EPA Statement for May 24,2012 (Chicago, Illinois) 

Brandon Bodor 

Good evening, and thank you for the opportunity to testify on the proposed rule to limit carbon 

pollution from new power plants. 

My name is Brandon Bodor, and I proudly spent the past seven years on Active Duty in the 

United States Army. My military service included two combat deployments, one each in Iraq 

and Afghanistan. In 2007 and 2008, I spent 15 months fighting in support of Operation Iraqi 

Freedom during the heart of what is commonly referred to as the 'surge' to quell the fierce 

sectarian violence that plagued the country after the initial invasion. I returned recently from a 

year in Kandahar, where I contributed to the strategic troop increase designed to turn the tide of 

Taliban momentum across southern Afghanistan. I continue to serve the country as a U.S. Army 

Reservist out of Fort Sheridan, Illinois. 

I am here today to speak on behalf of Operation Free, a dedicated coalition of veterans who 

recognize that our nation's fossil fuel addiction and contribution to climate change threaten our 

national security. It is with that basic premise of mitigating national security threats that I testify 

today. 

I am going to share with you an anecdote from my military experiences that shaped my 

understanding of the implications of our reliance on fossil fuels. 

After a year of training my platoon in exercises across the German countryside, we deployed for 

a 15 month combat tour to Iraq in 2007. To refresh your memory, at the time the level of 

violence in the country was at an all-time high. Sunni and Shia extremist groups were killing 

each other at an astounding rate. My platoon was based in a neighborhood of southern Baghdad 

known as Dora, one of the most volatile in the city. My men and I patrolled the streets of 

Baghdad every day, and one thing was undeniably clear: the U.S. military has an intense reliance 

on diesel generators- a reliance that makes us less safe. I have friends who were injured gravely 

from constant returns to base to refuel. We must be cognizant that we fight a smart and 

adaptable enemy when the U.S. military is called to address problems globally. As such, we 

need to be just as adaptable with new, unique ways to power our force. 

The military recognizes the grave threat to our security posed by America's outdated energy 

policies. We send over S I billion a day overseas for our oil, funding regimes that simply do not 

share our values. The military is the biggest purchaser of energy in the country, and volatile oil 

prices can compromise mission readiness. Conservative DoD estimates say that for every $1 

increase in the price of a barrel of oil, the department incurs an additional S 130 million in fuel 

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costs. Just think about what that $130 million could be going to in the form of training or 

enhanced equipment for our troops. 

I want to emphasize that oil is not the only problem. All fossil fuels, including coal, pose a threat 

to our security by disrupting our climate. We must remember that environmental issues such as 

drought, famine, migration, rising sea levels, and natural disasters caused by climate change pose 

a threat to military installations and raise demand for military assistance. 

We can all be a part of this fight here at home. The Defense Department is already using wind 

and solar power on many of our military bases. There is a bold DoD-wide goal to deploy three 

gigawatts ofrenewable energy (including solar, wind, biomass, and geothermal) on Army, Navy, 

and Air Force installations by 2025- enough to power 750,000 homes. 

The EPA's proposed carbon pollution standard complements the military's efforts to mitigate the 

devastating effects of climate change. These rules will encourage research and development of 

clean, renewable sources of power in the United States. This practical and achievable standard 

requires new coal-fired power plants to be 40-60% less carbon-intensive. Perhaps it would be 

easier not to worry about the environmental and security harm that dirty coal plants and other 

fossil-fuel-fired electric utility generating units (EGU) yield. But our country has never shrunk 

from a challenge, and we must serve as a leader in this fight. 

In closing, I would like to remind everyone that costs come in a variety of forms. As a current 

MBA candidate at the University of Chicago, I am aware that some of these costs will fail to 

show up on our nation's accounting books. Having patrolled the volatile streets of Baghdad and 

contributing to the logistical burdens that combat operations require, I can tell you that friends of 

mine came back with injuries that will never them. Some friends will never return. How do we 

account for that cost? Let me be absolutely clear: someone will pay for a lack of commitment to 

the transition away from these forms of energy. 

Thank you sincerely for the opportunity to speak this evening. As a veteran and a member of 

Operation Free, I am proud to be here in support of the EPA. Clean, renewable sources of 

energy are a key tenet in keeping America safe and strong. We have to treat this like a military 

campaign, and the proposed EPA standard is one significant Line of Effort toward securing 

America with clean energy. 

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