Austere expeditionary habits cease in many cases when Marine forces become a 'second land army' aboard large Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) in Afghanistan. There, excessive energy usage due to inefficient equipment and wasteful energy habits results in long, tenuous supply lines through miles of neighboring Pakistan. The convoys carrying these supplies are at constant risk of attack. Payments made to local warlords for convoy protection often end up in the hands of Taliban fighters, fueling their efforts and damaging COIN strategy. These bloodlines support a finite number of troops at current FOB consumption levels. As troop levels increase in theater, resupply challenges increase and commanders may experience limited operational flexibility due to logistics strains. The solution involves a combination of the following: knowledge and leadership; elimination of key, non-essential excesses; remedies to current power generation and distribution configuration problems; appropriate monitoring and enforcement of electricity demands on FOBs; and technological upgrades to shelters and power generation on FOBs and Combat Outposts (COPs).
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