Last month marked the 100th anniversary of the armistice ending World War I, appropriately recognized by a wave of commentaries observing the unprecedented sacrifice, and the geopolitical impacts still reverberating today. There is no shortage of lessons still relevant from The Great War – including the centrality of energy to national security.

In the words of energy historian Daniel Yergin, World War I was “the first war to run on oil.” When fighting started in 1914, Yergin writes, logistical planning centered on supplying three horses for every man. By the end, British and American forces included more than 100,000 trucks and, crucially, an American-designed innovation: the tank. Providing armored protection for soldiers crossing the no-man’s land between trenches, tanks turned the tide – in combination with the U.S.-supplied oil that powered them.

Granted, no one is suggesting the Pentagon go back to basing defense strategy on horses. So what’s the lesson? As usual, Winston Churchill put it best: "Safety and certainty in oil lie in variety and variety alone." Then first lord of the Admiralty, Churchill was trying to persuade the British Navy to look beyond locally produced coal to embrace the overseas oil that would win the war. But the same principle applies to U.S. failure to take full advantage of offshore oil and natural gas resources.

Fueled by advanced technology, U.S. producers are setting records. But the American energy revolution is primarily an onshore phenomenon. Government policy keeps 94 percent of federally controlled offshore acreage off limits to energy development, leaving promising resource basins in the Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic and half the Gulf of Mexico locked away.

The one area where development is allowed suggests what we’re missing. One limited section of the Gulf of Mexico supplies 1.6 million barrels of oil per day. That’s about 15 percent of our total crude production. Government estimates indicate there could be billions of barrels of oil, and natural gas supply measuring in the trillions, in restricted offshore areas.

It is a fact that we’ll need more energy. Projections show natural gas and oil will supply an estimated 60 percent of U.S. energy needs in 2040, even under optimistic scenarios for renewables. Where do we want that energy to come from – our own territory, or overseas nations who share neither our democratic values nor our strict safety and environmental standards?

Not only are U.S. safety practices the world’s gold standard, but offshore exploration is safer than it’s ever been. When Americans see a challenge – whether it’s winning a world war or flying to the moon – we mobilize our best experts, deploy our best technology, and find solutions. We applied the same all-hands-on-deck approach after the 2010 accident in the Gulf of Mexico. Joint efforts from government regulators and industry transformed offshore practices, creating or strengthening more than 100 safety standards.

Critics of the Trump administration’s proposal to expand offshore exploration rarely acknowledge the major safety advancement of the last decade, but it’s essential to the conversation.

Also essential: recognizing that offshore exploration is a vital component of U.S. energy security. Supplying more of our own energy makes us less vulnerable to overseas disruptions. And it strengthens our geopolitical influence. The growing reach of U.S. energy exports shows how. For decades, European allies have been perilously dependent on Russia for natural gas supplies – a vulnerable position given the Kremlin’s history of wielding energy as a political weapon.

Thanks to abundant U.S. natural gas production, our allies are building terminals to import U.S. energy and, with it, greater security. We are safer when our allies are safer – not to mention, the more market share we claim, the less revenue Moscow will have to fund anti-democratic activities around the globe.

Instead, developing offshore resources can generate revenue, and jobs, here at home. The latest studies show energy development in the Atlantic and Eastern Gulf of Mexico could contribute tens of thousands of jobs and $1 billion to $2 billion in tax revenue per state in Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia within 20 years.

The Interior Department reevaluates offshore leasing policy in five-year plans, but the decisions impact U.S. energy security for decades – even generations. The Trump administration’s plan to expand safe, responsible offshore development is in America’s national interest. Churchill had it right 100 years ago. When it comes to energy and national security, variety is essential. In 2018, that means developing U.S. resources, onshore and offshore.

Lt. Col. Dennis Freytes USA (ret.) is a Member of the Florida Veterans Hall of Fame and the Florida State Chairman, Vets4Energy.