Quo Vadis Sustainable Military Operations?

Abstract

Nowadays a well-prepared army must be able not just to rapidly deploy and fight with success but also to sustain itself for a certain period in a challenging environment.For this reason, there is no question that sustainability plays a crucial role in military operations. In addition to sustainability, there are other aspects, like reducing costs and environmental protection, which are associated as well with military activities accompanying the technology development. Sustainable development seems to be a magic expression and stands at the head of the most interesting and researched questions of all societies and organizations of science, and the army is not an exception to this tendency. The high energy consumption of modern military technology and equipment is widely known. Energy for the equipment, water for the personnel, and for both waste management. This paper examines how these ambitions, energy security and sustainability take shape in military operations.