• Air Conditioning the Military Costs More Than NASA’s Entire Budget
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[quote] [img]http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2011/06/shutterstock_4678354.jpg[/img] According to Steve Anderson, a retired brigadier general who served as Gen. Petraeus' chief logistician in Iraq, the Department of Defense spends $20 billion air conditioning tents and temporary structures for the military. That's more than NASA's entire $19 billion annual budget. That cost comes out of the fuel needed to heat and cool tents on the front lines. However, the trucks that transport this fuel have become targets for IEDs used by the insurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to Anderson, at least 1000 soldiers have been killed moving fuel. Anderson believes that a simple solution would be to instead spray tents with polyurethane foam, kind of like the foam sealant you would use in your own home. In fact, an active $95 million contract to insulate tents is producing $1 billion in cost avoidance, proving it's both safer and greener than air conditioning the desert. Doing this while also searching for other energy-efficient solutions would save both money and lives. Source [Gizmodo] The DOD just needs to hurry up and take on this kind of initiative. [The World via Grist, Image Credit: mumbojumbo / Shutterstock.com][/quote] :argh:
This is why we will never actually colonize another planet.
[QUOTE=Cheezy;30543145]This is why we will never actually colonize another planet.[/QUOTE] air conditioning on the moon. do it.
Holy shiit.
A comfortable soldier is a happy soldier though. And a happy soldier is a safe and productive soldier.
My only hope fast space advancement is either China or Japan. Mostly China.
To be fair, it's fucking hot everywhere the US Military is currently deployed. AC is a necessary creature comfort of modern society. This isn't all that scandalous or a big deal, it just goes to show how much of the military we've put there that we need that much air conditioning.
You try living dirty in the fucking desert. Air conditioning is almost required.
[QUOTE=Arachnidus;30543382]To be fair, it's fucking hot everywhere the US Military is currently deployed. AC is a necessary creature comfort of modern society. This isn't all that scandalous or a big deal, it just goes to show how much of the military we've put there that we need that much air conditioning.[/QUOTE] It is not like they get to chill out in a AC cooled environment all fucking day. The only time they get AC is more then likely when they go back to base. I don't know about you, the average temperature is like 110-120F in Afghanistan, and at night the temperature can drop drastically in to the negatives.
this is one of those required parts of war through. you may complain that it's expensive, but you can't send tens of thousands of soldiers into a desert and expect them to automatically adjust to the environment there. it's a necessity for shelter and survival. watch as people pin the blame on the U.S. army for making convoys that deliver supplies, and then complain when those aren't "guarded" enough.
Its a terrible way to wage war. Why don't they send in a massive force, completely crush all resistance then put a puppet regime in place/annex the nations if they so want to.
[QUOTE=aznz888;30543659]this is one of those required parts of war through. you may complain that it's expensive, but you can't send tens of thousands of soldiers into a desert and expect them to automatically adjust to the environment there. it's a necessity for shelter and survival. watch as people pin the blame on the U.S. army for making convoys that deliver supplies, and then complain when those aren't "guarded" enough.[/QUOTE] Why do we have 10s of thousands of soldiers in the desert in the first place. :colbert: Bin Laden is dead, the people don't want us there, and we are doing almost no good there for the most part anymore. We have sufficiently trained the local forces to the point where they can train themselves now, and our presence is just causing more bombings, attacks, and threats then not being there. The only goddamn reason we are there is fossil fuels, because the oil companies control the world and don't want any research into alternative fuels, since it would hurt their profit margins.
oh man air is 20 bil and nasa is 19 mil wahhhhh wahhh wahh wah
[QUOTE=Sobotnik;30543758]Its a terrible way to wage war. Why don't they send in a massive force, completely crush all resistance then put a puppet regime in place/annex the nations if they so want to.[/QUOTE] Because it would be far, far more expensive that what we're doing now. This is much more cost effective. :colbert:
I don't think we should be looking at this as "LETS TAKE THEIR AIR CON AWAY!" The point here is that if it costs $20 billion to provide air conditioning then there's no way $19 billion is enough to do anything significant in space. It's like spending $60 on a game and then saying "Now I want to go on holiday for less than that"
Let 'em roast. Fuckers. [editline]18th June 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=Sobotnik;30543758]Its a terrible way to wage war. Why don't they send in a massive force, completely crush all resistance then put a puppet regime in place/annex the nations if they so want to.[/QUOTE] Are you retarded? [editline]18th June 2011[/editline] I think that sort of attitude is why many Middle Eastern countries don't like us.
[QUOTE=MightyMax;30543306]A comfortable soldier is a happy soldier though. And a happy soldier is a safe and productive soldier.[/QUOTE] A comfortable and happy soldier won't risk his life as daringly as one who isn't. This is a pretty "tyrannical" thought, but sadly, has some truth to it...
[QUOTE=Trogdon;30543858]oh man air is 20 bil and nasa is 19 mil wahhhhh wahhh wahh wah[/QUOTE] [editline]18th June 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=PvtCupcakes;30544108]Let 'em roast. Fuckers. [editline]18th June 2011[/editline] Are you retarded? [editline]18th June 2011[/editline] I think that sort of attitude is why many Middle Eastern countries don't like us.[/QUOTE] end your existance tia
[QUOTE=MR-X;30543584]It is not like they get to chill out in a AC cooled environment all fucking day. The only time they get AC is more then likely when they go back to base. I don't know about you, the average temperature is like 110-120F in Afghanistan, and at night the temperature can drop drastically in to the negatives.[/QUOTE] To be fair, not all troops leave the base. Some stay there the whole time they're deployed. Some spending most their time inside tents or temporary structures. (my dad use to live in a literal cargo container house) While it does drop pretty cold at night, living inside a metal box or tent while it's 120 every day is good way to get heat exhaustion. Food contractors that handle the DFAC/food, or field hospital personnel need AC to survive. [editline]18th June 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=PvtCupcakes;30544108] Are you retarded? [editline]18th June 2011[/editline] I think that sort of attitude is why many Middle Eastern countries don't like us.[/QUOTE] Sobotnik is the totalitarian that no one takes seriously. Just laugh and move on.
[QUOTE=PvtCupcakes;30544108]Let 'em roast. Fuckers. [editline]18th June 2011[/editline] Are you retarded? [editline]18th June 2011[/editline] I think that sort of attitude is why many Middle Eastern countries don't like us.[/QUOTE] Ahaha oh wow, my sides! PvtCupcakes is here to show his fuck the military attitude.
[QUOTE=OvB;30544491]To be fair, not all troops leave the base. Some stay there the whole time they're deployed. Some spending most their time inside tents or temporary structures. (my dad use to live in a literal cargo container house) While it does drop pretty cold at night, living inside a metal box or tent while it's 120 every day is good way to get heat exhaustion. Food contractors that handle the DFAC/food, or field hospital personnel need AC to survive. [editline]18th June 2011[/editline] Sobotnik is the totalitarian that no one takes seriously. Just laugh and move on.[/QUOTE] No Sobotnik is just more practical this dumb version of waging war now a days is shit, his idea is way better.
I joined the military to protect the freedoms that we hold dear. Thank you private cupcakes. Thank you for exercising your right to free speech.
[QUOTE=Sobotnik;30543758]Its a terrible way to wage war. Why don't they send in a massive force, completely crush all resistance then put a puppet regime in place/annex the nations if they so want to.[/QUOTE] Why haven't we? Because we're not the Soviet Union.
[QUOTE=Sobotnik;30543758]Its a terrible way to wage war. Why don't they send in a massive force, completely crush all resistance then put a puppet regime in place/annex the nations if they so want to.[/QUOTE] Because that's completely retarded and physically impossible?
[QUOTE=Sobotnik;30543758]Its a terrible way to wage war. Why don't they send in a massive force, completely crush all resistance then put a puppet regime in place/annex the nations if they so want to.[/QUOTE] Not before the last petrolium drop finishes.
Isn't there a cheaper way for them to power the heaters/air conditioners? Bunch of solar panels or something?
[QUOTE=Murkrow;30545511]Because that's completely retarded and physically impossible?[/QUOTE] That's how the proper nations did war. They would make the area they conquered part of their own nation.
[QUOTE=PvtCupcakes;30544108]Let 'em roast. Fuckers. [editline]18th June 2011[/editline] Are you retarded? [editline]18th June 2011[/editline] I think that sort of attitude is why many Middle Eastern countries don't like us.[/QUOTE] For the person that despises war so much, he always seems to have a militant, war-like attitude towards those that part take in those activities. But hey, I can't see much behind a computer monitor. His youtube video helps a lot though.
To all the people saying things like "They don't need air conditioning", etc: If you were in their spot and they stopped using the AC then you would be whining your ass off in the heat.
[QUOTE=Ninja Duck;30546705]To all the people saying things like "They don't need air conditioning", etc: If you were in their spot and they stopped using the AC then you would be whining your ass off in the heat.[/QUOTE] They'd be whining their ass off in the heat even IF they had AC. Not to mention all the gear they have to wear.
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