Abrams, Bradleys, Strykers, Paladins. These names mean nothing unless you’re in the business of war. But to the war fighter, they bring into direct

Replace fossil fuels for the military? Not so fast.

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2021-06-20 23:30:07

Abrams, Bradleys, Strykers, Paladins. These names mean nothing unless you’re in the business of war. But to the war fighter, they bring into direct focus main battle tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, infantry carrier vehicles, self-propelled artillery and other offensive battle hardware.

There are a total of approximately 225,000 ground combat vehicles in the Army inventory. Their missions vary from combat to combat support to myriad additional requirements that must be met on the battlefield.

The Army is not alone in owning vehicles. The Marine Corps has similar requirements, and each of the other services needs one form of ground transportation or another to function. The issue is exacerbated when you include aircraft and ships. These add dramatically to the total vehicles and transportation modes owned and operated by the combat forces of the United States.

While incredibly varied as combat vehicles are, they do have one absolute thing in common: They all operate with fossil fuels. Some need diesel, some gasoline and some we haven’t mentioned need jet fuel. Without petroleum derivatives for our war fighters, our fighting forces can not survive, much less win on the battlefield.