Workshop 5: Resilient Installations and Fortified Construction

Colonel Travis K. Leighton is the Chief of the Air Force Civil Engineer Center Natural Disaster Recovery Division located at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. He leads an organization supporting a $6 billion, multi-year planning, programming, design, and construction effort to rebuild Tyndall following Hurricane Michael in 2018 and Offutt Air Force Base following a March 2019 flood.

After building a national non-profit organization, Echols ran for and was elected to statewide office in 2010 serving as Public Service Commissioner. His primary job is energy regulation. When Echols took office, Georgia was 34th in solar power. Now, 7 years later the state is 5th in the nation in approved solar.

Energy security is a key readiness enabler that ensures successful operations for communities and military installations, alike. This panel will discuss new strategies for distributed energy solutions to maintain critical services, while balancing the demands and constraints of the operation and the goals of CO2 reduction. Our experts will discuss how we increase resilience and reliability in power grids with new programs that leverage partnerships between community stakeholders, military installations, and other partners.

As we address the impacts of climate change, we see how extreme weather events impact our national security. Executive Order 14008, Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home & Abroad, established administration policy that climate considerations shall be an essential element of United States foreign policy & national security. For the Department of Defense, energy is an operational imperative and our dependence on traditional energy sources has increased vulnerabilities and poses a threat to military operations.

Adapting and modernizing our buildings and infrastructure are critical to creating a culture of resiliency. Leveraging advanced building systems and technologies and part of the solutions. This panel will discuss how we combine resource efficiency, onsite power supply through advanced microgrids, and innovative financing tools to achieve resiliency goals and mandates.

This expert panel explores the latest energy technologies and other solutions just beyond the horizon. Learn about new strategies to ensure resiliency and meet cyber security mandates.