Climate Change Didn't Pause for COVID-19: Implications for Military Readiness

The document examines how the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change concurrently degrade the readiness of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). It highlights the financial and operational strain caused by severe weather, specifically citing the $3.6 billion in damages to Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune from Hurricane Florence. The author contends that the DoD should apply the same decisive adaptation strategies used to combat COVID-19 to mitigate long-term climate risks, such as recurrent flooding and wildfires, to ensure national security and deter adversaries.

• The Department of Defense (DoD) faces a compounding effect where COVID-19 accelerates existing readiness vulnerabilities caused by climate-driven events such as sea level rise, flooding, and wildfires.
• Climate change has caused billions of dollars in costs for the DoD over the last five years, with 79 critical military facilities identified in 2019 as vulnerable to drought, wildfires, and recurrent flooding.
• Hurricane Florence in 2018 caused $3.6 billion in damages to Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, affecting 913 military structures and significantly impacting training and deployments for a base that houses one-third of the Marine Corps' combat operating power.
• The author recommends that the DoD mitigate climate change impacts by implementing aggressive actions, including war gaming, resiliency strategies, risk assessments, and contingency planning.

APA

The Council on Strategic Risks (2020). Climate Change Didn't Pause for COVID-19: Implications for Military Readiness. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2020/05/18/climate-change-didnt-pause-for-covid-19-implications-for-military-readiness/

Chicago

The Council on Strategic Risks. Climate Change Didn't Pause for COVID-19: Implications for Military Readiness. 2020. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2020/05/18/climate-change-didnt-pause-for-covid-19-implications-for-military-readiness/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=The Council on Strategic Risks |title=Climate Change Didn't Pause for COVID-19: Implications for Military Readiness |date=18 May 2020 |url=https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2020/05/18/climate-change-didnt-pause-for-covid-19-implications-for-military-readiness/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{thecouncilonstrategicrisks2020climate, author = {{The Council on Strategic Risks}}, title = {{Climate Change Didn't Pause for COVID-19: Implications for Military Readiness}}, publisher = {The Council on Strategic Risks}, year = {2020}, month = may, url = {https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2020/05/18/climate-change-didnt-pause-for-covid-19-implications-for-military-readiness/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }