February 26, 2026
Ducking Climate Science Is a Danger to the U.S. Military. Congress Must Help.
This article was originally published in Breaking Defense.
The Trump Administration’s recent decision to revoke the EPA “endangerment finding” is emblematic of a trend in American politics — to ignore science when it makes people uncomfortable. But turning a blind eye doesn’t change the fact that climate change is happening — and that it’s impacting the US military’s mission to keep Americans safe.
Each year, military installations see destruction to facilities and training ranges from wildfires, storms, and floods that Congress doesn’t bail out.
As the former Senior Climate Advisor to the US Army, I saw directly how climate change is eroding military readiness and endangering our warfighters. Wildfires are threatening our bases in the West, with air quality deteriorating around those facilities. In the southeast, the number of “Black Flag” days where it’s simply too hot and humid to safely train is increasing, impacting unit readiness. Severe flooding is hitting coastal cities and inland communities, from the Great Plains to the Carolinas, putting troops, families and civilians at risk. And across the country, extreme weather is straining the commercial electric grid that is vital to powering our installations, surrounding communities, and the defense industrial base.
Read the full article in Breaking Defense.
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