Since 2006, the Department of Defense (DOD) has been aggressively facilitating an interagency environment in the Combatant Command (COCOM) headquarters. Many of the commands have taken the lead within their respective Areas of Responsibility (AOR) by bringing on-board agency representatives from the Departments of State, Treasury, Homeland Security, and other Federal partners with sector specific knowledge. In an effort to meet this critical need, ISER is coordinating and executing interagency support agreements with the COCOMs to assign a DOE representative — a DOE Energy Advisor — to each command headquarters.
Energy is a strategic asset and a cornerstone of planning and logistics for DOD, highlighting the need for a DOE expert on the COCOM staff. With direct access to the entire range of DOE resources and expertise, DOE Energy Advisors provide a wide range of support, reporting, and analysis, as well as critical reach back to the various offices and DOE national laboratories. As an integrator and facilitator, DOE Energy Advisors provide strategic energy advice to the COCOM leadership, coordinate the transfer of technical expertise from DOE to COCOMs, address operational and installation energy issues , while also helping build the capacities of AOR partner nations to secure their critical energy infrastructure system.