SBCT Final EIS - Govsupport.us

Chapter 1 ⎯ Purpose and Needstructure for vehicles and equipment. In addition, the SBCT requires considerable training space tosupport its increased maneuver capabilities. Without these resources, the SBCT cannot attain thereadiness levels needed to ensure the successful accomplishment of its national defense and securitymissions.The 2/25 th began its transformation to an SBCT shortly after completion of the 2004 FEIS and signingof the ROD to proceed with the transformation. In October of 2006, the U.S. Court of Appeals for theNinth Circuit determined that the Army had not fully complied with the National Environmental PolicyAct (NEPA) for the transformation of the 2/25 th because it did not adequately address or analyzepotentially reasonable alternative locations for the transformation and training of this unit. In particular,the Court concluded that the Army had a duty under NEPA to consider locations other than Hawaiifor the permanent stationing of the 2/25 th SBCT, and it ordered the Army to prepare a supplementalEIS to address a full range of alternatives. The Court permitted the Army to continue equipmentfielding and limited training in order to prepare the SBCT for deployment in late 2007. As ofNovember 2007, the Brigade had completed almost all equipment fielding as an SBCT unit and hadcompleted those training tasks in Hawaii permitted by Court ruling. The unit completed the rest of itstraining certifications during an extended training rotation at the National Training Center (NTC) atFort Irwin, California and the Southern California Logistics Area. The SBCT has deployed from Hawaiito meet the ongoing operational requirements and it is scheduled to return to a permanent stationinglocation in early 2009.The Army has prepared this EIS in accordance with the Court’s guidance to examine a broader rangeof reasonable alternatives for the Proposed Action of permanently stationing the 2/25 th SBCT. ThisEIS examines alternative Army installations capable of supporting the permanent stationing of the2/25 th SBCT. The EIS provides the Army senior leadership with a hard look at environmental impactsassociated with selecting a home station for the 2/25 th SBCT and it better informs the decisionmakingprocess for selecting the final stationing location. This effort includes analysis of all activities(equipment fielding, training, facilities construction, and Soldier and Family support) required to stationthe 2/25 th permanently. This EIS effort will assist the Army in arriving at a decision for the permanentstationing of the SBCT in a location that can accommodate the Brigade’s training and qualityof life requirements while meeting the strategic needs and national security requirements of theUnited States (U.S.). The EIS will simultaneously allow the Army to consider the social, economic,and environmental impacts related to the 2/25 th stationing action.1.2 NEED FOR THE PROPOSED ACTIONThis section presents and discusses the Army’s needs for the permanent stationing of the 2/25 thSBCT. This discussion references several underlying source documents that must be discussed in orderto place the full need and purpose for the permanent stationing of the 2/25 th in its proper context.Source documents referenced in this section include the National Security Strategy (NSS), the NationalDefense Strategy (NDS), the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) (2006), and the Army CampaignPlan (ACP). The permanent stationing of the SBCT must meet the requirements defined inthese national defense policy documents, which lay the framework for national defense strategy anddefine the nation’s strategic goals and objectives. In addition, the action to station the 2/25 th SBCTpermanently must be considered in the context of several major ongoing transformation and stationinginitiatives. These initiatives include Army modular transformation to standardized unit organizationsand those moves directed by the Base Realignment and Closure Act of 2005 (BRAC) andGlobal Defense Posture Realignment (GDPR).February 2008 1-2 2/25th SBCT Final EIS