Mission of Top Hawaii Marine: Energy Independence

U.S. Marine Corps

The military protects America with guns, planes and bombs. But those aren't the only tools our men and women in uniform use to secure national security interests. Solar panels, electric cars and biofuels are the wave of the future.

"We import a lot more oil than we produce, and most of the oil that we import is from unstable places in the world, and we send Marines and soldiers to fight in those places to ensure a free flow of oil," says Col. Robert Rice, the top Marine Corps commander in Hawaii.¹ "We're chasing energy all over the world instead of looking in our own backyard."

Dependence on foreign sources for energy is in Rice's "top three" list of factors that threaten America's security. Extremism is another, though there are obvious connections between terrorism and oil. He didn't name a third in an interview timed to coincide with Civil Beat's coverage of the meaning of Independence Day.

"I'm not sure if (energy) is the most important, but I think that it links itself to a lot of other things. If we can become energy independent of them, you don't have to go secure certain places or lines of communication for the import of oil," he said. "I think it's extremely urgent. I think if we keep our head in the sand, we're going to continue to have the same problems we're having."

One of Rice's goals is to make Marine Corps Base Hawaii totally self-sufficient with renewable energy by 2015. It's not just because he wants the Corps to save money or be good stewards of the fragile environment here, though those are factors. Being energy independent will be a boon for "national security from a strategic and tactical level," he said.

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