SBCT Final EIS - Govsupport.us

Executive Summarytional, shopping, and other quality of life facilities; and the utilities required to meet the trainingand operational requirements of the 2/25 th SBCT and to support a high quality of life for its Soldiersand Families.2) Training Facilities and Range Construction – This activity group includes the constructionof any additional training ranges and training facilities needed to support the 2/25 th SBCT. Theimplementation of Army Transformation, as directed by the QDR has required the Army to overhauland modernize its training range and training facilities infrastructure. TC 25–8, TrainingRanges, describes the standard designs and requirements of the Army’s Sustainable Range Programfor training modular Army units to standard. In addition to the suite of upgraded ranges thatare now required for all modular units, the SBCT requires a range designed specially to testSBCT unit capabilities. That range, the BAX, is a 2.4-kilometer (km) by 4-km vehicle assaultrange. A detailed list and description of training ranges and capabilities required to support thetraining requirements of the SBCT are provided in this section.3) Live-Fire Range Use – Live-fire training is an essential component of Army training. To beoperationally effective, Soldiers must have the skills and experience necessary to operate andmaintain their weapons. Live fire involves both munitions and explosives that would be used incombat and non-explosive training rounds designed to meet Soldiers’ training needs. Soldiersmust “train as they fight” to ensure their safety in combat situations. At a minimum, all Soldiersin the 2/25 th SBCT must qualify on individual and crew/vehicle weapons at least twice per year.In addition, platoons, companies, and battalions of the 2/25 th must conduct collective live-firetraining exercises on firing ranges to ensure they have rehearsed and coordinated battle proceduresand are prepared to deploy to support wartime operations. Crews, squads, and platoonswould conduct collective training qualifications at least once every six months.The SBCT is authorized considerably more training munitions than the IBCT or the 2/25 th ID (L).Approximately 70 percent of this increase in training ammunition is attributable to increasedammunition requirements for 5.5-mm caliber ammunition used to qualify Soldiers on their M–16and M–4 rifles. In addition to increased rifle rounds, the SBCT fires more machine gun roundsbecause each Stryker vehicle is accompanied by a .50-caliber machine gun or other weapon system.All rounds and munitions would be fired on approved Army ranges.Various weapons systems use different types of munitions. When practicable, some weapons systemsuse rounds of lesser environmental impact. These rounds include inert or nonexplosive trainingrounds and stainless steel training rounds.4) Maneuver Training Land Use – Army BCTs and the units that comprise them must conductregular “combined-arms” training certifications to ensure that all of the units’ capabilities can beintegrated and synchronized to execute missions under stressful operational conditions. Maneuvertraining consists of subordinate SBCT units working together to integrate and bring together theircombined capabilities and skills as a larger unit to carry out a mission. SBCTs, including the2/25 th SBCT, must conduct and rehearse maneuver training at every echelon from platoonthrough brigade level to ensure they can accomplish their mission-critical tasks. Effective maneuvertraining of the SBCT requires considerable maneuver space to ensure SBCT proficiency andthe unit’s operational readiness.To support SBCT training, each platoon, company, battalion, and brigade must conduct maneuverevents to ensure the operational capabilities of the SBCT. Each platoon and company must trainup to 5 weeks per year to meet maneuver-training requirements. In addition, each battalion mustconduct semi-annual maneuvers that last approximately 4 to 6 weeks per year to certify its subor-February 2008 xix 2/25th SBCT Final EIS