WASHINGTON, D.C. — At military bases throughout the United States, soldiers are filling their gas tanks with biodiesel. Use of the environmentally friendly fuel at bases throughout the United States is growing rapidly. In 2003, the Marine Corps used 844,000 gallons of B-20 biodiesel, says retired Navy Cmdr. Leo Grassilli, a military biodiesel expert, according to Wired News. This year, Camp Pendleton and other nearby bases alone expect to use more than a million gallons. So far, the military is not running biodiesel in tanks or other equipment that could get sent into battle zones. Other military services are also turning to biodiesel. The naval station at Everett, Wash., has been running the fuel since 2001. So has Peterson Air Force Base near Colorado Springs, Colo. Biodiesel can be found on at least 40 more Air Force bases, according to the National Biodiesel Board. The Wired News reports that the military will use more than 6 million gallons of biodiesel this year, according to the Defense Energy Support Center, the government agency that supplies the military with fuel. However, the Navy and Marine Corps burn through nearly 2 billion gallons of diesel a year. One advantage of biodiesel is that it delivers the same performance as petroleum diesel, but is far less damaging to the environment.