Army installations) we could make fewer targets.”

By insulating fixed tents on forward operating Army bases with 2 inches of foam on the outside, the group was able to decrease the amount of fuel needed to keep the tents at bearable temperatures in the desert and, in the process, create an environmentally friendly solution.

“It’s about sustainability and resilience,” Nolan said. “Taking a longer view of things and getting a return on the investment … we can be that element for cultural change.”

So far, the organization has insulated more than 150 structures in theater, including guard posts, dog kennels and other various buildings.

The foam is just one of many ideas with which the REF is working and brainstorming. The eight Power Surety employees, located at Fort Belvoir, Fort Irwin, Calif.; and Baghdad, spend their time looking for new ideas and technologies and demonstrating capabilities to commanders in theater and at the National
Training Center in California.

Unit commanders also come to the organization and describe their own needs and REF responds with solutions.

“The Rapid Equipping Force is a unique organization in the Department of Defense. We obey all the acquisition rules, but we move very fast,” Nolan said.
One of the capabilities they are currently exploring is geothermal heating and cooling.

“We can tap into the heat inside the earth,” said Nolan, explaining the renewable energy source. “Ten feet into the ground is always about 52 degrees.”
One use of geothermal heating and cooling requires users to drill into the ground and run PVC piping. They can then run water through the piping systems and it comes back up cold.

Light-emitting diode or LED is another sustainable resource REF is working with.

A normal incandescent light costs 25 cents and provides 1,000 hours of power, whereas a compact fluorescent light costs $4 and provides 10,000 hours of power, said Nolan. “LED uses a fraction of that power for the same illumination,” 

Right now, the military is burning, burying or paying someone to haul their trash. REF is also looking at a tactical garbage energy reactor to convert trash into energy.

“It can convert one ton of trash into 60 kilowatts a day,” Nolan said.

“We have to think differently about these things, we have to change that cultural mindset and take the long view of things,” he said. “It’s not just energy … it’s everything we do.”

As the largest user of fossil fuels in the country, Nolan believes the DoD can be the leaders in this new way of thinking and they have already taken steps to fulfill this role.

“The DoD has (started the process) with the Energy Security Task Force who is chartered to take a holistic view of everything in energy,” he added. “The DoD is taking this very seriously.”