A Systems Approach to Prepare Military Functions for Climate Change

Despite prolonged governmental disagreement on the topic of climate change, military departments have recently devised strategies with a climate-centric focus to enhance the resilience and sustainability of operations in anticipation of rapid environmental changes. While these strategies represent progress in acknowledging the serious impacts of climate change, limited understanding and disjointed efforts have resulted in unvalidated plans that mask true progress by prioritizing completion of tasks over measurement of performance. This paper advocates for improving strategies through a systems approach by using an interpretive integrative framework to evaluate environmental impacts on military operations. The outcomes will aid organizations to better identify and monitor necessary actions essential for climate change preparation and mitigation, resulting in sustainable operations and resilient forces prepared for geostrategic challenges, deteriorated security conditions, and increased demand for military resources.