Two Congressmen and a former Central Intelligence Agency director have teamed up to form the Congressional Defense Energy Working Group to “identify challenges” and “recommend logistical and policy solutions” to the US military’s dependence on energy, which they view as a national security vulnerability. Speaking at the unveiling of the bipartisan initiative last week alongside former CIA director James Woolsey and Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.), Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.) pointed out that nearly half of DOD’s energy spending is for jet fuel for the Air Force, and that for every $10 per barrel increase in oil prices adds $600 million to the Air Force’s annual operating costs. Woolsey, who also serves on the Defense Science Board, asserted, “The way we employ energy in military operations and in our daily lives and the link to national security is the most important issue our country faces.” The DSB recently completed a study of DOD energy policy, and Air Force Materiel Command has embarked on testing new experimental fuels on the B-52 bomber.
Lt. Gen. Dan Caine, nominee to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Defense Department needs to upgrade its electronic warfare capability and its EW training ranges; just as his predecessor said at his own confirmation hearing.