Sherri Goodman and Leah Emanuel write:

Today, the U.S. military is confronting a new enemy: climate change.

Before Hurricane Helene devastated the Southeast last month, more than 5,900 National Guard members were called up to help prepare; after the storm, the Pentagon sent active-duty forces to assist with road clearing and logistical support. In June, when Hurricane Beryl spiraled through the Caribbean before making its U.S. landfall, Texas and Vermont National Guard units supported disaster response efforts, working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide meals and water as well as help with search-and-rescue efforts. Already, U.S. forces have prepared personnel and resources to mobilize for support in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton.

Within the last year, the military deployed nearly 50 times to address wildfires, storm surges, extreme heat, drought, flooding and more — with 41 of these deployments occurring within the U.S. The National Guard is now called on to combat raging wildfires at a rate 12 times higher than just eight years ago, fighting flames nearly year round. With 2024 projected to be the hottest year on record, U.S. troops, alongside local first responders, anticipate having to address more wildfires and hurricanes than ever before.

As some politicians continue to argue about the economic impacts of climate legislation or question the imminent nature of climate threats — in September former President Trump called climate change a “scam” — the U.S. military has reorganized itself around the knowledge that climate change poses an unprecedented risk to national security. It has integrated climate preparedness into many dimensions of planning and operations. This includes not just deployments for humanitarian assistance and disaster response, but also gaming out the geostrategic impacts of the evolving climate, making adaptations to military training, building resilience into installations and shifting to alternative energy sources to improve military effectiveness.

In most parts of the government, the oscillation of electoral politics has resulted in federal climate strategies hitting endless stops and starts. The U.S. military, though, is less subject to this whiplash, given historic bipartisan support for military readiness. As a result, it has become an example of the steady progress that can occur when the U.S. government takes climate change seriously and devotes resources to mitigating risk — rather than ignoring it at a deadly cost. Today, some of the nation’s most cutting-edge climate innovations exist on military properties, including smart grids fitted with energy storage systems and the use of blended biofuels to power ships and aircraft. [Continue reading…]