Justine Jablonska/MEDILL
WASHINGTON – In 2003 in Iraq, Matt Victoriano was serving the first of two tours as a Marine scout sniper. Robin Eckstein was driving supply convoys for the Army’s First Armored Division in and around Baghdad.
Today, these veterans are on a new mission: To protect America by pushing for cleaner energy that would cut U.S. dependence on foreign oil.
As members of Operation Free – a coalition of veterans and national security organizations – they speak about the links between climate change, U.S. consumption of foreign oil and national security.
“We’ve been to Iraq. We’ve protected the fuel convoys. We’ve seen the cost to the lives of men and women in this country,” Victoriano said. “As veterans, we’re the most critical spokespeople for this message.”
To spread the message, Victoriano and Eckstein boarded a 40-foot, bright blue biodiesel bus in January. The bus has been touring the country since September, and is paid for by the Truman National Security Project, a nonprofit that calls for a progressive national security policy.
The Operation Free bus has visited 29 states and logged more than 26,000 biodiesel miles, usually holding one to two daily events that range from town hall meetings and interviews to meetings with politicians, said Jonathan Murray, advocacy director for Operation Free.
Although powered by biodiesel, the bus still produces emissions.
“We don’t have the ability to have an emissions-free bus yet,” Murray said. “But we try to counter that by buying carbon offsets.”
More than 500 veterans in 48 states support the campaign, Murray said. “As soon as we got [our message] out there, people were saying, ‘I was waiting for an organization like this.’”
The vets see climate change in military terms: It’s a threat multiplier.
“It makes bad things worse,” Eckstein explained. She said climate change causes drought, famine and flood, which – combined with political strife and unstable governments – create “breeding grounds for terrorists.”
Murray said Operation Free is taking its cue from the Department of Defense. In February, a major department policy report for the first time called climate change a destabilizing force.
According to the report, which comes out every four years, climate change is expected to increase weather-related hazards, resulting in “social and political destabilization, international conflict, or mass migrations.”
Victoriano said he joined the project to make sure that more Americans understand and support the need for energy reform.
What’s needed, the vets say, is comprehensive energy legislation in the Senate to match last year’s House energy legislation. They believe the new legislation would provide billions of dollars for clean energy and green jobs and that its importance to U.S. national security should transcend partisanship.
“When we’re serving in the military we’re not a Democrat or Republican or Independent,” Victoriano said. “The responsibility to keep everyone protected, to keep the economy strong, to keep the country strong is not a partisan issue. We all come together on that.”