Climate Change: Risks for National Security

Today, the U.S. Navy is preparing for an open Arctic, the Marines are deploying in response to historic typhoons, and the Army is preparing its bases to use less energy than they produce.

Climate change is already a major consideration for US military planners. Meanwhile, American politicians continue to ignore the issue.

Join us for a discussion with senior flag officers as they discuss the steps the US military has taken and future implications for our national security.

Speakers

Brigadier General Stephen A. Cheney, USMC (Ret.)

Brigadier General Cheney is the Chief Executive Officer of the American Security Project (ASP). He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and has over 30 years experience as a Marine.  His career included a wide variety of command and staff positions with the operating forces and the supporting establishment.  His primary specialty was artillery, but he focused extensively on entry-level training, commanding at every echelon at both Marine Corps Recruit Depots, to include being the Commanding General at Parris Island.  He served several years in Japan and has traveled extensively throughout the Middle East and Asia

Other selected highlights of his military career include tours as Deputy Executive Secretary to Defense Secretaries Cheney and Aspin; ground plans officer for Drug Enforcement Policy in the Pentagon; liaison to the Congressional Commission on Roles and Missions of the Armed Forces; and Inspector General of the Marine Corps.

Following retirement from the Marines, he became the Chief Operating Officer for Business Executives for National Security (BENS), in Washington, D.C., and most recently was President/CEO of the Marine Military Academy in Harlingen, Texas.

Major General Paul D. Eaton, USA (Ret.)

Since retirement from the US Army in 2006 after 33 years service, Major General Paul D. Eaton has actively engaged in the recent Presidential campaign and currently serves as Senior Advisor to the National Security Network. His Army assignments include Infantry command from the company to brigade levels and command of the Infantry Center at Fort Benning and Chief of Infantry.

His most recent operational assignment was Commanding General of the command charged with reestablishing Iraqi Security Forces 2003-2004, where he built the command and established the structure and infrastructure for the Iraqi Armed Forces and Interior Ministry security forces. Other operational assignments include Somalia, Bosnia and Albania. Other assignments include the Joint Staff, Deputy Commanding General for Transformation and Stryker Unit Development and Assistant Professor and head of the French Department at West Point. He is a 1972 graduate of West Point, married to PJ Eaton and father to sons Shane and Joshua, and daughter Gina, all Soldiers.

Andrew Holland

Andrew Holland is the American Security Project’s Senior Fellow for Energy and Climate. He is a Washington-based expert on energy, climate change, and infrastructure policy. He has over seven years of experience working at the center of debates about how to achieve sustainable energy security and how to effectively address climate change.

Prior to moving into the Think Tank world, he was a Legislative Assistant on Energy, Environment, and Infrastructure for United States Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska from 2006 through 2008.  He also has experience working in the US House of Representatives for the House Ways and Means Committee and the Office of Congresswoman Roukema.

He holds a Master’s Degree in International Strategy and Economics from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and a  Bachelor’s Degree in History and Economics from Wake Forest University in North Carolina.

Resources:

National Security and Climate Change

Security Impacts of Climate Change

Pay Now, Pay Later: A State-by-State Assessment of the Costs of Climate Change

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