SBCT Final EIS - Govsupport.us

Chapter 1 ⎯ Purpose and NeedACP to direct the implementation of many of the QDR recommendations to transform the nation’sArmy into a force that is more relevant to 21 st Century security needs and global defense realities.The ACP directs the detailed planning, preparation, and execution of a range of tasks necessary tobuild a high-quality Army that will be effective in the 21 st Century while providing capabilities necessaryfor combatant commanders to carry out missions to support the nation’s defense. In particular,the QDR and ACP call for the transformation of the Army to a force that is well networked and canoperate in a decentralized fashion. The ACP and QDR direct the Army to transform to a highly expeditionaryforce, or one that is capable of supporting itself in a combat environment without dependingon continual supply and logistics support. This force should be able to sustain itself and its operationswhile being highly mobile, deployable, and agile in response to decentralized contingencies and unconventionalenemy operations. In addition, the QDR directed the Army to integrate with U.S. AirForce, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard capabilities to provide greater inter-operability andcommunication to enhance defense capability. The SBCT and its enhanced communications capabilitiesprovide for this increased joint service inter-operability.On July 12, 2001, Secretary of the Army Thomas White and Army Chief of Staff General Shinsekiannounced the tentative locations and current units to be transformed for the third through sixth interimBCTs. The decision was conditional upon completion of the programmatic EIS. The 2/25 th inHawaii was designated in this announcement. Secretary White stated that the objective was “to keepthe Army forces [more] strategically responsive than we’ve been in the past and dominant at everypoint in the spectrum of military operations.” General Shinseki added, “I would say if you look at thebrigade identifications and locations, geographically they’re postured towards the Asia Pacific theatre,but worldwide deployable. They could go in any direction. If you look at our experience comingout of the Cold War, we were very much postured forward in Europe and we continue to be that way.This is adding a little balance and looking at the importance, the growing interest and challenges inthe Asia Pacific Theater, and in the Pacific, it is the tyranny of distances. So we think these are allgood locations that we’ve picked.” In this case, tyranny of distances refers to the challenge of respondingrapidly and effectively to contingencies in the huge area covered by the Pacific Rim.In April 2002, the Army completed a programmatic EIS that assessed and evaluated the broad environmentalimpacts of whether or not to transform the U.S. Army. In the ROD, the Army selected theProposed Action to proceed with a long-term initiative to transform its forces and operations in accordancewith the vision of its leadership, the changing global security environment, and the defenseand security policies of the nation. The EIS for Army transformation describes a formidable processspanning a projected 30-year time frame defined by three distinct phases. These phases were definedas the initial, interim capability and objective capability phases. The initial phase of transformationbegan with the post cold war Army of 2001 in its existing force structure while the Army began testingthe capabilities of the first two interim BCTs, and their ability to fulfill the vision for defenseforces articulated in the QDR. These BCTs were designed to provide greater deployability, battlefieldmobility, protection, communications capability, and firepower to U.S. ground forces in accordancewith the recommendations of security and defense policy requirements. As part of the initial phase,the Army began the modularization or standardization of its conventional infantry and heavy BCTs,which was also directed by the QDR in 2001.In addition, the 2002 ROD selected the 2/25 th in Hawaii as one of the units to transform to an interimBCT (later designated an SBCT). Hawaii was selected for many of the reasons articulated by SecretaryWhite and General Shinseki in 2001, although these reasons were not fully articulated in eitherthe EIS or the ROD. The ROD also identified four other brigades for transformation to interim BCTs.These brigades were located at Fort Lewis, U.S. Army Garrison Alaska, Fort Polk, and the PennsylvaniaArmy National Guard.February 2008 1-6 2/25th SBCT Final EIS