Fuel Forums

The Marine Corps' Expeditionary Energy Office (E20) plans to host an "Expeditionary Energy Water and Waste (E2W2) Integrated Process Team" workshop from Oct. 19 to Oct. 22 in Reston, VA, according to an Oct. 1 service administrative message.

The E2W2 Integrated Process Team "will conduct the final of three facilitated workshops for the development of a Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System (JCIDS) capabilities-based assessment (CBA) on USMC E2W2," the notice states. That assessment "will provide the analysis needed to support the development of a USMC E2W2 Initial Capabilities Document (ICD).

"The E2W2 IPT will leverage existing analysis, studies, and ICD work done on energy requirements for the USMC. The IPT will use the expeditionary energy concept of operations being developed by Marine Corps Combat Development Command. The E2W2 IPT will establish the analytical baseline necessary to articulate future requirements for expeditionary energy," the notice continues. During the workshop:

Participants will review E2W2 gap and risk assessment results and make any required revisions prior to beginning the solutions assessment. Using the prioritized gap list, participants will: evaluate potential solutions, both non-materiel and materiel, to mitigate the identified gaps; evaluate and prioritize solutions to mitigate the highest priority gaps; establish recommendations for potential non-materiel solution approaches -- doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership and education, personnel, or facilities; and establish recommendations for materiel solution approaches. For capability gaps requiring a materiel solution, recommended solutions will be aligned with the appropriate categories outlined in the manual for the operation of JCIDS.

The Navy will hold an energy-related forum of its own next week. According to a service statement:

The 2010 Navy Energy Forum will be held Oct. 12 through 13 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C. The theme for this forum is "Seapower Repowered: Energy as a Force Multiplier and Strategic Resource."

The forum will bring together military, government, and industry leaders to discuss the importance of energy to the warfighter and combat capability. Energy and environmental organizations are encouraged to participate.

Distinguished Navy speakers include the Honorable Ray Mabus, Secretary of the Navy, and Admiral Gary Roughead, Chief of Naval Operations. Guest speakers include Former Senator John Warner (R-Va), Dr. George Friedman, international affairs expert and chief executive officer of STRATFOR, and Dr. Daniel Yergin, chairman of Cambridge Energy Research Associates and Pulitzer Prize winner for his bestseller, "The Prize."

Building on a year of progress toward the Secretary of the Navy's energy goals announced in fall 2009, participants will focus on policies, partnerships, technologies, and culture change needed to move these goals forward. Issues such as reducing lifecycle energy costs, grid security, and alternative fuels will be addressed. The forum will also address the "Navy Energy Vision for the 21st Century," which identifies the Navy's way forward for increasing energy security.

"Energy is a national security issue, both for the Navy and the nation, and our use of this critical resource must be looked at in strategic terms. Reforming energy use within the Navy will, first and foremost, increase our combat capability, while it also advances our energy security and promotes environmental stewardship," stated Rear Admiral Philip Cullom, director of the Navy's Energy and Environmental Readiness Division and director of the Navy's Task Force Energy.