Seventeen selected officers, NCOs, and civilians working in the energy sector attended the EEMOC held in Vilnius, Lithuania in November 2021.

EAG and NATO Return to In-Person Instruction as the Energy Efficiency in Military Operations Course takes Place in Vilnius, Lithuania

By Elle Hancock, Faculty Associate – Research, Energy Academic Group

The Naval Postgraduate School’s Energy Academic Group (EAG) with the NATO Energy Security Center of Excellence came together in November 2021 to conduct NATO’s annual Energy Efficiency in Military Operations Course (EEMOC). This year’s course was a welcome return to in-person instruction in Vilnius, Lithuania, with seventeen selected officers, NCOs, and civilians working in the energy sector attending from seven different nations.     

EEMOC serves to raise awareness and knowledge regarding the importance of seeking energy efficient solutions in the military domain, particularly during military operations. The course introduced students to topics such as climate change, battery storage, innovative and renewable technologies, hybrid power generation, energy management planning, case studies, behavior change, and more. Participants also had the opportunity to visit local camps in the region and were challenged by the SPARK simulator to create an energy efficient camp. There was also the opportunity to develop participants’ understanding of energy efficiency via a wargame that focuses on generator use, renewable technologies, and alternative energy solutions related to expeditionary base camp power. Participants shared that this wargaming group work and the syndicate work developing an energy management plan were highlights of the course, as well as the multinational instructor staff, including subject matter experts from ENSEC COE, EAG, NATO Headquarters, SHAPE, Natural Resources Canada, and the Fraunhofer Institute of Chemical Technology as well as some industry specialists.     

EEMOC is slated to continue providing instruction to select participants annually and is constantly evolving in content, style, and delivery, adapting to feedback from former participants and to match the rapid emergence of new technologies and their integration into military operations. The next course is set to return to Vilnius 
May 23–27, 2022.