Veterans in Advanced Energy Profile: Mike Henchen
/
mike henchen, 2020-2021 Veterans advanced energy fellow. click the button below to learn more about the fellowship.
Mike Henchen, a 2020-2021 Veterans Advanced Energy Fellow, searched fuel trucks for bombs as an Army officer in Bagram, Afghanistan. The military dependence on these fuel transports and danger to US soldiers helps inspire his work in the clean energy transition today. As told to Leah Emanuel.
Why did you join the military and what was your role?
It was a combination of being comfortable in the space, wanting a service opportunity, and the incredible financial opportunity that the Army offered. I grew up in an Army family, so I was very familiar with the Army and the lifestyle, from a child’s point of view at least. When I was graduating high school, I applied for college and the opportunity to get an ROTC scholarship was a big boost because it would cover my tuition.
In the Army, I was an engineer officer. I was deployed to Afghanistan in 2008 and 2009, and I was a platoon leader and company XO (Executive Officer). We ran security at the entry point of Bagram Airfield, which was the largest coalition base in Afghanistan. We were also responsible for patrolling and counterinsurgency operations in all the surrounding communities close to Bagram.
How did the military influence your career trajectory into energy?
HENCHEN in the Parwan Province, Afghanistan, in 2008, at a meeting between US Forces and local shura leaders
US military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq consumed a tremendous amount of fuel: diesel fuel and jet fuel and others. Our base was powered exclusively by diesel fuel. We were the big logistics hub, so fuel would come into our base on trucks and get loaded into these big containers which would then get lifted onto helicopters and transported to far-flung regions of Afghanistan. Our platoon’s job was to search all the trucks. The platoon preceding us, that we replaced, had been hit by a truck bomb in one of these trucks. So a huge portion of our effort, energy, and security concern was bringing in over 100 trucks filled with diesel fuel every single day. We had to search all of them, do the bomb dogs, and x-ray them. This was the end of a long journey: these trucks came from Karachi, Pakistan—over the Khyber pass. The US government was expending tremendous expense and security risk to get all of this fuel to us. Part of my experience was realizing, holy crap, if we could actually change the way the military uses energy to become less reliant on this fuel, it would not only save money but would be a tremendous relief on the security risks that our Soldiers were facing. That definitely stuck with me and influenced my thoughts about transitioning the way we use energy.
If we could actually change the way the military uses energy to become less reliant on this fuel, it would not only save money but would be a tremendous relief on the security risks that our Soldiers were facing
What are you most excited about in advanced energy developments, or, alternatively, what are you most concerned about?
I’m excited about the prospect of eliminating the burdens that burning fossil fuels impose on our society. I live in the Denver-Boulder area in Colorado where we violated the EPA clean air standards for at least a decade, probably longer. This is really driven by oil and gas production and use here locally. Everyday, in the summer at least, I see an air quality alert on my phone that there’s going to be high ozone levels and they encourage people not to drive. Day after day it’s the same thing. So I’m really excited about the prospect of cleaner air and healthier living for all of us as we shift the way we consume energy and the sources of it to enable a healthier lifestyle enjoying the clean air.
I’m really excited about the prospect of cleaner air and healthier living for all of us as we shift the way we consume energy and the sources of it to enable a healthier lifestyle enjoying the clean air.
Why is energy important to US national security?
We talked about the military piece: using energy efficiently or reducing the burden on our logistics processes and security processes is important for military operations. But even bigger picture: the transition away from a polluting economy towards a clean energy economy is critical because burning those fuels is driving global climate change and that is a destabilizing force. The Pentagon has rightly called it a threat multiplier around the world—driving displacement, migration, food insecurity, spread of disease, and any number of other challenges. We’re experiencing it here at home with increased natural disasters and health impacts. The transition away from a fuel that’s driving climate instability will minimize disruptions around the world, including geopolitical disruptions and the direct instances of natural disasters in our communities here in the United States. That’s the big objective—to achieve a carbon free economy that won’t exacerbate those destabilizing impacts.
Do you have advice you would like to share with other veterans?
Come join us. Energy is an exciting industry, it’s in a big transition. There’s new technologies, new businesses popping up all the time. There are a lot of reasons to seek out careers in this space whether you care about climate and the environment, exciting new technologies, or opportunities to grow a company and make money. It’s all here in the energy space. It’s a big industry and a big point of transformation that’s going to affect everybody’s lives. So jump in and seek out the connections and the career opportunities there.
What is your greatest takeaway from the Veterans Advanced Energy Fellowship?
What I see in the fellowship is a community of people who share this common thread of military experience; who share a culture, or a sense of mission and purpose in their lives; who have made the choice that energy is a space for them to devote their life and their career and their energies professionally. My takeaway is both motivation from seeing like-minded folks share the interests and the passion that I do, and a sense of community with those folks that I’ve gotten to know.
