Research Professor Alex Beehler, who spent the last three years with the Environmental and Energy Management Institute, was confirmed earlier this year as the new Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment.
In his March 14, 2019 swearing-in ceremony in the Pentagon, Secretary of the Army Mark T. Esper said that, in his new position, Alex has responsibility for policy and oversight of all sustainability and environmental operations of the most impactful organization in the world.
According to a Department of Defense website, Alex is now responsible for policy and oversight of all sustainability and environmental initiatives throughout the entire 2.2 million-person U.S. Army. Those responsibilities include resource management including design, military construction, operations and maintenance; the Base Realignment and Closure program; privatization of Army family housing, lodging, real estate, and utilities; and the Army's installations safety and occupational health programs. Alex also now serves as the primary advisor to the Secretary of the Army on all U.S. Army matters related to installation policy, oversight and coordination of energy security and management.
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| Alex (center) with former Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Bob Dawson (left) and EEMI Co-Director Jonathan Deason (right) |
During his three years with the EEMI, Alex was very active in all areas of research, education and service. In the research area, he served as the Principal Investigator for a major research grant funded by the Clear Path Foundation and was instrumental in several other externally sponsored research grants. In the educational area, Alex was a key driver of the EEMI’s professional education program, a program that recently added online education to its array of face-to-face professional short courses. In the service area, Alex organized several state-of-the-art symposia on environmental and energy topics and actively participated in other service activities such as advising the Congress and Federal executive agencies, and serving as a subject matter expert on a number of key issues.
Before coming to EEMI, Alex was the President of Alex A. Beehler & Co., LLC, an independent environmental and energy consulting services company, and was a member of Earth and Water Law, LLC, a Washington, DC based environmental services and water resources law firm/consultancy.
Prior to those positions, Alex served as the Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Environment, Safety and Occupational Health) from 2004 to 2009, where he was the principal Department of Defense official for all environmental, safety, and occupational health policies and programs in DoD. Those programs included cleanup at active and closing bases, compliance with environmental laws, conservation of natural and cultural resources, pollution prevention, environmental technology, fire protection, safety and explosive safety, and pest management and disease control for Defense activities worldwide.
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| Alex testifies to the US Congress at his confirmation hearing |