Written by: Jason Jowers, MFT
In the OneOp blog post, Climate Resilience in Coastal Military Communities, we shared examples of some of the disaster preparedness work that professionals within the Defense Department (DOD) are doing to mitigate the impacts of natural disasters on coastal military communities. Through conservation work with the Coastal Resilience DOD Liaison Program, military leadership looks to safeguard not only the environment for wildlife but also the livelihoods of military service members and their families. Coastal military communities especially have been grappling with an array of issues—from surging sea levels to scorching heat waves—all exacerbated by the changing climate.
In recent years, the DOD has implemented a robust strategy to help military communities bounce back from natural disasters. The National Defense Authorization Act of 2019 required military installations to craft climate plans and to work with local communities against environmental threats. In 2021, the DOD developed the Climate Adaptation Plan and included strategies from each military branch to safeguard against hazards, extreme weather, and natural disasters related to climate change, including flooding, hurricanes, tornadoes, and heat waves.
As of March 2023, the DOD planned to invest funds to mitigate climate risk to enhance combat capability and installation resilience. “Installation Resilience and Adaptation – investments are focused on (1) adapting military facilities to withstand increasingly challenging conditions and deploying advanced technologies to strengthen the ability to rapidly recover from disruptions to public infrastructure; (2) improving installation energy, mission resilience, and water resilience; and (3) modernizing Department operations to keep pace with industry” (Enhancing Combat Capability-Mitigating Climate Risk, Department of Defense Budget Fiscal Year (FY) 2024). These funds will sustain projects within the military armed forces to build infrastructure and housing that is energy-efficient and resilient to natural and manmade hazards and disasters.
Current and Ongoing Work
Dr. Michelle Covi and her team at the Coastal Resilience DOD Liaison Program are working on interrelated issues, creating projects and plans to instill resilience in military installations and to help fund communities to plan for climate change. Dr. Covi’s role in both efforts is to support the coordination of funding organizations and key players within installations and communities to drive the implementation of these climate change plans. Implementations can include creating and protecting living shorelines, and conservation projects to preserve land that doesn’t impinge on missions but provides stable habitats and ecosystems, as well as provide recreation opportunities for the community.
Implementing all of these programs at military bases around the country involves local manpower. “This is where we plug in our military families. Because who lives in those communities? Military-connected families. Most service members and their families live off installation, in surrounding communities,” says Covi. Military service members and their families can not only benefit from these conservation projects but can also be a part of putting solutions into practice to benefit the local communities.
Much of Dr. Covi’s work is based on preparation, prevention, and conservation before a natural disaster occurs. It’s all about building resilience and infrastructure in case of emergencies. The ultimate goal is to make sure these things don’t happen or to mitigate the damage that response teams have to deal with during an active natural disaster. For more on Dr. Covi’s work, check out the articles: Climate Resilience and the Department of Defense & For the love of salt marshes: Michelle Covi fights for coastal resiliency.
Disaster and Hazard Readiness Resources
For more ways to help military families prepare for emergencies and disasters, here are a few resources. The Defense Department shares information on preparing for various types of natural disasters like hurricanes, flooding, wildfires, and tornadoes. In conjunction, Ready.gov is a fantastic resource for preparing and surviving in any type of extreme weather or circumstance. Finally, Military One Source and Military.com have unique web pages related to emergency preparation.
Resources
Covi, M. (2022). Best Practices and Guidance for Engaging with Military Installations for Climate Resilience in Defense Communities. University of Georgia Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant. https://gacoast.uga.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Best-Practices-Report_DOD.pdf
Defense Department (2023). Enhancing Combat Capability-Mitigating Climate Risk, Department of Defense Budget Fiscal Year (FY) 2024. https://comptroller.defense.gov/Portals/45/Documents/defbudget/FY2024/PB_FY2024_ECC-Mitigating_Combat_Capability.pdf
