University of South Dakota students LeighAnn Dunn and Eric Gage both served in the South Dakota National Guard overseas and it was during their service they decided to commit to another battle: climate change.
They have helped start a new “green” group in South Dakota. But it isn’t the typical environmental group. Instead, it consists entirely of war veterans, mostly from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and focuses on how climate change relates to national security. The South Dakota Chapter of Operation Free launched in August 2009.
Operation Free is a nation-wide coalition of national security groups and veterans organizations fighting to reduce America’s dependence on oil. The organizations include The Truman National Security Project, VoteVets.org, National Security Network and others.
According to Dunn, one of the founding members of the South Dakota chapter, its mission is, “bringing awareness to national security and climate change and securing America through renewable energy.”
“In South Dakota, talking about how we can economically gain from green energy and how we can provide good, clean jobs,” Dunn said.
USD professor Dr. Mark Sweeney is excited a group like Operation Free has made its way to South Dakota.
“I am a big supporter of Operation Free. Scientists often have a hard time communicating with the public – our messages often get lost in the jargon,” Sweeney said in an email. “Operation Free is essentially spreading the message that we need to not be wasteful when it comes to energy use and that it is in our country’s best interest to become independent on foreign energy supplies. If we can become more reliant on renewable energy, our country will be safer, and the added bonus is we cut greenhouse gas emissions to minimize the effects of climate change.”
Dunn, a Pierre native, is a nine-year, Iraq veteran of the Army Guard and a graduate student at USD. At school, Dunn learned about Operation Free and decided to help start the South Dakota chapter. She said the social networking site Facebook was instrumental in forming Operation Free.
“Facebook has provided a big community for us to connect to,” said Dunn, who is also active in the USD’s Veteran Club. “Cheers to Facebook.”
Her time in Iraq highlighted the importance of the United States needing to cut down its use of oil, she said. Dunn remembers seeing cars lined up for miles waiting for the chance to get gas and the security threat that posed.
“Society was disrupted over there,” Dunn said. “What if that happens to us? Who gets priority? Who makes that decision to get fuel?”
“Our answer is creating clean, renewable energy,” Dunn said.
Members of Operation Free speak at event in Sioux Falls held this fall. (Courtesy of Operation Free)
Operation Free continues to grow and add new members like Gage, a veteran of the South Dakota Air Guard 114th Security Forces.
Gage has been in the guard nine years. He spent six of those years activated, working on eight bases around the world, including four state side and four overseas. He returned to South Dakota in the summer of 2009 and is currently enrolled at USD, where he is active in the Veteran’s Club, where discovered Operation Free.
“Immediately I latched onto it,” the Sioux Falls native said. “Once I heard the basic premise I immediately wanted more information.”
In Gage’s time overseas he saw firsthand the dangers of relying on oil. He recalls hearing a story of a villager in Afghanistan selling one of his children in order to feed the rest of his children.
“That’s just heartbreaking,” Gage said. “If a man is so desperate to sell one of his children to keep his family alive, what else is he willing to do?”
It was that story, Gage said, that made him realize the extremes people will go to in the Middle East. He said being a suicide bomber or planting explosive devices doesn’t seem too outlandish in comparison.
Gage also learned of the strategic importance of oil when fighting a war. He said the two most important things the military needs to conduct a war are oil and water.
“How much sense does it make to get something we need (oil) to protect ourselves from another country?” he asked. “Shifting away from foreign oil to renewable energy would make America stronger, not only security but economically.”
Dunn said the group receives a good response wherever the go, “because we talk about one, serving our country, and two, we talk about protecting our country.”
Sweeny understands why Operation Free might succeed where other groups have failed.
“People who have fought for our country have a unique perspective on our national security that most others do not,” he said. “I think when a veteran says that we need to cut our dependence on foreign oil, people listen.
“I’m glad to see a group like this working in South Dakota. Since South Dakota is primarily rural and has a low population, some groups might pass us by. But people in South Dakota need to hear this message, too. South Dakota has the potential to play a large role in renewable energy, especially wind power, so having Operation Free here in South Dakota to get the word out means that more people can rally behind the idea of renewable energy, and make it happen here.”
An Operation Free national bus tour will visit 11 South Dakota cities beginning Feb. 26 and ending March 2. Stops include Rapid City, Pierre, Huron, Aberdeen, Sioux Falls and Vermillion. The bus will also pass through North Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois and Ohio.
For more information on the tour and it’s corresponding events or Operation Free, visit its website www.operationfree.net.
Top photo: Eric Gage speaks at a Operation Free event. (Courtesy of Operation Free)
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Veterans advocating for renewable energy by Brian Kimmes http://tinyurl.com/yj7ufdw http://bit.ly/dg7OFU
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Check out this interesting article by Brian Kimmes at The Post SD: RT @thepostsd Veterans advocating for renewable energy http://bt.io/EXWb
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Veterans advocating for renewable energy — The Post SD: University of South Dakota students LeighAnn Dunn and Eric… http://bit.ly/a4hiWs
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Veterans advocating for renewable energy — The Post SD http://bit.ly/aPk1xe
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Veterans advocating for renewable energy — The Post SD http://bit.ly/bnnuDO
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Glorious indeed: Check out my glorious return to writing, as well as other cool stories http://tinyurl.com/yj7ufdw /via @The_Kimmes
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