The foam doesn’t come cheap. Under an initial contract of about $2.6 million, the group is insulating 81 tents and several gyms. With security improving, the program is evolving into a hybrid of security, economics and comfort.

Soldiers are delighted with the comfort. Master Sgt. Pleasant L. Lindsey III, a public affairs officer at Multi-National Corps headquarters, said he used to avoid the gym at Forward Operating Base Victory in Baghdad until 3 a.m., when it had cooled down. “It was a steam bath even with the fans blowing and the air conditioning,” Lindsey said. “Now, I use the gym during the day.”

Nolan says the price, which works out to about $30,000 a tent, is worth it. Preliminary data show that insulating tents can cut a base’s fuel use by 40 percent, he said. At $20 a gallon — the cost to deliver fuel to a base in Iraq — “that’s a lot of diesel that doesn’t need to be used,” Nolan said.

Meanwhile, Jette is looking for even more novel pathways to his ultimate dream: the zero-energy base.

There’s cooking oil, for example. A large base might throw out 475 gallons a week. That could produce 300 gallons of fuel and a lot of soap, he said.
-Doug Smith and Saif Rasheed (Los Angeles Times)