Going green and doing it for the troops, in Cyprus
“Going green” is a new defense tactic modern military: From the use of solar energy to power field re-chargers for communication equipment to finding new ways to supply troops with drinking water by moisture condensation from vehicle AC units. Armies going green is a new tactical offensive in warfare, especially when it means saving fuel and resulting in less need for fuel supply lines. Cyprus, a small EU island off the coast of Greece and Turkey is the latest army to join the trend. Their reasoning: It’s good for the young troops.
The Greek Cypriot National Guard is adopting eco-management policies set forth by the EU Commission’s European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS), according to the Cyprus Mail. They are the first EU army to do so.
Cypriot Defense Minister Demetris Eliadis says: “In an organized society with young people, applying environmental management schemes is an achievable target with real benefits to the environment and is especially important for the environmental consciousness of our recruits.”
The new eco camp, the Lieutenant General Stylianos Kalmbourdjis army camp, located in Delikipos near Larnaca, is incorporating a system of ecology managrment that includes energy and material efficiency, water consumption, waste management, biodiversity and control of greenhouse gas emissions.
Environment policies include training troops in ecology management policies and afterwards carrying out periodic audits to correct mistakes made in implementing these policies.
This military camp will be listed on the EMAS environmental database and will be be used as an example for other such bases. Some of the most noted green policies being followed are the use of photovoltaic or solar cells for creating electricity and the recycling of wastes, including the use of recycled water.
Recycling of water by military camps is also for the non-military as well. In an example in Israel’s Negev desert region, recycled waste water is being diverted to provide water for a small lake in a nature park.
More articles on militaries going green:
Army Sewage Irrigates Nature Park in Israel
Going Green is a Tactical Offensive in War
The IDF Adopts Solar Energy Field Rechargers in Army Practices
Image of grass army boots from Shutterstock
