Engineer presents professional information designed to keep U.S. military and civilian engineers informed of current and emerging developments within their areas of expertise for the purpose of enhancing their professional development.
Issue link: https://engineer.epubxp.com/i/284727
January–April 2014 18 Engineer bring with them tactical generators, their single reliable source of power during this phase. Unless the command can identify enough subject matter experts with the knowledge, skills, abilities, tools, and equipment to manage power, spot generation will continue and will even expand as the base camp grows and matures into a potentially enduring site. To compound the situation, spot generation takes away valuable resources, including the personnel and ancillary equipment required for operations, maintenance, and fuel delivery. These requirements, multiplied by hundreds of existing combat outposts and forward operating bases in a large, combined joint operational area, clearly illustrate the enormity of the issue. Survey results indicate that USACE can improve pro- cesses and programs that deliver OE management capabili- ties to the warfghter by— ■ Promoting and implementing sustainability practices across projects funded for operations and maintenance (those costing under $750,000) and military construction (those costing more than $750,000). ■ Providing dedicated OE subject matter experts during the planning and design phase of construction projects. ■ Assuming proponency for U.S. Army and Department of Defense base camp master planning and OE manage- ment for contingency bases. ■ Improving the commissioning and/or postconstruction verifcation process. ■ Providing a robust reachback capability above what is currently offered. ■ Providing the requisite number of qualifed individuals to conduct oversight during all phases of construction. The Department of Defense has expended signifcant resources and made considerable progress in OE manage- ment for contingency bases, primarily through the doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership and education, personnel, and facilities (DOTMLPF) business process. The OE management of contingency bases can be further improved by— ■ Providing a dedicated budget to the OE managers and staffs. ■ Incorporating a task force power and energy organization into the theater level joint engineering directorate at the beginning of a campaign. ■ Scaling the size (not the functions), based on current and anticipated future theater requirements. ■ Developing and implementing an energy conservation/ awareness program for offcers and enlisted professional military education and predeployment training. ■ Offering incentives to the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program or other contractors to propose and implement energy- and water-saving projects, essentially making it a type of performance contract program for energy savings. ■ Investing in power distribution training. ■ Developing and improving an OE reporting process at all command levels within an operational area. Survey respondents also indicated that one of the successful initiatives at the outlying locations for OE energy management for contingency bases in Afghanistan occurred during Operation Dynamo, in which tactical, quiet genera- tors were replaced with tactical power distribution equip- ment and improved generators and environmental control A 46-megawatt central power plant and fuel storage tanks light up Bagram Airfeld. EN Vavrin-Brown.1.indd 21 3/12/2014 1:41:43 PM