Energy Awareness Month; Let’s Do Our Part Published Sept. 30, 2010 By Brig. Gen. Ed Wilson Commander, 45th Space Wing Patrick AFB, Fla. -- We are pleased to announce the 29th Annual Federal Energy Awareness Month Campaign begins today. The Air Force theme for this year's campaign is "Think Green, Build Green, Fly Blue." This theme emphasizes the importance that sustainability principles need to be included in the daily execution of our mission to Fly, Fight and Win. But what is sustainability? Cutting to the chase, the Air Force defines it as the "capacity to continue our mission without compromise." In other words, it's our ability to operate well into the future without decline - either in mission or the natural and manmade systems that support it. Think Green. When was the last time each of us stopped to think how much energy we use to do our jobs? Throughout our Air Force, literally thousands of dedicated Airmen are looking at their missions and organizations to identify ways to eliminate inefficiency and waste. Based on these efforts, it's become crystal clear that we must begin thinking of energy as a critical "operations enabler." Without it, Air Force missions will be put in jeopardy. Build Green. Our Civil Engineers are hard at work developing and implementing strategies to transform Patrick, Cape Canaveral and our downrange sites into sustainable, energy efficient bases. Over the coming months, they will be visiting facilities throughout the wing to conduct space use studies, facility condition assessments, as well as energy audits. These efforts will be used to develop projects to improve facility use and maximize energy performance. This is an important effort for the wing, so please support them when they visit your work areas. Fly Blue. In 2009, the 45th Space Wing spent over $24 million on our energy bills. By anyone's standard, this is serious money! By pitching in to do your part to reduce energy consumption, our wing could easily meet the Air Force goal and reduce energy use 3% per year through 2015. This would translate to an annual savings of more than $2 million per year in energy use after 2015. As a taxpayer myself, this is some serious savings! Perhaps Undersecretary of the Air Force Erin C. Conaton said it best, "All of us, from the Air Staff to Airmen at home or deployed, must learn to think of energy as part of maximizing mission effectiveness." So remember, "Think Green, Build Green, Fly Blue." And thanks for all you do.