This paper examines the US military's impact on climate by analysing the geopolitical ecology of its global logistical supply chains. Our geopolitical ecology framework interrogates the material-ecological metabolic flows (hydrocarbon-based fuels, water, sand, concrete) that shape geopolitical and geoeconomic power relations. We argue that to account for the US military as a major climate actor, one must understand the logistical supply chain that makes its acquisition and consumption of hydrocarbon-based fuels possible. Our paper focuses on the US Defense Logistics Agency - Energy (DLA-E), a large yet virtually unresearched sub-agency within the US Department of Defense. The DLA-E is the primary purchase-point for hydrocarbon-based fuels for the US military, as well as a powerful actor in the global oil market. After outlining our geopolitical ecology approach, we detail the scope of the DLA-E's operations, its supply chain, bureaucratic practices, and the physical infrastructure that facilitates the US military's consumption of hydro-based carbons on a global scale. We show several "path dependencies" - warfighting paradigms, weapons systems, bureaucratic requirements, and waste - that are put in place by military supply chains and undergird a heavy reliance on carbon-based fuels by the US military for years to come. The paper, based on comprehensive records of bulk fuel purchases we have gathered from DLA-E through Freedom of Information Act requests, represents a partial yet robust picture of the geopolitical ecology of American imperialism.
