Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      Energy Action Month spotlights Airmen impacting operationsPublished Oct. 2, 2014
            **WASHINGTON (AFNS) --**October is Energy Action Month throughout the federal government and in the Air Force, Energy Action Month is the centerpiece of the “I am Air Force Energy” campaign dedicated to educating Airmen on ways they can maximize their energy efficiency and mission effectiveness.
The Air Force launched its month-long series of educational opportunities and activities with a letter to all Airmen from Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III and Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force James A. Cody. The leaders wrote, “Energy is a fundamental component of all Air Force operations. The smart use of energy means flying our aircraft farther, transporting more cargo and accomplishing our mission in a more efficient and effective way.”
Throughout October, the Air Force will share innovative ways in which Airmen and their families can make more energy-aware choices. These include turning off lights, limiting the time vehicles idle, shutting down unnecessary appliances and other equipment and observing energy efficient behavior on the job. Implementing these sorts of best practices can have a significant impact on reducing energy demand.
“Since fiscal year 2011, the Air Force has created a 10 percent increase in the distance we can carry a ton of cargo on a gallon of fuel, while simultaneously decreasing the related costs by more than 8 percent,” said Miranda Ballentine, the assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations, environment and energy. “This is one of many success stories driven by great suggestions from the field.”
Airmen can submit their energy ideas at the Airmen Powered by Innovation website.
Airmen have already greatly improved the Air Force’s energy efficiency during the last several years. In 2013, the 97th Air Mobility Wing at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma, implemented scheduling and airspace initiatives which resulted in $30 million saved. 
Their innovations include giving scheduling priority to their closest air refueling tracks and creating a racetrack re-attack route at their drop zone, which trimmed 18 minutes of flying time per sortie. Enterprise-wide, the Air Force nearly doubled the use of alternative fuel sources in ground vehicles in 2013, as compared to 2008, and it increased the percentage of energy capacity from renewable sources to 8 percent.
The Department of Energy recognized teams of Airmen from installations throughout the Air Force with eight of the Federal Energy Management Program awards. Of the 25 FEMP awards presented in 2014, 10 different government agencies were recognized, but none had more awardees than the Air Force. The eight Air Force winners included:
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson's Richard Hiatt and Griffith Turpin, who worked with the city of Anchorage, Alaska and Doyon Utilities to build a landfill gas waste-to-energy plant on the installation. For years, the city had collected and burned landfill gas, primarily methane, next to the base, and now it is used to generate more than 26 percent of the base's yearly electric need. The project is expected to save $73.6 million during its 46-year lifecycle.
The office of the assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations, environment and energy’s energy analysis task force in D.C., made up of Cols. Alan Sims, Col. Michael Smith, Lt. Col. Chip Bulger, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Havlicek and Lt. Col. Mark Lyons leveraged the expertise of 18 Air Force Reserve members to identify and embed six industry best practices across the service. One example was a partnership with Air Mobility Command to enhance cargo load processes that eliminated 1,044 sorties and saved $12.6 million in fuel.
The Air Force Space Command energy program team of Jim Jacobsen, Monie McVay, Randall Pieper, Tim Pugh and Fox Theriault at Peterson AFB, Colorado, focused on two top energy users – high-efficiency exterior lighting and vehicle fleet fuel. 
AFSPC connected Clear Air Force Station, Alaska, to the electric grid, saving $1.5 million annually; made upgrades to a power plant at Thule Air Base, Greenland saving 636,265 gallons of jet fuel and $2.6 million annually; and they saved $1 million annually by installing 6,600 LED lights, street and parking lot fixtures across the command. Finally, AFSPC was the first command to implement biodiesel use throughout its non-tactical fleet.
Steve Perry, energy manager at Royal Air Force Station Mildenhall, England, won for his holistic energy plan which incorporates energy best practices in aviation, vehicle and facility energy. The initiative saved $760,000 in 2013, by empowering facility managers with tools to benchmark usage and identify low-cost improvements. Perry also created the "Energy Saver of the Quarter Award," and a comic strip known as "The ReSOURCERS" to raise awareness across the Air Force via social media.
The Surfing Aircraft Vortices for Energy ($AVE) project team won for demonstrating improvements to both the performance and efficiency of aircraft.  It developed software allowing large aircraft to duplicate the flight patterns of migratory birds in order to achieve energy savings.  $AVE demonstrated the benefits during a July 2013 training mission when its software helped a two-ship C-17 Globemaster III formation save more than 10,000 lbs. of fuel during a round trip mission from California to Hawaii. 
Additional Air Force 2014 FEMP winners include teams at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.Energy Action Month 



environment 



SAF/PA 



AFPAA 



natural resources 



energy

Related Links
        Twitter - Air Force Energy
            
            Facebook - Air Force Energy
            
            Air Force Energy Office (SAF/IEN)
            
            Tri-signature Letter: Energy is a fundamental Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                Kendall, Allvin, Saltzman urge modernization while warning Senate of delayed budgets
                    
                    Readout of Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall’s travel to the Philippines
                    
                    Air Force senior leaders visit Eielson AFB
                    
                    Air Force leaders focus on ACE during Kadena AB visit
                    
                    USAF senior leaders visit Mariana Islands on ACE tripInnovation
                F-16s arrive to be modified for autonomous testing
                    
                    AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalistsMAJCOM News
                Cope Tiger concludes in Thailand
                    
                    Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil