A group of 350 veterans, including five retired Air Force general officers and two former heads of Congressional defense committees, sent a letter to President Obama and the Congress urging them to support the Pentagon’s alternative energy initiatives. “As long as US and global economic security are dependent on oil produced in volatile regions of the world, our military will be required to continue deployments and dangerous missions to ensure the free world trade and security of vital energy resources through international sea lanes,” states the letter, which the Pew Project on National Security, Energy, and Climate published on July 24. The Pentagon consumes more than 300,000 barrels of oil per day and is one of the largest consumers of energy in the world, according to the missive. “The national security community agrees that both the DOD and the nation … must reduce their dependence on foreign oil,” said Phyllis Cuttino, project director, in Pew’s release. “However, some in Congress are working to cripple the department’s ability to move forward on energy innovation.”
A provision in the fiscal 2025 defense policy bill will require the Defense Department to include the military occupational specialty of service members who die by suicide in its annual report on suicide deaths, though it remains to be seen how much data the department will actually disclose.